Ah that Cordier funk of the 1980s. Gruard Larose. Talbot. Cantemerle. And the lovely little Meyney. I wish that I had bought multiple cases of all these wines, especially this Meyney for regular drinking. Even 31 years later, it shows so beautifully from a 375. A total shame that Meyney has gone modern now.
Lovely warm Bordeaux perfume, dry earth, old cedar and dark fruits and some plum on the nose. The palate is medium weight, soft, tannins fully resolved. A savoury wine, showing some grilled meats, tobacco, earth and minerals. Mostly dark fruits, soft and plummy at this point. This wine has been at peak for about 10 years and just keep singing along. I suspect the backslope is coming soon, but we still have some years with this excellent Meyney. I put it above the '88 and '89 that I have had in the past year. A really lovely wine, the essence of what basic Cru Bordeaux can offer.
(92 pts.)
PS. I need this wine after a very wild 30 hours of travel to get home for the holidays.
Great stuff, Henry VIII. I’m with you all the way, the 86 Meyney is surprisingly good still. I think my first 86 was in 2006 and it seemed quite mature then, but its hasn’t lost a step yet really. It’s also probably my favorite vintage of Meyney all time, despite some wonderful bottles of the 88 and 89 (which are both past peak nowadays, in my experience) and one or two terrific bottles of the 82.
Count me as another huge fan of those Cordiers from the 1980s.
A comment on the Durand: it’s a lot easier to insert the Ah-so prongs 90 degrees to the corkscrew handle. The slots in the handle are just for storage. Always happy to advise if you need any more lessons on how to put it in.
I love the 80s Cordiers and didn’t buy enough. I opened my penultimate 1985 Gruaud Larose last Friday and it was sensational, with a subtle elegance that only age can bring.
Classic!..take me back! This was one of my original drinkers. I loved this wine and its dearly missed…you just don’t get “drinkers” of this character today…my last bottle was in 3/12. Not surprised that it’s still going strong! I guess I should have bought 2 or more cases, instead of just the one…
I really think that Cordier knocked out of the park in '86! Gruard Larose, Talbot and Cantemerle were all fantastic too! Going to knock down an '86 GL this weekend in the annual birthday drink down…we’ll see if it can hold it’s own against the firsts from '86 and '89…
Great post Alfert, I may have to add one of tthese to the cellar.
in addition, I dug this old note up…
if u like Cordier funk…here is my tasting note from a few yrs back on the '82 Talbot that Alfert popped
*This is an absolute epic bottle of Bordeaux. An earthy beast loaded with secondary and tertiery notes. Initially it feels like I’m getting slapped around by an old worn out cat-of-nine tails (more worn than Alfert’s cheek chiller chaps)
just crazy leather going on…followed by earth, smoke, dusty red fruits.
On the palate, I may need a hunting license for all this gaminess (love), hints of (complimentary)bell pepper in the background, tobacco, graphite, a dab of mushroom, great earthy finish, medium to full body.
This is putting on an absolute clinic on what old world bordeaux should taste like.
An incredible showing
this note does no justice here…this was an old world freak of nature.
My favorite NYC retailer had 3 bottles of 1986 Gruard Larose a couple days ago when I checked in. Just popped back to grab them, and voila, all gone. Bummer. Well, it did save me a lot of money that I just blew on deer.
1982 Talbot was my first whole-case purchase.
1986 Talbot was my second. 1986 Gruaud was “too expensive” so I bought only 6.
And I almost never buy full cases.
Loved every bottle, they’re now all gone.
I too really miss that Cordier funk. Cannot really find anything today that gives me that same experience. Today’s wines seem to be too clean and too fruit forward.
We had the 87 Gruaud about 10 days ago. It wasn’t fabulous, in that it didn’t jump out as a monument to winemaking, but it was deeply satisfying. And still very youthful; the last glass was the best.
