My wife, and Todd, say that I have this tendency. I think I was just waxing philosophically and with a touch of hyperbole tossed in.
And clearly Howard missed the point. And the points! All 94 of them. 
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Well, 94 points is higher than Leve gives it but I think a bit higher would be more appropriate, although, yet again, I donât do points.
I knocked off a point for the drying, clipped finish. These were excellent, original owner bottles.
My hierarchy on recent tastes:
82 - 98 pts
86 - 96-97 pts.
85 - 95-96 pts.
89 - 94-96 pts. (I have had three bottles this year)
88 - 94 pts.
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You could just type âlifelessâ and save yourself some key strokes!
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I said there were three exceptions. The 1989 and there are 2 of them are on the list, 1985 and 1996. The 1996 may be the wine of the vintage.
The rest unfortunately do follow the paradigm.
Mark, Iâll go track down some 1996, whatâs your recommendation on the drinking window?
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Just beginning to enter early drinking, but will need a few years to hit full maturity.
Robert, you and I have discussed in other threads on our mutual love to the decade 1980 in Bordeaux. Nice to read your impressions on this one.
I was actually going to suggest the same thing Mark just did above. Itâs been a few years since Iâve had the 1996 LLC, but my recollection is a profile that has more in common with what I love from the 80s than the stylistic shift toward modernity you describe. Iâd recommend you try one.
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We enjoyed a 1990 Chateau Potensac yesterday which I believe is made by the same team of LLC. Iâm glad I am old and was able to enjoy this era of Bordeaux and still have a few in the cellar, they just donât make them like this any longer. I also brought a 2018 Ch. Lanessan which I didnât care for but was drunk by my family.
I am sorry, I just donât see your issues with the 1982, 1986 and 1990. These are just fabulous wines. It is pretty hard to disagree about Bordeaux with both you and Jeff but somehow I manage to do it. Guess that is why I consider Bordeaux to be a minefield.
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If I had to guess, when you are your fatherâs age, it will still be good.
I think thatâs going to extremes, Howard. Among classic Bordeaux, Bordeaux is not a minefield at all. Here weâre just nitpicking differences with a château. It appears we all seem to like very much. Perhaps Iâm more than others. Itâs not like comparing Lynch Bages to Pavie.
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the 1982 LLC remains one of my alltime favorites , have also enjoyed the 89 and 90âŚWill be serving the 86 tomorrow nightâŚmy son in lawâs birth year ,wish me luck
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Robert, I have in the last two months drunk 1996 Leoville Barton, Latour, Haut Brion, and one other. Iâm away from my bottles and notes so donât remember the 4th. They are all very good. The wines have seemed to relax a good bit. The drinking window seems to be opening. I bet many of them, based on these examples, will go for decadesâŚ
My biggest problems with Bordeaux is knowing which estates are Lynch Bages and which are Pavies. For example, what is Troplong Mondot right now. I have heard they have done from the latest harvesting property to one of the earliest. And, the other way, rarely does a vintage go bay without you telling me that some property has gone to the dark side.
But, when someone loves the 1975 (which I love as well), but tells me the 1982, 1986, and 1990 have sticks up their butts, I wonder what on earth they are talking about. To me, in particular the 1986 is similar to the 1975 in style but has a lot more fruit.
Look, there are vintages of LLC that I donât love. The 1979 was really good young, but did not age well. I lliked the 1970, but thought it was the weakest of the three Leovilles that vintage.
Really Howard. You have mastered Burgundy but have problems with Bordeaux?!
To complain that some chateaux are changing and some are reassessing given climate, is mirrored in Burgundy, and given the complexity of that region it is far more difficult to figure out. Bordeaux is relatively simple in comparison.
I am sorry that we are not in sync over those vintages of Las Cases. I can deal with it, and will leave them open to you, and promise we will not be competing.
Letâs also clarify the 1975 vintage. Right Bank was very successful, and doesnât have the superhard tannins of the Medoc. The wines with more Merlot on the Left Bank were more successful, Palmer, Lalande etc but overall like Graves is hit and miss.
My top five holdings in red Burgundy are:
- Truchot - Never had a bad one. Certainly, never had one with its stick up its butt.
- Rossignol-Trapet - Never had a bad one. Never had one that smelled like a sweaty athlete.
- Jadot - Stopped buying them because Jacques Lardiere retired and have not liked wines from his successor as much. The Lardiere reds were very consistent.
- Dublere. Possibly less consistent, but his reds tend to be very beautiful.
- Chandon de Briailles - Fabulous producer. Love their wines. When I bought these, they were great values.
Yes, when I have tried new producers in the past (and likely in the future), I have liked some more and others less. But, for my favorite producers, I donât see the types of swings you do with LLC.
If you want to choose half a dozen producers and stick with them, I think you can probably find them without too much trouble.
Just for the left bank
Montrose
Pichon Lalande
Lynch Bages
Issan
Ducru Beaucaillou
Latour.
Branaire Ducru.
Bear in mind that alcohol levels have gone up 1-1.5% on average in both Bordeaux and Burgundy, so the nature is being distorted.
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Look, I care about climate change (drive an EV and have solar panels) but what does distorted mean? Little Ice Age (LIA) | Britannica
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My least favorite âgoodâ Left Bank vintages of the past 50 years. Because they are similarly hard and charmless.