1985 - the best drinking burgundy vintage today?

A simply fabulous evening last night at Medlar. Many thanks indeed to Howard for organising this and to everyone for bringing such fantastic wines. I can’t recall another evening that comes close to this for showing such amazing burgundies across the board. The shame is that 85s are so hard to find now as they all seem to be fabulous. The Rousseau just pipped the Grivot for WOTN. Frankly, any one of these wines would have been a joy to drink.


With canapés…

1995 Charles Heidsieck Champagne Blanc des Millénaires - France, Champagne (20/02/2017)
Excellent, as ever. Fresh, crisp, delicious. A point.

1985 Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année - France, Champagne (20/02/2017)
Obviously darker, more mature colour than the 95 Heidseck BdM. So rich, round and long. Lots of caramel and treacle with still a dry finish. Superb.


With foie gras and smoked eel terrine with beetroot salad, pumpkin seeds and toasted brioche…

1985 Faiveley Corton-Clos des Cortons Faiveley - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru (20/02/2017)
Unbelievable that this is the same year and appellation as the clos du roi. Much darker colour. Dark, rich, serious, still quite chewy palate. Hint of bitterness in the tannins on the finish still. With some air, this really blossomed. Again, superb but so different to the other 85 corton.

1985 P. Dubreuil-Fontaine Père & Fils Corton-Clos du Roi - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru (20/02/2017)
Pale, red, bricking colour. Bit of brett on the nose and palate. Lots of briary/brambly red fruits and herbs. Sweet, elegant and a nice long finish. Fully resolved/mature and really quite lovely in an utterly charming, old school fashion. I could drink this all day.


With pressed confit lamb and potato with sautéed tongue, salsa verde and jambon de savoie…

1985 Domaine Ponsot Griotte-Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Griotte-Chambertin Grand Cru (20/02/2017)
From magnum. Classic Ponsot and so different to the Rousseau Chambertin. Very rich, chewy black fruit. Dark crimson colour. Very young, probably due to the larger format.

1985 Domaine Armand Rousseau Père et Fils Chambertin - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambertin Grand Cru (20/02/2017)
Damn Rousseau, it’s always so bloody good. Bit of brett, Red fruits with a smudge of lipstick. Ethereal. So complete, round, sweet and persistent. Fabulous.


With duck magret with caramelised endive, orange, beetroot puree and crosnes…

1985 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru (20/02/2017)
Luscious red fruit but a bit darker, richer than the rousseau chambertin. Again, a smudge of lipstick and this time a bit thicker than the rousseau. Lovely, round and complete but not quite as charming as the Rousseau.

1985 Domaine Jean Grivot Richebourg - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Richebourg Grand Cru (20/02/2017)
Classic, Grivot. Young, serious, rich, precise red/black fruits. Made you come to it rather than offering its charms easily. Just as captivating as the rousseau chambertin but in a completely different, more aloof, reserved manner. A wine to sit and contemplate for hours.


With 24 and 36 month aged comte and other superb cheeses…

1985 Domaine G. Roumier / Christophe Roumier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru (20/02/2017)
Fantastically refreshing and delicious palate. Whilst not showing any hard edges, it showed a little simply/young tonight and this bottle would have benefitted from another decade or so to reveal greater complexity.

Posted from CellarTracker

man, haven’t had an '85 in years (but they wern’t Grand Cru either!).

Superb notes on a lovely tasting, thank you for sharing. I agree with your title, 1985 Red Burgs have consistently shown to be “in the zone” for many years now. They rarely disappoint and always come out and “strut their stuff”. On release the critics opined that the vintage was charming but wouldn’t be one to age. I think that advice led many (including me) to drink them young.

I consider that 1985 is performing wonderfully today for many regions.
1985 Champagnes are outstanding
1985 Burgundies are fantastic promises
1985 Rhone are perfect.

I cannot say that 1985 is the best drinking vintage as 1929, 1945, 1947 and 1961 are still in the starting blocks !

And never forget 1899 and 1900

That’s a fun night!!! Thanks for the outstanding notes on what are swiftly becoming unicorn wines.

Great to see a note, particularly such a positive one on older Grivot. I’ve had mixed luck with them but this gives me significant hope.

I recently had '85 Clos de Tart side by side with '85 d’Angerville Clos des Ducs-- both are excellent right now. I slightly preferred the d’Angerville due to its seamlessness and freshness. 1985s all around are definitely in the zone these days!

A very nice lineup with great notes - thanks. I had an 85 Leroy Gevrey Lavaux St. Jacques a couple weeks ago and it was the star of the night. It’s so nice when they perform as expected.

I think it might be, and in both colours.

Best Burg I ever had was a 1985 RSV.

great notes.
I am partial to 85’s as well

I am a big fan of '85 for current drinking. Just sourced a gorgeous bottle of 1985 H. Lignier Clos de la Roche with excellent provenance for which I have high hopes.

I’ll take a 1983 red Burg over a 1985 any time…

the whites…closer call, IMO.

would love to find some “lesser” 1983s to buy…

One of the participants was meant to bring this but unfortunately his bottle wasn’t sound.

great–H so much better than G IMO.

Francois,

Sadly, there’s no basis on which I can argue with your opinion on this! However, would you agree that it’s consistently the best for drinking now on the basis that there must be far greater bottle variation in wines so much older?

Dan

Agreed, though in those days the difference wasn’t as pronounced. I have had 1978 G. Lignier Clos de la Roche that has knocked my socks off.

A 1985 Dujac CdlR started me down this crazy rabbit hole.

I would also add 1985 Vintage Ports to the list, though I expect the glorious Fonseca will be even more developed in 10+ years.

Two entirely different approaches to winemaking. Like 'new" and “old” style Barolo. Both are very enjoyable if given the right opportunity. And, Hubert/Romain also make no beef about it: the Georges estate has an inferior holding in CdlR. Hubert is/was also much more of a showman than the then-Georges (all of them are named that, I think).

I like them both…wish I had more of Georges’ wines. (Always enjoyed visiting both estates.)

The 1899s are drinking wonderfully, but the 1900s clearly need more time! Your mileage may vary.