I’ve been tasked to track down a single “wow” bottle from 86’ for a friend to gift his father for a work milestone. Budget around $1,000. Leaning towards Mouton or Lafite but could be persuaded if anyone had a great idea!
Between the two above, correct me if I’m mistaken because I’ve had neither, but the Mouton should be much more youthful, tannic, requiring many hours to open up? I believe they’re looking to consume later this month.
For this vintage, do there tend to be more/less off bottles from one vs the other? They’re only buying a single bottle and not used to drinking wines at this caliber/price point so want to give them the best chance at having it perform well for them!
Anything else I should consider, I’m open ears…thanks.
I’ve not had the 86 Lafite but the 86 Mouton smokin. Check out Leve’s CT note from last month.
My only caveat is, and you seem to raise the same concern, when I am giving somebody a gift of a wow bottle, I generally do not go back that far in maturity as the risk of a bad bottle, in my opinion, is accentuated. Personally I would focus on vintages like 2000 or 1998.
The 2000 Lafite and the 2000 Cheval Blanc are both awesome, and the 2000 Haut Brion is around $750. I’ve not had the 2000 Haut Brion, but the 2001 I have a couple weeks ago was excellent.
I’ve had Mouton and Lafite side by side a few years ago and thought the Mouton was slightly ahead. Being my birth year, I also had Latour, Cheval Blanc, and Margeaux of the “big boys” in the last few years. I’d say Mouton, Lafite, Cheval are the top with the Latour at the bottom of this (short) list
Las Cases, Lynch Bages, Gruaud Larose, and Talbot can all perform at the top, just under Mouton. Pichon’s are a tad behind with Baron in the lead for me, but it’s been a while.
Also a birth year for me … If your budget is a soft $1k (like $100-200 above is OK), you could get him a Margaux, LLC and Pichon Lalande (all of which I’ve had and all were exceptional) for your budget and both 1) have a wow first growth bottle AND 2) mitigate the risk of a bad bottle while giving him 3 excellent bottles of wine.
In the early 90s, someone cleared out a lot of cooked 1986 Mouton. Lots of it. Not sure where in the chain it got cooked. A friend got stuck with a case of it and used to always bring it to tastings (along with something good). It became a running joke.
Especially if Bordeaux of this calibre could be challenging or too subtle for them, buy Penfolds Grange 1986. World class wine, the equal of Mouton, and no shortage of impact!
I’m generally not a fan of ‘86 Bordeaux. I sold all of my Margaux some years back, as I find it charmless. For perspective, I have never sold any Bordeaux other than ‘86. I prefer Mouton to the other firsts. And it isn’t close to ‘82 in my book.
Not speaking of Graves or Margaux, Northern Left Bank 1982 and 1986 are two ends of a spectrum, IMO. I can see how people might prefer one strongly to another. I imagine that people will be enjoying the best 1986 Pauillacs as they’re remembering just how good the 1982s were. If we’re talking about ‘82 Mouton and Latour, they’re massive wines that will go on for a long time and I agree with you RE: Mouton — I’ve never had a 1986 Mouton that I’ve liked as much as the 1982. I’m sure you know this — but, for others, they say this was the case with 1928 Bordeaux. Decades went by with some fretting they would never come around and match the lusher 1929s. Sadly, I’ve never had either. Lol.
In my own experience, when one has a healthy/good bottle of ‘86 Mouton, it’s magnificent. Certainly difficult to “do better”. That said, it has also been my experience that there is an apparent high degree of bottle variation (i.e., far more comparatively mediocre bottles vs. beautiful ones).
Case in point, during one Commanderie dinner in HK, during which bottles of ‘86 Mouton were served (2 per table x many tables; all bottles contributed by Mouton itself), I noted a big difference between the two bottles on our table. A friend from another table came over and asked to try our bottles - he also noted one bottle far better than the other - and told me both bottles on his table were not so good.
Later that evening, I was outside smoking, chatting with one of the other guests (an owner of another Bdx château). I mentioned the above to him, and he replied that the material level of bottle variation of ‘86 Mouton is “very well known in Bdx”.
The ‘86 Margaux is stunning, having shed its early fierce tannins and revealing glorious fruit. The ‘86 Lafite, drunk last year and perfectly stored, was an unpleasant impenetrable tannic wall, perhaps the single most disappointing ‘great’ wine I have ever drunk.
I would look for a bottle of 1989 La Mission Haut Brion. The 1986s you mention are a bit of a crap shoot, even the Margaux which was not great the last two times I had it.
The La Mission is consistent and brilliant just behind the 1989 Haut Brion and about half the price.
If picking among the class of '86… the Mouton is a beast, possibly a 100 year wine easily outliving me. I’d throw the Margaux right after, then the '86 Lafite.
That said, Mark’s spot on with the '89 La Mission. Delivers consistently for the price point.
I agree with Mark that performance of the ‘86 first growths is variable. Some of it due to storage. Some of it due to the nature of the vintage. The wines are kind of moody, and even from the same case can vary between being open, silky, and full-fruited, versus very hard and unyielding.
I have had Margaux/Mouton/Lafite many times. My ranking for current drinking is Mouton/Lafite at the top, Margaux well behind the other two. Mouton certainly has the edge over Lafite for longevity, and has opened up considerably in the last few years. It is a blockbuster. But the Lafite is more elegant, silky, and aromatic right now. Re: the Margaux, we did a dinner in DC three years ago courtesy of Panos K with Paul Pontallier’s son. He is surely an expert on 86 Margaux because it’s his birth year and he said he’d had it dozens of times. He was complimentary, but reading between the lines it was clear he does not think it’s a great Margaux.
