On Tuesday night I hosted a small Ch. Magdelaine vertical for my wine group here in Auckland. Most had never had Magdelaine before. Two maybe three folks had tasted a bottle previously. But none of us had ever had a vertical spanning 30 years. It was educational, fun and very satisfying all round. All were double decanted 1-2 hours before serving. All wines had great fills into the neck. Basically zero ullage in any bottle.
The starter Champagne and Sauternes to finish held up their ends of the bargain admirably.
Apart from a heat damaged / oxidised 1998 they all very showed well, true to the Magdelaine style and true to the vintage character. They were served in pairs; 2011 & 2008, 2006 & 2004, 1998 & 1990, 1989 & 1982.
2004 Doquet Le Mesnil Grand Cru: mature yellow, modest but adequate fizz. Lovely bready, toasty brioche goodness mixed with lemon sherbet and sultana raisins. Deep and rich and long with good acidity. At peak if you like mature vintage champagne, a bit past peak if your prefer more freshness and zip.
2011 Château Magdelaine: dark red, gentle subtle leafiness on the nose gives way to gentle beautiful reds fruits on the palate. Youthful and bright and delicious but overshadowed by the excellent 2008.
2008 Château Magdelaine: dark red, perfumed riper nose than 2011, very youthful but complete. long deep rich dark red plums, a bit of earthy spice. Very impressive now but will be amazing in another 20 years
2006 Château Magdelaine: Dark of the two wines, riper and more direct with plenty of dark fruit and chocolate. Still quite tannnic lovely to drink now but still quite primary and not showing a lot of development at 19 years.Need to wait another 10 years for more complexity to evolve
2004 Château Magdelaine: A lighter style compared to 2006. A bit more leafiness and lighter red fruits. elegant middleweight that is starting to show some maturity. Delicious but not as impactful as the other wines. Better on its own I suspect
1998 Château Magdelaine: Horribly oxidised on the nose, brown brick edge. Heat damaged and or cork failure. Impressive fruit remains still in there but nothing like it could be or should be.
1990 Château Magdelaine: Ah this is more like it. Finally! A mature elegant subtle complex mature Magdelaine (only 35 years young). Fragant and spicy and tons of clean red fruits very pure and intense with layers of flavour. This is damn fine
1989 Château Magdelaine: We thought the 1990 was good but damn the 1989 was even better. Running out of superlativeshere. Like the 1990 also subtle elegant refine and very long but with a bit more fruit and depth and complexity. The best wine so far easily!
1982 Château Magdelaine: Ok we saved the best for last. This was just an excellent bottle show casing the 1982 vintage superbly. The structure of the wine (not the flavours) has become burgundian; silky, delicate and refined. The mid red cherry fruit sang in the mouth and danced on the tongue (mixed metaphor award!). This was a complete wine, pure clean and bright with perfect balance and length and layers of complex flavours. YUM!
1986 Château Rieussec: what a fantastic way to finish the meal. Perfectly clean with zero mushroomy old botrytis notes. Apricots, orange marmalade, gentle oak spice wound together seamlessly. A wonderful bright and fresh mature Sauternes drinking incredibly well.
Château Magdelaine Conclusions.
These are all wonderfully balanced elegant mid weight St Emilions. Never over done or over extracted. The epitome (for me) of wine making that allows the vineyard and vintage speak. Very long running showing effortless vibrancy and purity at 40+ years in the good years. The top wine was the 1982, followed by the 1989 / 1990 pair. The 2006 and 2004 got a wee bit lost in the crowd and the 2008 was triumph and the 2011 was very fine.
A memorable evening with the food at Hugo’s Bistro a perfect match for the wines.
cheers Brodie
