Wines with Age

wines

Bubbling over with crushed berries, currants and spices, with tobacco notes. Beautiful. Full-bodied, with gorgeously velvety tannins and a long finish of pretty fruit. This is a racy yet elegant Lafite. Classy. Best after 2010. 16,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA brilliant offering and a candidate for wine of the vintage, this is classic Lafite that reminded me somewhat of the 1976, although the vintage conditions were completely different. This is a medium-weight, quintessentially elegant style of Lafite with notes of lead pencil shavings/graphite along with black currants, plums, and crushed rocks/mineral. Wonderfully pure, dense, with a deep ruby/purple color and loads of fruit, definition, and a long finish, this is a brilliant, elegant Lafite Rothschild that builds incrementally in the mouth and has more power and density than it initially seems. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025.Robert Parker | 94 RPAnother Indian summer vintage (with useful northerly winds) that followed a difficult July and August. This has still-tight tannins and remains deep in colour, with just the very beginnings of whispering its age. After a few minutes in the glass, cigar notes curl up and out, followed by beautifully elegant, savoury-edged black fruit and tea leaf notes. This was extremely austere at first, but it’s now beginning to soften and is likely to develop similarly to the 1999, which makes it one to watch. Will reward further cellaring. Drinking Window 2018 - 2030Decanter | 93 DECBright, dark ruby-red. Subdued but pure aromas of currant, plum, minerals, graphite, and sexy, coconutty oak; showed a floral note with aeration. Extremely suave, fine-grained and concentrated, with a strong spine of acidity. Finishes firmly tannic, subtle and very long. This should develop slowly.Vinous Media | 92+ VM

A time of serious changes at Mouton, with Baron Philippe de Rothschild passing away in 1988 after having overseen seven decades worth of harvests, and his longtime winemaker Raoul Blondin retiring in 1989. It was also three years before the introduction of Petit Mouton under Baroness Philippine (even Aile d’Argent the white wine didn’t arrive until 1991). Does all of this explain why the 1990 has suffered with its reputation from the beginning? Certainly it is far more mature at this 31-year-checkin than the others in the tasting, with strawberry and raspberry notes rather than the darker fruits that you more usually find in great Pauillac, with clear tertiary notes of tobacco, rust and woodsmoke. I had a better bottle of this in December 2020, and also in October 2018, so do expect bottle variation and you just might get lucky, but this was not the wine of the night. Label artist Francis Bacon, with one of his last works. Harvest 18 September to 3 October. Drinking Window 2021 - 2030.Decanter | 91 DECNotorious for not living up to the estate’s nor the vintage’s reputations, I have to say this 1990 Mouton Rothschild was not looking nearly as bad as I was expecting. This was a hot, dry vintage, which can be a challenge for vines on such free-draining soils as the deep gravel-mounds composing the backbone of Mouton’s vineyards. The effect of the struggling vines is apparent in the wine, yielding less density and chewier tannins. Nonetheless, the terroir’s pedigree clearly glimmers in the background.The wine displays a brick color with subtle, compellingly elegant redcurrant jelly, dried cranberries and powdered cinnamon notes plus wafts of potpourri, dried figs, unsmoked cigars and dusty soil. Medium-bodied, it is notably far more delicately fruited than one would expect of Mouton, structured with bold freshness and a light chew of tannins before finishing on a mineral note. Indeed, it is skinny compared to great vintages, but it is aging gracefully. For readers who love those soft-spoken, more delicately expressed styles, this one’s for you!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RPA less-than-extraordinary Mouton with licorice and sandalwood on the nose. But this is still lovely and easy to drink. Medium body, good fruit and soft tannins.James Suckling | 90 JS

If any wine could be described as beautiful, then Beychevelle is beautiful. Its flavors of liquorice and blackcurrant are smooth and opulent, well proportioned. The texture is rich, ripe and generous.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WEDeep ruby/purple in color, with a sweet nose of black currants, earth, licorice, and mineral, the 2000 is relatively powerful and dense for the normally restrained and elegant Beychevelle. Medium to full-bodied, dense, and chewy, it is showing even better out of bottle than it was from cask. While it appears to be the finest example made at Beychevelle since the 1989 and 1982, patience will be required. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020.Robert Parker | 91 RPLovely warmed plum and black currant confiture flavors are starting to settle into a secondary phase as sweet tobacco, lightly singed alder and a perfumy incense note weave around. Nice focused, fine-grained finish. Textbook.—Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2020. 2,200 cases made. Wine Spectator | 91 WSThe 2000 Beychevelle has a delightful bouquet of blackberry, briar and light saline scents; a whiff of the old Gironde estuary develops in the glass. A touch of brettanomyces, maybe? The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins, and quite open and harmonious, although this not a deep or powerful Saint-Julien. Less austere than it once was, and simply a fine millennial that is drinking perfectly now.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Always somewhat atypical (which I suspect will be the case with the more modern day 2003), the 1982 Latour has been the most opulent, flamboyant, and precocious of the northern Medocs, especially the St.-Juliens, Pauillacs, and St.-Estephes. It hasn’t changed much over the last 10-15 years, revealing sweet tannins as well as extraordinarily decadent, even extravagant levels of fruit, glycerin, and body. It is an amazing wine, and on several occasions, I have actually picked it as a right bank Pomerol because of the lushness and succulence of the cedary, blackberry, black currant fruit. This vintage has always tasted great, even in its youth, and revealed a precociousness that one does not associate with this Chateau. However, the 1982 is still evolving at a glacial pace. The concentration remains remarkable, and the wine is a full-bodied, exuberant, rich, classic Pauillac in its aromatic and flavor profiles. It’s just juiced up (similar to an athlete on steroids) and is all the better for it. This remarkable effort will last as long as the 1982 Mouton, but it has always been more approachable and decadently fruity. Drink it now, in 20 years, and in 50 years! Don’t miss it if you are a wine lover.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 1982 Latour is the most consistent of the First Growths in this auspicious vintage. Tasted from both bottle and magnum in the UK in recent months, this note comes from an ex-château magnum tasted at a private dinner in Bordeaux. It exudes class and majesty on the nose with its copious but brilliantly focused black fruit laced with cedar and graphite. To use a phrase I have written before, it is blue-blooded...regal. That comes through on a palate that has a haunting symmetry and a killer finish that is brilliantly defined and audaciously long, graphite lingering on the aftertaste. Quite simply, claret does not come better than this. Tasted at a private dinner in Bordeaux.Vinous Media | 100 VMThere are hints of brick orange around the outer edges, but this is still beautifully rich red at the core, and the warmth of the vintage’s sunshine is clear from the first moment. At 34 years of age, the aromatics have almost torrefied, with beautiful burnt caramel notes oozing into rich plum and baked strawberry fruits. Gentle tannins are still holding the fruit unobtrusively but firmly in line. As the wine opens in the glass, the tobacco and cold woodsmoke become more evident, and each time you go back to the glass it gets more and more interesting, extending the conversation and keeping it new. Bursting with life.Decanter | 100 DEChe 1982 Chateau Latour is another powerful 1982 that’s drinking beautifully today and has a big, sweet nose of blackcurrants, saddle leather, cedar, and Asian spices that just comes jumping out of the glass. Deep, concentrated, and powerful, it takes 30 minutes in the glass to open up on the palate and still has ripe, polished tannins, thrilling length, and an impeccably balanced, layered personality. Again, it’s drinking fabulous well today, yet I suspect, given the wealth of fruit, it has another 2-3 decades of prime drinking ahead and will have a gradual decline.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDBig and chewy. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, long currant, berry and cherry character. Underrated. Still more to come in this wine.--Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now.Wine Spectator | 98 WSThis shows wonderful decadence with meaty, dark chocolate and ripe plums on the nose that follows through on the palate. It’s full bodied, with super silky tannins that caress your palate. The fruit in the wine changes to a spicy, stony undertone. It seems to evolve all the time in the glass. This has a long life to it. But why wait? So delicious.James Suckling | 98 JS(Château Latour) The 1982 Latour is a brilliant example of the vintage, which continues to show potential for long-term evolution, but is starting to drink with plenty of generosity at age thirty-two. The bouquet shows a bit of the veneer of the ripe and generous spirit of 1982, coupled to classic Latour power and depth, as it offers up scents of sweet cassis, black cherries, the first signs of black truffles, cigar smoke, dark, gravelly soil tones, almost a touch of meatiness and a nice framing of cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and sappy at the core, with ripe, suave tannins, excellent focus and grip and a very, very long, complex and gorgeous finish. This is not as classically Latour-like as a vintage such as 1970 or 1966, as the ripe style of 1982 is certainly prominently displayed here, but this is a great Latour by any measure. (Drink between 2014-2100).John Gilman | 96 JG

Surprisingly lively and fresh, this is still a seriously impressive wine. The high proportion of Semillon is now coming to dominate the Sauvignon, to give a wine that is finely shaped, full of creamy flavors of wood and some white peach. In 10 years, this will still be fresh, in 15 just mature.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEComplex aromas of blackberries, tobacco and cedar follow through to a full-bodied palate, with ripe, velvety tannins and a long, caressing finish. Very beautiful. Best after 2009.Wine Spectator | 93 WSGood ruby-red. Redcurrant, plum, tobacco and flowers on the nose. Suave and light on its feet, with excellent integrated acidity framing and extending the flavors. Classy and classic wine, finishing with ripe, building tannins. This would be perfect with a cigar. Today Delmas and Masclet prefer this 2002 to the 2001 Haut-Brion, but for La Mission they give the edge to the 2001.Vinous Media | 92+ VM

A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, this wine represents only 34% of Lafite’s total harvest. In a less than perfect Medoc vintage, it has been spectacular since birth, putting on more weight and flesh over the last year. This opaque purple-colored 1998 is close to perfection. The spectacular nose of lead pencil, smoky, mineral, and black currant fruit soars majestically from the glass. The wine is elegant yet profoundly rich, revealing the essence of Lafite’s character. The tannin is sweet, and the wine is spectacularly layered yet never heavy. The finish is sweet, super-rich, yet impeccably balanced and long (50+ seconds). Anticipated maturity: 2007-2035.Robert Parker | 98 RPThe 1998 Lafite-Rothschild is served from double magnum directly from the château reserves, in fact with the man who made it sitting opposite me – Charles Chevalier. I must admit to being quite amazed how well this shows at 20-years of age, trouncing all the other First Growths except Haut-Brion. Lucid in colour, it has a vivid bouquet of pure blackberry, blueberry, vanilla and graphite, perhaps just a little uncharacteristically showy in style, but beautifully defined and intense. The palate is perfectly balanced with layers of ripe black fruit, perfectly pitched acidity and a silky smooth texture that renders this utterly seductive. It is almost too good for me to recommend cellaring longer. Whatever...it is a sublime Lafite-Rothschild that on this showing, may well challenge the supremacy of the 1996. Tasted at the Académie du Vin dinner in Bordeaux.Vinous Media | 96 VMAmazing aromas of crushed blackberries, toasted oak and currant, spices. Really a great nose. Full-bodied, with round and velvety tannins and a long, long finish. It lasts for minutes on the palate. Superb. Best wine of the Médoc, without a doubt.--’88/’98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2011. 21,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSNo written review provided. | 94 W&SEasy vintage until September, when conditions in the Médoc particularly became humid, which meant accelerating the harvest (it was one of those years when Lafite benefitted enormously from its ability to ramp up a bigger-than-expected team of pickers). Salin still calls this a lunch wine, because of its supple freshness, its balance that would work so perfectly with food.The vintage was a showcase for Bordeaux on the Right Bank, where it was considered great from the start. The Medoc and Graves were less well received at the time, but are ripe for rediscovering now. This still has a lovely deep ruby red colour, and on both the nose and palate you are getting to secondary aromas, a walk in the forest, mushrooms, cedars, heather, game – these are flavours you just don’t get in young wines, and amply reward the patience of holding bottles back. The surprise, and the Lafite signature, comes in its vibrancy, in its huge persistency and in the lift on the finish.Decanter | 94 DEC

The 1986 is the most tannic, as well as the largest-framed Pichon-Lalande in over three decades. Whether it will ultimately eclipse the 1982 is doubtful, but it will be longer-lived. Dark ruby/purple, with a tight yet profound bouquet of cedar, blackcurrants, spicy oak, and minerals, this full-bodied, deeply concentrated, exceptionally well-balanced wine is, atypically, too brawny and big to drink young. Anticipated maturity: 1994-2015 Last tasted, 6/93.Tasted 7 Times Since Bottling With Consistent Notes.Robert Parker | 96 RPThe 1986 Pichon-Lalande has long been one of the standout wines of the decade, and served blind, this suggests that it might have the 1982 in its sights. In many ways, it is the twin brother of the Cabernet-driven 1996. It bolts out of the stable doors with intense blackberry and cedar aromas – pure Cabernet – and reveals touches of mint with time. The palate is medium-bodied and thankfully less obdurate than a decade ago; the tannins have mellowed in recent years and secondary notes of sage and graphite are now more expressive. I once described the 1986 as "broad-shouldered." It remains just that, but it has learned some grace and manners. This is a clear high point for the estate. Tasted blind at lunch at The Glasshouse in London.Vinous Media | 95 VMJuicy, fleshy and showy, with warm plum sauce, melted black licorice, espresso, cocoa powder and black currant confiture notes all melded together, yet clearly defined. The smoldering, tobacco-fueled finish expands steadily with air. A wine of power and range that is just hitting its stride.--Non-blind Pichon Lalande vertical (July 2014). Drink now through 2030.Wine Spectator | 95 WSMarvellous old Bordeaux with delicate cassis, graphite, and faded violet nuances. A legendary wine for this estate, equal to the 1982 but ageing better. Drinking Window 2014 - 2020.Decanter | 95 DEC(Château Pichon-Lalande) Three years have passed since I last drank a bottle of the 1986 Pichon-Lalande and time seems to have not touched this wine at all since that time! This remains one of the most structured great vintages of this property that I have ever tasted, and though its ultimate quality is assured, it is still not yet ready to drink at age thirty-three! The bouquet is superb and starting to blossom nicely, offering up a refined blend of cassis, black cherries, currant leaf, dark soil tones, coffee, cigar smoke and toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full and rock solid at the core, with lovely detail and delineation, still a firm spine of well-integrated tannins, tangy acids and lovely length and grip on the nascently complex, but superb finish. I have loved this wine’s potential since I first tasted it all the way back in 1988, but it is still in climbing mode and deserves further bottle age to allow the tannins to start to really fall away. Like the 1996 Pichon, the balance here remains impeccable and one simply will have to wait a bit longer for the tannins to finally start to fall away. (Drink between 2025-2075).John Gilman | 94+ JG

A spectacular nose of spring flowers, forest floor, raspberry and bluer fruits is followed by a medium-bodied wine displaying shocking elegance (a characteristic not generally associated with this big, rich vintage). This pretty 2003 has achieved full maturity and is unlikely to get any better, so drink it up.Robert Parker | 90 RP

The best since the 1990, the 2000 Pichon-Longueville Baron is just now starting to shed some baby fat and develop additional complexity and layers. This still ruby/plum-colored beauty boasts a phenomenal nose of blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, lead pencil shavings, and new saddle leather. It’s deep, full-bodied, and sexy, with incredible amounts of texture and opulence that keeps you coming back to the glass. It makes a mockery of so many Bordeaux today that are made in a so-called elegant style yet lack the fat, richness, and density to ever hit this high a level. With low acidity, beautiful purity of fruit, sweet tannins, and a great finish, it’s in the early to middle range of its drink window (I love it today) and has another two decades of sensational drinking ahead. Readers wanting to know what truly great Bordeaux tastes like should open a bottle of this!Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThis is one of the great wines of the vintage, and certainly a candidate for one of the finest wines made at this estate under the management of Christian Seeley and proprietor AXA. Showing incredibly well at two tastings of 2000s, the wine has a dense bluish/purple color and a beautiful nose of incense, melted asphalt, and creme de cassis as well as hints of new saddle leather and licorice. It is superbly concentrated and very pure, with excellent texture and opulence. The acidity seems low, the tannin high but well-integrated. This is a compelling 2000 that is just closing in on its window of maturity and should stay there for at least 20 or more years. Bravo!Robert Parker | 97 RPA rich and spicy wine with lots of walnuts, dried berry and plum. Full and very savory. So much tobacco and sous bois. Roasted fruit too. Classic 2000. Drink now.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2000 Pichon Baron is consistent with the bottle tasted at the vertical back in 2018. It has a very elegant nose featuring a mixture of red and black fruit, fresh mint and touches of graphite (though in this bottle, it is not quite as prominent). The palate is medium-bodied with a crisp entry, offering vibrant black fruit laced with graphite and dried blood; I find more complexity here compared to the 2000 Pichon-Lalande that I tasted at the property just an hour earlier. Quite spicy and peppery, leading to a vibrant finish. This is imbued with wonderful tension. A Pauillac that is approaching its peak.Vinous Media | 95 VMRock-solid, with a block of currant, fig and blackberry paste notes forming the core, while youthful brambly-edged grip still holds sway throughout. Lots of enticing licorice root and sweet tobacco flavors wait in reserve, and there’s nice lift from a light savory hint at the very end. Still has a ways to go.--Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2028.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Pichon Baron, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France, Red) On the nose, graphite notes combine with black fruit including prunes, which highlight its solar character, but a minty and floral freshness adds aromatic lift after aeration. Similar impression on the palate with a juicy yet elegant mouthfeel that has a tightly-wound yet harmonious structure. Now at its apogee. (Drink between 2022-2030)Decanter | 93 DEC

Pretty, clean, and perfumed, with a milk chocolate and berry character. Full bodied, with round and velvety tannins and a long finish. Polished and very beautiful, caressing. Pull the cork after 2014.James Suckling | 94 JSA healthy, youthful dark plum/ruby/purple color is followed by a bouquet of smoke, barbecued meats, black currants and new saddle leather. With full body and sweet tannin, this 2003 is strutting its stuff. Although it is not as fine as the 1989, 1990, or 2000, it is a complex, classic Pauillac to enjoy over the next decade.Robert Parker | 94 RPConsidering the reputation of Lynch-Bages as a rich, polished wine, it is not surprising that, in 2003, the team of Jean-Michel Cazes and Daniel Lhose produced a superlatively ripe, opulent wine, one that could almost have come from Napa. But not quite: The fruit is compact and dense, with layers of acidity that speak more of Bordeaux than California. Imported by Diageo Chateau & Estates.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe terroir of Lynch-Bages shines through in ’03, with a wine that tastes like it grew somewhere-somewhere stony. The dark scent is funky, with a fresher blackberry flavor underneath. Richness powers the flavor, but the tannins keep it elegant and sophisticated, their tough grip becomes the center of the wine, berries grown in stone. After a sip, you can breathe in the structure; it’s all tannin, but it has life. This should be great 12 to 14 years from the vintage.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SOffers warm cassis and black cherry notes infused with smoldering charcoal and roasted cedar details. Supple and fine-grained, with lingering tobacco and prune hints. Appealing now, though the vibrancy has been cooked out a bit.—Blind ’01/’03/’05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2025. 35,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS