As Helen and I continue to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, I decided to push the boat out a bit further than the 1986 Chateau Meyney we enjoyed last night. So I pulled one of our all time favorite wines: a 1986 Chateau Gruaud Larose.
As I've had occsaion to note before, Gruaud-Larose has a special place in my heart, as it was the first classed growth Bordeaux that I drank on a regular basis. In the 1980s, Gruaud-Larose was churning out one great vintage after another, so I loaded up with it. I've got many happy memories of bottles that now would be past their prime, such as the eminently satisfying 1981s.
In 1986, Gruaud-Larose made a wine for the ages. I've been slowly working my way through a case for years, waiting for it to come around, so that I could use it as my anniversary dinner wine. In 2004, it was spectacular, but still needed a bit of time. In early 2005, it was still remarkably youthful. In 2006, at age 20, it was "finally very drinkable."
In 2011, it was very good, but not outstanding. Indeed, this bottle was somewhat less satisfying than last night's Meyney. Decanted off fairly heavy sediment about half an hour before service, the bouquet was muted. On the palate, however, the wine was excellent. Deep dried black fruit flavors, coupled with cedar, tobacco, and leather.
One expects a certain amount of bottle variation with a wine of this age. With 3 1986 Gruards left in my cellar, it'll be interesting to see if those bottles show more impressively.
Grade: B++
