Description
Gabriel
| When to drink: 1990 to 2030 | |
|---|---|
| Valuation | 18/20 |
| There are many great wines from the 1981 vintage, but almost nobody realises it because everyone is jumping after the so-called "great vintages", although it is precisely the individual values that make Bordeaux wines interesting again and again. For me, it was practically always at an unquestionable 18/20 point level. I have made a hobby of confusing the Margaux with the Latour in the 81 blind tastings: Powerful, concentrated nose with deep spice. Full-bodied on the palate, cranberries, cinnamon, terroir, lateral astringency, still seems closed at the moment. Even after ten years in the bottle, still dense, closed nose with Cabernet dominance. Almost reductive on the palate with compressed extract that leaves behind a fine spicy bitterness, absolutely youthful, great potential. 03: Ripe garnet; rich in the centre, brick-red shimmer on the outside. The bouquet is more reminiscent of a Pauillac and shows gentle truffle notes. The palate is also not the Margaux you would expect, as the structure is bourgeois with fleshy contours. A great wine for a rustic meal. Will keep for a long time. Decant for half an hour. 07: Very dark colour, rich in the middle. Initially a cool Cabernet bouquet, notes of geraniol, deeply spicy, gently dry but with plenty of Médoc flavour. Firm on the palate, full, muscular body, lots of flesh, showing an almost brute arrogance due to a certain dryness in the grainy tannins, which, however, suit the nature of this burly wine, further potential is present. (18/20). 15: Magnum. Rich, dark purple colour, showing only certain reflections. The nose begins with certain traces of Bret, or rather - because it is a magnum - it could also be a certain reduction. Very concentrated and also quite profound. The palate is full-bodied, impressive and not yet fully mature. A great Margaux, not particularly fine, but not masculine either. At most, if you have to judge it as a Margaux. The finish is particularly long and persistent. This magnum: 19/20. 17: A double magnum decanted perhaps not long enough as a table wine at the Farnsburg. The wine had a lot of power and also - for a Margaux - a certain arrogance. But perhaps it was also due to the fact that all the other wines in the tasting were much, to very much older. (18/20). 17: Bright garnet colour, little ripeness, transparent rim. The bouquet shows a refreshing, albeit slightly underripe Cabernet note, liquorice, ribwort, nuances of cold smoke. In the second attack, nutshells and eucalyptus, reminiscent of a great Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. After 36 years, this Margaux, from a difficult vintage, is still incredibly present. The palate is distinctive, masculine, showing rough edges. It has only developed slowly and today does not present itself as a fine Premier Cru, but rather as a patient food wine. It will easily keep for another 20 years. (18/20). | |
