L’Evangile 1988, last night, was excellent. A delicate, aromatic nose of flowers, herbs and spices is followed by a silky textured palate, with a gentle touch of oak and hints of fennel and anise. Floral notes, tobacco, leather and plums complete the nice flavor profile, but the biggest surprise is the unbelievably deep, long finish. 12,5 % alcohol. This is certainly not the most rich and exotic Pomerol I ever had, but nevertheless an elegant, understated beauty and a real classic.
BTW, the cork was in excellent condition and the freshness of this delicious wine suggests that there is no hurry to drink it up…
Never had it but I’ve had the 1989 a few times and still have one left. It’s one of my favorite Bordeaux, or at least it was. The more recent ones are a bit different in style from what I’ve tasted.
The 1989 L´Evangile is imho head and shoulders above the 1988 - the latter quite a disapointment for me.
It was one of the 1st Bordeaux bought en primeur (6 bts.), all drunk (or tasted resp.) between 1994 and 2015 …
not a bad wine, but quite harmless, too light, lacking real intesity and finish … and also not really complex.
The best I could say: it was balanced on a lower level …
The last bottle in my L´Evangile/Conseillante-vertical tasting confirmed the mean performance …
BTW: 1988 Conseillante was only marginally better - the vintage generally not being very successful in Pomerol (but Lafleur, VCC, L´Eglise-Clinet and Certan de May are excellent, Petrus ok, but not worth the money).
Have you had the ‘88 La Fleur de Gay? I had several bottles of the ‘90 a few years ago that were very good (but perhaps not outstanding). I’ve always wanted to try the ‘88 as it seems to have a pretty good reputation for the vintage.
I completely agree with your comment on the ‘88 Certan de May…it has been consistently stunning for me. It rivals and sometimes surpasses the ‘82 at 30-40% of the price.
I haven’t had the ‘88 L’Evangile, but some .375 bottles of the ‘90 I picked up in an auction lot a few years ago were just okay. It was difficult to tell if they were fading or just going through a dumb phase. The rest of the bottles in the lot were .375’s of the ‘90 Angelus and were fantastic.
Like many 1988s, there is a dusty austerity in the Evangile. The 1989 is much prettier wine, rich and succulent, the polar opposite. While I prefer the 1989, I like the’88 for what it is, classic and old fashioned claret.
Memories of 1988 L’Evangile always bring a smile to my face. It was one of the most important wines in my early wine-drinking days. In the mid-90s, when I got into wine, this was still around for around $30 a bottle and I consumed embarrassing quantities of it in college. I still remember how playfully delicious it was.
More recently, about 5 years ago European Wine Resource got in a very large cache of the wine and I sampled a bottle. I was surprised by how deep in color it remained and also how stern it was overall- too stern for me given my memories. It was certainly very drinkable and showed well- but it had a strong austerity to it that caught me off guard. It was almost hard- but certainly nowhere near decline. I think it could remain in that state for some years to come, but I did not bite at the time and that stash is long gone now.
Sadly, this is not an easy wine to find- it never has been. It was so delicious young, and Parker himself in the edition of his Bordeaux book that covered the 88s (3rd edition I think) said it was a wine to drink young, that I suspect most people finished up their bottles long ago.
Your TN has me wanting to go out there and find some more.
I’m often amazed at the charm and the longevity of red Bordeaux produced in 1988. Unfortunately, as for the longevity, I cannot say the same for the 1990 vintage…
I´ve not had the ´88 La Fleur de Gay, but ´89 and ´90 - however only in their youth (around 1993/94) … very impressive, very modern styled with a lot of new oak - but we compared them with Tertre-Roteboeuf and (L´)Angelus … and I preferred both St.Emilions in both vintages … a pity that I haven´t had the chance to retaste 89/90 LFdG since …
I think the 1990 L´Evangile is one of the best ever made, however always from 0.75, not 0.375 … no idea why your half bottles did not shine (bad storage?shipping?) - I doubt that sound halves are now fading, maybe they are more mature than 0.75s
