86 & 89 Bordeaux

I have a collection of 86 & 89 Bordeaux’s. Please share tasting notes. These wines are drinking beautifully. Anyone in the NYC area like to attend or help organize a tasting of these wines? Thanks. Paul

which Chateaus do you have?
You can look at many many tasting notes on www.cellartracker.com or use the search function here.

Feb 26 notes - 86 Talbot. Cork was in great shape. Stood up for 2 days and decanted for a few hours. The wine was great with the lamb. The balance was impressive for a 30 year old wine. Great fruit and finish. A real pleasure. I generally think old Bordeaux’s are at their best with meat. Any other suggestions for food pairings?

[quote=“scamhi”]which Chateaus do you have?
I have about 20 different wines from each vintage. No first growths. I bought highly rated Parker wines that seemed like a good value. The wines are drinking beautifully.

Most 89s I’ve had have been drinking very well for years. Some of the 86s have been a bit bi-modal: Some bottles are nice and open and some pretty tight (I mean the same wines). I’ve experienced this with Pichon Lalande and Gruaud Larose recently.

I wonder if the bottle variation you are finding is a function of food, how carefully they were decanted and time in a decanter. When I first open and taste an old Bordeaux, I don’t generally enjoy them. Yet, with a few hours in a decanter and with some meat they are great. Sometimes, the wine may be better the next morning (time helped). I am curious if these factors are a big part of bottle variation.
They 89s are generally more forward and probably less fussy. The 86s are more tannic and maybe need more time in the decanter - and the right food pairings.

My '89 Palmer and Pichon Lalande have been drinking well for a while. The only '89 Margaux I have poured (last year) was ready to go but had a long run left in it. I am still holding my '89 Latours and don’t expect to open them anytime soon.

I adore 1989 Pichon Lalande for current consumption. '89 Pichon Baron is wonderful – more structured than the Lalande with plenty of life left. The 1989 Palmer is fantastic and the 1989 Leoville Las Cases is far better than many of the reviews you see.

The only 1986 I’ve had that has been consistently good, bottle after bottle, is the '86 Gruaud Larose.

all of the Cordier stable did well in 86 including Talbot, Meyney and Gruaud LArose.

Meyney 89 is really good too.

The 86 and 89 Meyney are great. When I bought them, I think they were $10 a bottle - so I bought more of them than any other wine from those vintages. They are always a crowd pleaser … and fun to try together.

This has come up in quite a few threads, but the 85 and 88 Meyney are excellent as well.

86 is a Left Bank vintage. Most of the wines have a masculine aspect. They ask for food / meat. You will find few wines not worth buying or drinking from the Left Bank.

89 is superb on the Left and the Right Bank. Most of the wines have not as much structure as the 86 and are a bit more hedonistic. But they have enough fruit, tannins and acid for a long life. It´s hard to find a really bad wine from a well known Chateaux with good reputation from the 89 vintage.

In both vintages Chasse Spleen and Meyney made wonderful wines – for those who look for a superb QPR. The best wine in 1986 is Mouton. The best wines of 89 are Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion.

Good life decisions!! I love the 86s and 89s. It looks like I have 19 notes on the 86 left bankers and 26 notes on the 89s (mostly left) from the past couple of years on cellartracker under Englishman’s Claret. Almost universally drinking well though some are still pretty tight. I’m in Connecticut on a fairly regular basis; PM me know if you decide to set something up.

Some of the Right Bank wines make me wish I bought more. In fact I just bought a few more La Dominique.

I had an 86 Rauzan Segla and an 89 Haut Marbuzet last year.
Both very enjoyable, particularly after 2 1/2+ hours of air.
A bottle of 86 Talbot in 2014 is still my top wine experience to date.

I took have recently had a bottle of 1986 Rauzan Segla that was terrific, and shockingly young. I believe it’s a 50+ year wine, like many 86’s.

La Dominique has been a favorite. I have both the 86 and 89 and it has been a treat to try them together. It amazes me how long these wines last. The 86s are now 30 years old and all of the ones I have continue to drink well.

We had a tasting about five years ago with 66, 82, 86 and 89. At that point the 66 tasted a little old but it would have been a fun drink by itself. The others were all great.

I just picked up the 1989 for around $90. Any thoughts? Thank you.