Jeff_Leve:
Robert.A.Jr:
This past year I have also had a ton of 1980s Bordeaux. It categorically remains my favorite decade in Bordeaux. And sadly, I do not think it will be repeated. The profile has changed. Not necessarily for the worse, but the profile is a bit different. Just drinking an 85 Lynch Bages this past weekend next to a 96 Mouton and Lalande, and the stylistic shift is notable. Of course you can make the case that the change is better, purer expression of fruit and a much cleaner profile. But of course, you can also say that some soul is being stripped from the wines in this quest for perfection. None of us are perfect. Our imperfections are what makes character
Happy Holidays!
I am sure this will come as a surprise but, we don’t agree. Yes, wine, like everything in life has changed. With the exception of some members of this board, most of the wine buying and drinking public prefer wines being produced today. And this is from someone that drinks a fair amount of 82 & older BDX throughout the year, and love them. The best are the stars of my cellar!
Today, all over the world, though my comments are Bordeaux-centric, wines are cleaner, (no Pyrazines), tannins are softer, rusticity has been replaced with more elegance, and refinement. Now, fruits offer greater purity, and wines do not require decades to become civilized. They drink well much younger.
The downside is prices have escalated. And yes, for some wine lovers, the loss of Pyrazines and rusticity is a turnoff.
I get it. I find the sexy looks of the best cars from the 60s and 70s to be unequaled today, even if cars drive better today, my heart still skips a beat when I spot one of those stunners on the road. But that’s progress for you.
Again, I disagree with both of you. I think 1982 and 2016 may be the best vintages of my buying lifetime. I also love wines from vintages like 1970, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2016 and other vintages. [Come back to me in several years for more recent vintages.] The poorer wines from the different eras have very different flaws, but when I had 2016 Pichon Lalande soon after the 1982 at a Panos tasting a few years ago, I saw the 2016 as a clear successor to the 1982. TN: Pichon Lalande dinner with Nicolas Glumineau - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers
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