At Piccolino restaurant in London EC2, 4/17/25
2008 Moet Chandon
This has a recognisable mass produced Moet Chandon signature. It is a crowd pleasing formulaic style but I found it a little bit on the sweet side for my liking. Very different creature to the much more serious and brooding 2008 DP. Looked at uncritically it is tasty, but one glass is more than sufficient…88pts
On to the main event of 1985 clarets. One theme that emerged was the consistency of these wines (apart from the two faulty ones). My scores for the sound 1985s were tightly bounded in a 92-94 pt range. It was another good showing for the 1985 vintage and again I was surprised by the youthful vigour of some of these wines (Gruaud Larose and the two Leovilles), while some of the others were approaching the end of their arc of maturity (e.g., Pape Clement, La Lagune and Haut Batailley).
F1
DDC
Stemmy nose with ash notes; not a typically demonstrative graves nose. On the palate initially rather svelte and classy with an impressive finish. But it evolves and drops off in the glass …. and then starts to improve again. It is enigmatic and somewhat of a chameleon, but an interesting DDC…92 pts
Pape Clement
In magnum. Much more exuberant and expressive graves nose with alluring menthol overtones. Ostensibly really delicious and a point, though a bit obvious and not the last word in complexity … and not as good as a superb bottle of the 1996 recently; but it delivers a lot of love…92 pts
Rauzan Segla
Relatively subdued entry, but some trademark Margaux floral notes, a lovely mouthfeel, and a superb finish. Neat and tidy, light on its feet, and nuanced, this wine just exudes finesse and is a bit classier than its two graves flight mates. A super bottle…94 pts…we often comment on the estates which really had a purple patch in the 1980s - Pichon Lalande and Gruaud Larose of course - but one which is less often mentioned is Rauzan Segla.
F2
Gruaud Larose
This wine was in superb condition for a 40 year old. It was noticeably more structured than anything in the first flight. I didn’t love this as much as some others around the table, however. Maybe because it seemed to lack a bit of grace and charm that is a hallmark of this vintage…but still, overall, a strong showing…92 pts
Lagrange
I expected this to play second fiddle to the Gruaud but it didn’t. A very different wine, it is rounder and more inviting and beautifully resolved. It was ripe, tasty and delicious. Someone on the table said ‘fudge’ and I got that too, so a slight lack focus perhaps marred an otherwise impressive display…92 pts
F3
Leoville Barton
Yet another one excellent bottle of this quintessential claret. Like the Gruaud and its flight mate Leoville Lascases, this had an impressive structure and energy pointing to many more years of high level drinking. At the same time the component parts are well integrated with classical cassis, cedar and cigar box notes…94 pts
Leoville Lascases
I have been lucky enough to try this wine well over a dozen times and I am coming to the view that it probably needs more time. This bottle, while impressive, reinforced my impression that there is more to come here. Last night’s bottle was not as brilliant or as delicious am ex-chateau Latour d-mag last Saturday, when the conventional wisdom is that LLC is the better wine…on last night’s showing 94 pts…I have had more enjoyable bottles of this and I would rather drink the 1988 today and leave the 1985 for a few years.
F4
Lynch Bages
A very good bottle of 1985 Lynch Bages but not a scintillating bottle - like the brace we had a couple of years ago at Noizé restaurant (one on each table) - but much better than some of the greener examples one can encounter. This was highly pleasurable Pauillac and more open knit and fun than either of the Leovilles in the previous flight…94 pts
Haut Batailley
Some dark muttering from across the other side of the table that this might be corked, which turned out not to be the case. Like the Lynch recognisably Pauillac, lighter and with less stuffing, this was nevertheless a likeable, charming and somewhat rustic mature Pauillac. If mature, old-fashioned left bank claret floats your boat this really delivers…92 pts
La Lagune
A late entrant and again questions were raised as to its integrity and soundness. Like the Haut Batailley open and lose knit, but charming and no more than medium-bodied with some attractive edgy menthol notes…like the HB very enjoyable even if there were ultimately better wines on the table…92 pts
Pontet Canet
This was destined to be the weak link in the line up because in those days Pontet Canet was more akin to a cru bourgeois than a classed (fifth) growth. I had a little bet to myself that this wine would be k-nackered. Which proved to be the case. Maderized …and corked too NR
Montrose
Opened as a back-up this was also corked unfortunately
Lafaurie Peyraguey 2007
Absolutely superb…I would say 94 pts
Footnote: 1985 Chateau Latour, double magnum, released from the Chateau in 2025 to celebrate my friend Jono’s 40th, 4/12/25.
To say that the wine was pristine would be an understatement. Likewise to say it was in the perfect spot would be also an understatement. This wine had the poise, majesty, gravitas and imprimatur of a fully mature Latour, with a gorgeous, medium-bodied and seductive attack of ripe berry fruit, with cigar box, tobacco and cedar notes. It has such supreme elegance and effortless refinement and grace, with a tad still of residual grippy tension…97 pts…even though Latour has sometimes been seen to have been behind some its first growth rivals in this vintage this is right up there with the best experiences of the 1985 vintage I have had.
Thursday’s line up (ex-Latour)
Second pour of Latour - the beauty of d-mags
