Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre 1982

Well, this is my wine of the year. I realize that some of you, most probably, are sick of reading about Bel Air bloody Marquis, so I apologize. I’m sipping this as I write.

I bought this at auction recently, for not very much, possibly because of the level, just above the shoulder, possibly the vintage, not as renowned in Margaux perhaps, possibly also that BAMA hasn’t ever been a headline grabber over here.

The cork crumbled and I had to push the rest in and decant the lot, so I wasn’t over-optimistic, but no reason, the bottle was fine - as soon as it was in the decanter, fresh aromas of flowers and blackberries emerged and the first glass confirmed there was nothing wrong: slightly faded roses, blackberry and sandalwood notes, before a fresh, quite vibrant attack of wild strawberry and blackberry. After a while, the wine opened to show more wild strawberry, with raspberry liqueur and a soaring second section of red cherries, before a long, elegant finish. As I sip now, it has developed further, showing hints of loganberries, rose hip syrup and generally more depth. There’s a wonderful sweetness, but it’s not cloying, it’s perfectly balanced with just enough crispness to the finish.

Nothing more to say, except that it reminds me strongly of the 2000 - it’s just an older version. As usual, it’s a trip down memory lane, but the similarity to the 2000 shows how little the style has changed over the years, if at all. It’s a pity there aren’t more wines like this still made.

Compared to other 82s tasted over the years, this is perhaps not quite as good as Gruaud, but it’s certainly the best I’ve had from Margaux.

So far, this is also the best ever BAMA I’ve had.

A masterpiece.

I have one more bottle left, having recently given one away! And your note captures it nicely. It possesses all the generous plenitude that characterizes the vintage while remaining beautifully balanced.

Just picked up some older vintages including the 1961, which I have never tried.

#winenerds

Congrats!

Sounds very tempting, Julian. Astonishingly, I can’t remember ever having had a bottle of Bel Air-Marquis d’Aligre.

Thanks William for those kind words - I might have guessed that you would know the 82 well! I look forward to hearing about the 61. Have you ever tried the 83? I’m curious since it was reputedly better for Margaux than the 82.

Robert, obviously this is your kind of wine. Towards the end of the bottle, the tastes drifted into redcurrant and more red cherry and it reminded me strongly of some old Loire reds. But if you hang on long enough to your 2000s, you’ll get the same sensations as the 82 delivers.

Rudi, you should try some, I’m sure you would like it. It’s not hard to track down the wines from the mid-90s or the 2000. It’s very similar to Margaux from the pre-Parker era.

Really and elegant note, Julian. Would love to try one with that much maturity. There is a local restaurant that has a magnum of 59 that I keep eyeing, but I don’t have enough “wine geek” friends to share it with!

Julian, it is nearly impossible to track down this Margaux here in Germany. I cannot find more than tree wine merchants that offer it. Fortunately, one of them is only twenty minutes away. The 2010 Bel Air-Marquis d’Aligre is the only vintage available, though. I will drop in there next week.

Can you buy it to take away? That’s a pretty rare bottle.

Party in Orlando!

Anyone had the 96?

Neal do a search, a handful of us on this thread have written several notes and started several threads on the 95 and 96. Glad to see you grabbed some. I suspect you will find it unique and enjoyable, albeit a bit different than the orthodoxy we currently see.

Rudi, you can buy a great collection of vintages here:

They deliver to Germany. As you will see, apart from very old vintages which are best sourced at auction, prices are very attractive. I did try the 2010, which is good but many years from maturity.

Neal, the 96 is an excellent wine, even if I preferred the 95. I posted a note last year:

Robert, just sell some of those odd Ovid things you got and use the proceeds to get that magnum of 59! You know it makes sense!

All of you plan a trip down and I’ll buy the darn magnum!

Bring it to France and I will open six other pre-1990 vintages from 750…

Send me the TWA jet, I’m in.

Yes. I thought it was very pretty and had good fruit.

Thanks for the link, Julian! Interesting collection and the prices are indeed very reasonable. If the 2010 is a wine to my taste, I will order a few older vintages.

Sounds sensible, Rudi, but I should warn you that the 2010 tastes more like a 2010 Bordeaux than a BAMA, if you see what I mean - it doesn’t yet have the BAMA idiosyncrasy.

Rudi try to find some from the 1990s, they seem to be readily available with a search. While I have never had a BAMA with less than 16 or more years on it, even these need longish decants. And from some people whose wine knowledge I respect, these wines need many years to really show what the maker intended. I think 1995 and 1996 are both in the “ready zone”.