This is why we age Bordeaux, this is why we love mature Bordeaux.
So intoxicating, the musky perfume of a classic, mature Bordeaux from a quality vintage like 1990. And so fitting that this wine was such a tremendous value-play back in the day. It really was one of my original epiphany wines in the early 1990s, when I realized my palate really did lean Bordeaux over California. This wine showed beautifully then, and continues to show beautifully today, 32 or so years later.
Classic Graves nose of tobacco, sous bois with a hint of moist decaying leafy matter, camp fire smoke, leather and cassis. Mid-weight on the palate, with a full range of reds to darks. Some grainy texture. Red fruit acid and blood orange citrus more on display than darker sweet notes. Tannins fully resolved. A rustic elegance to this Cru. Such a beauty. A bit of a clipped finish, but come on, it’s an old beauty, ready for an SI cover shot for sure.
I served it blind to friends with the 1990 Haut Brion and LMHB. It was not quite in the same league, but it was not far off. As you say, Robert, one of the greatest ever Bordeaux values
Great report thank you. I picked up 4 of these in 2017. After a year they were gone, classic unfussy well aged Bordeaux. Sounds like they still have a lot of life!
I know a lot of folks here recommend 375s for en premier purchases, and I have a few, but this sells it for me. So easy to get caught up with “what Bordeaux will appreciate in price” and “what will get 99-100 points”, but this note to me is proof of why I need to put more consideration into buying 6,12,24 375s of something for weeknight enjoyment instead of one more trophy bottle. Yes, there’s the storage space, but that’s always going to be a problem .
Indeed. I’ve been saying this for years, if I could swap half of my wines for 375s, I would do this right now. It’s two things, having a lot of quality drinkers that you allow to mature and later enjoy without fuss on a weeknight, and a format that allows you to do this on your own if you want (for example, with me, my wife does not generally drink red wines). I do have a lot of quality value plays, but not enough 375s. Perhaps it’s me, but I have found them harder to find more recently. This part of the collection is actually more important to me than premium or collector wines, as most of us tend to drink regular wines on a daily basis and are not popping (generally), a mature Lalande or Trotanoy on a whim, on a Wednesday.
Robert, my wife and I we went to Troquet in Boston in 2021 and had a half-bottle of 1983 La Louviere after a half-bottle of Krug. The label was not nearly as pristine as yours, and 1990 was certainly a better year, but the bottle was excellent. It was another reminder of how versatile and age-worthy half-bottles are. Nice note on the 1990!
I am going out on a limb here, but I’m ready to call these wines that the innovative team at La Louviere was making here 30+ years ago their “best ever”. The combination of gentle extractions, careful vineyard work, and a narrowly targeted “blending role” for outside consultants has really let the true potential of this once moribund terroir shine through.
I think the 1990 has been the pinnacle of this winery but 1982 and 1983 were damn fine as well. I have to admit that I was thrilled by how well this wind showed out of a 375, as my last bottle a couple of years ago from a 750 was starting to show its age for sure.
CT says I paid $39 in 2006 (Benchmark), but I know somewhere around 2009 during financial crisis I split a lot (mixed 375s and 750s) with John Dawson for less than that.
.