Italiano
My Bordeaux: the grand cru of the 1990s
Yesterday, we saw how the 1990s offered from wonderfully drinkable wines. Now we turn to the Grand Cru!
Médoc means “Land in the Middle” (in medio aquae) and is a peninsula that has the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Gironde estuary to the east. Sitting on the 45th parallel and between these two bodies of water, Médoc has an extremely temperate climate, with alternating warm and cool temperatures, a high humidity and it is protected from western winds by the Landes forest.
The 1990s were distinguished by the 1990 harvest considered by critics to have produced one of the best vintages of the 20th century, for the Rive Gauche. Other great years for this decade include 1996 and 1998. Top wines from this decade have begun to take off and “active” bottle aging has created sensations of very great quality. For those looking for wines of great elegance, on the cusp or limit of superb quality and at a price that is still accessible, the “classic” vintages can today offer great satisfaction.
The area of the Rive Gauche, the left bank of the Gironde River, is more varied compared to the more simple Rive Droit (Right Bank) with its Pomerol and Saint Emilion. The Rive Gauche is divided, for the most part and according to fame, between Margaux (with the celebrated Premier Cru Classé Chateau Margaux), Pauillac (the more famous with its masterpieces Premier Cru Classée Chateau Latour, Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Mouton Rothschild), Graves/Pessac Leognan (with its super Premier Cru Chateau Haut Brion), Saint Julien and Saint Estephe, which has no Premier Cru Classé but some great vintage wines that deserve the highest classification.
This simplification does not fully do justice to the geography of the Rive Gauche but only deals with the principle appellations we will be looking at. In reality, there are eight AOC ones: two appellations regionales (Médoc and Haut Medoc) and six municipal ones (added to the four already mentioned are Listrac and Moulis).
Pomerol 1999 Chateau Le Pin
99/100 - 2800 Euros
An authentic sensorial phenomenon and for me the greatest Le Pin ever tasted and the greatest single-grape Merlot I know, having had with a Petrus on more than one occasion. A bright, luminous and lively color that is still intact after 20 years and maintains a medium concentration. The bouquet is overwhelming with extraordinary notes of cherry jam, prune and underbrush with some scent of hums and cloves on the side and hints of iodine. The mouthfeel is a silk drape, intensely stimulating and almost saturating. A drop you hope would never end with its infinite persistence.
Pauillac Premier Grand Cru Classé 1998 Chateau Latour
97/100 - 600 Euros
A splendid, bright, blatantly youthful ruby color. The bouquet will captivate you with its sensations of wild berry gelatin, very light vegetal notes and those of rose petal, to close with hints of graphite and some intriguing spice. The mouthfeel is distinguished by its salinity and freshness combined with an unusual. Impetuous austerity. From here to eternity…
Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé 1996 Chateau Cheval Blanc
97/100 - 500 Euros
An amazing, luminous, intact and compact ruby color with enchanting scents of fresh marasca cherry, ripe cherry and blueberry jam with a stupendous note of spice and sweet tobacco. The mouthfeel is a jubilation of velvet and fine cloth, broad and voluptuous as only this wine can be. A decidedly sensual wine.
Pomerol 1995 Chateau Petrus
97/100 - 2800 Euro
One of the best Petrus I’ve tasted from this decade. A relatively dense, bold and transparent red-garnet color with truly shocking aromas of mace, bergamot, citron and bramble berry. The mouthfeel is splendidly articulated with an exemplary freshness and truly overwhelming elegance, an extraordinarily “Cabernet-esque” Merlot due to its texture and character. A Petrus must be old to be truly appreciated.
Margaux Premier Grand Cru Classé 1995 Chateau Margaux
96/100 - 600 Euros
A compact ruby color with beautiful, luminous reflections that is amazingly intact. The aromas are lovely and floral, still far from evolved from bottle aging, followed notes of red plum, biter orange, tanned leather and blackcurrant. The mouthfeel has an extreme balance between the acidity and the polished and thick tannins, creating the usual silk drape to be consumed greedily.
Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé 1990 Chateau Ausone
94/100 - 500 Euros
Although not on the same level as the Rive Gauche, 1990 was also an exceptional year for the Rive Droite. The color of this vintage of Ausone, a favorite of Parker’s, is a lively red with only a few garnet reflections. The aroma opens broad and rich in notes of currant and blueberry jam, resin and peony, with whiffs of bark and aromatic herbs. The mouthfeel is complete, relaxed, soft and wrapping.
Pauillac Premier Grand Cru Classé 1990 Chateau Mouton Rotschild
96/100 - 600 Euros
A luminous, ruby color and dense and meaty aromas, unbelievably fruity, it is as if time has stood still, with notes of bramble berry, marasca cherry and currant along with a hint of vanilla, tobacco and cloves. The mouthfeel is very flavorful, with dense, silky, wrapping and generous tannins.
Pessac Leognan Premier Grand Cru Classé 1990 Chateau Haut Brion
97/100 - 900 Euros
An extraordinary synthesis between boldness, austerity and elegance. A lively and intact red color with recognizable notes of pipe tobacco, tanned leather, hide and tar with suffused balsamic sensation with a hint of hot spice, even citrusy. A solemn mouthfeel takes over the palate an embellishes it. The persistence is exasperating.
Pauillac Premier Grand Cru Classé 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild
99/100 - 1000 Euros
A lively, splendid, luminous and very transparent red color and the bouquet is a story to itself with its floral scents, notes of wild berries, hematic hints and balsamic whiffs. The refinedness is extraordinary and over time notes of ancient, oriental spice have evolved. The mouthfeel is amazing due to its texture and how wrapping it is, still youthful yet seraphic and never aggressive. A record persistence and an out of the ordinary drinkability.
