Cool minty top note on pop and pour. Open the barn doors to a profile of old planks, saddle leather, hay and a kiss of horse sweat. Tobacco and cedar box. Palate is classic, linear, cool climate, then with air starts to fan out with dry earthy notes, brambly blackberry compote, mint paste and finishes with a sweet-tart chalky residue that streaks the tongue. Solid structure to this wine, balanced lively acids and tannins fully resolved. Definitely a blood orange note in the backend, reminiscent of the skies tonight on my sunset beach cruise. An Alfert wine for sure. (94 pts.)
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Wow. I drank my last one of these many, many years ago. Sounds like it is doing as well if not better then my last bottle.
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Hey Robert, this was one of my early buys into red Bdx. Bought a six pack of this 30 years ago. Still have two left, maybe I should try one soon. Sounds good
Wow, you have incredible restraint!
Cordier was magical in the 1980s. Probably my favorite Bordeaux of all time. And that does not necessarily mean the greatest Bordeaux that I have ever had, but instead the ones that are so dead square in my wheelhouse, they just make me a happy man. I still think the 1986 Meyney is the greatest QPR ever. And then the 1986 GL is probably the best non-First Growth that I have had. Ok maybe that’s some exaggeration but it’s up there with 89/90 Montrose, 89/90 Lynch Bages, 89 Pichon Baron, et al.
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I remember trying these wines on release while in my early-enthusiast California phase, and how put off I was by the animal and funk. Pretty cool how preferences evolve.
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88s were pretty tough on release, too. These wines needed a lot of time in the bottle.
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Sounds great and the photos are superb!
Gilman did a vintage retrospective. He seems to have really liked what he tasted. My only recent bottle was the second wine of château Lafleur, and it was delightful
89 Meyney was my epiphany Bordeaux. Went through cases around the turn of the millennium.
Loved Cordier. No doubt they’d be considered unsanitary today.
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Nice note, I may seek some of these out. That decade for Cordier wines, and Bordeaux in general, was magical.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well some ‘88s have held up in light of their early reputation for being tough and stern with not enough fruit. That structure seems to have preserved them well while the fruit has hung in there. They won’t satisfy those looking for fruit as the centerpiece, however.
One that’s been drinking great for me lately is ‘88 Lynch Bages.
Exactly, but for palates likes ours, it’s heavenly.
I actually drank the remaining third of a bottle last night. All I did was put a Recork in it and put it into the regular refrigerator, was really curious whether it would survive. It remained excellent. I’m not sure I would try this for more than 24 hours, however, on an older bottle like this.
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Maybe my favorite Gruaud ever, at least based on consistency over multiple bottles. Love it and need to crack one sooner than later.
Quite the sunsets too. Where is that?
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Vero Beach. The north side of the barrier island riding the Jungle Trail, which parallels the intercoastal. A beautiful stretch of earth.
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