Moncharm Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1986

Well what can I say about Lafite Rothschild that hasn’t already been said? Not much it would seem! Although I have dubbed it “The smiling wine” as quite simply put, every single sip from the glass made me elated with joy and caused me subsequently to grin like a Cheshire cat. It is the connoisseur’s wine of choice and now, I understand why. Although I have drunk  lesser vintages before such as the very hard 1994 ( nearly 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and a good wine, although pretty much uninspiring if I’m honest),I had never had the pleasure until now, to taste one of Lafite’s better vintages. I think that any wine fanatic like myself should find the time( and the money!) to taste at least  one good or great vintage of Lafite in their lifetime. I had a eureka moment with this bottle and I remember it vividly. It was along the lines of “Ah this is what all the fuss is about” or “Now I understand why these wines command such high prices”.

Lafite’s director Christophe Salin describes the wine as being so elegant, approachable and drinkable, “that you will have a problem, as your guests will always want more”. I had this problem. The wine was certainly approachable, almost too approachable and I can comprehend what Christophe was talking about. So much so that I needed to purchase a magnum to satisfy the thirst of only four guests drinking the Lafite 1986.

Tasting Notes Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1986 (75cl)

"The Lafite 1986 really sings on the palate"

Colour: Very deep garnet purple colour with no signs of bricking at the rim (this still has years ahead of it)

Nose: Classic notes of cedar (more so after a few hours) and yet quite floral. Very pleasant on the nose indeed.

Palate: Plenty of dark fruit and cassis. A fantastic length of palate with flawlessly integrated silky smooth tannins. This is a wine to remember that just oozes sheer class I cannot overstate that enough.

Comments: Really sings on the palate with subtle elegance, it’s good. In fact it’s very very good without being overstated, brash, bold or in your face. The Frank Sinatra of wines. I prefer wines like these, the wine almost knows it’s so good it doesn't need to shout about it. It just is! Sheer elegance, class and good taste personified. For me it is well up there with Pichon Lalande 1982 (my favorite Bordeaux thus far) if not better if that’s possible?

99/100


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Moncharm Chateau Lynch Bages 1997 Tasting

I had the good fortune to be allowed to taste a very small glass of this wine on my lunch break here at Moncharm today. The Lynch Bages is ruby red with no sign of bricking at the rim. Although 1997 is not the greatest vintage across the board, this Fifth growth Pauillac is not disappointing and is still quite pleasant to drink now. I can imagine it pairing with any red meat quite well.  The nose is full of cassis-cedar and spice: typically Pauillac here and no great surprise. The taste is very acidic upon entry, almost too much so, as it overpowers the wine a bit however, there is a fruity blackcurrant on the palate with hardly any tannin.This wine is ready to drink and in my opinion should be consumed fairly soon.

Moncharm  

Moncharm Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2003 tasting

Side by side the Mouton Rothschild 2003 & Pavie 2000

I tasted this alongside the second bottle of Chateau Pavie 2000 with my colleagues at Moncharm accompanied by a lovely rib eye steak. I have to say the Mouton suited the steak a lot better and I must confess I spent most of the main course captivated by it. I was surprised by how well it was drinking which is of course rare for a Mouton this young, although it had a long time in the decanter beforehand which no doubt helped its cause.

The nose offers up fabulous nuances of black fruit, coffee and a hint of leather. On the palate this wine is very seductive almost putting me into a trance like state with plenty of cassis and blackcurrant showing and a powerful finish with tantalizingly silky tannins. It is not that often that I get a chance to drink Mouton Rothschild and I would go so far as to say this is easily one of my favorites from the bottles I have drunk. This bottle really made me work very hard to delve into its structure and complexity which was nothing short of sheer class. It was also the winner of the night for me, only just beating the Chateau Pavie.

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Moncharm Chateau Pavie 2000 Tasting

I have tasted this beautiful wine twice. Once over a Sunday lunch, which consisted of roast Gressingham duck, and again over dinner with friends from Moncharm at a restaurant, accompanied by rib eye steak. The wine tasted consistently over both tastings although I personally think that the Gressingham duck was much better company for the Pavie than rib eye steak because the spiciness of the Pavie complimented the gameness and richness of the Gressingham duck  perfectly. A simply stunning combination. 

At first the Pavie tasted very bold and upfront in the glass, almost  like a Pommerol. It was massive and very complex. The nose was of huge fruit and cherries. The colour was unbelievably dark and the wine itself was so rich and concentrated it was almost port like. After a good few hours in the decanter ,the Pavie had evolved marvellously into a very sophisticated wine that was really starting to show its elegance  and had shrugged off the upfront style it was showing when first opened. It was starting to show its finesse.

The nose was showing  an earthy spice,turmeric and garam masala. It should also be noted that at 13.5% this is extremely alcoholic for a bottle of Bordeaux.

On the palate the wine has a lovely herbaceous taste with raspberries, raisins and a slight smokey feel which, as I said earlier, complimented the duck so well. It is so concentrated it is almost treacle like and oh! so sweet. Everything is in balance here and I only assume in years to come this wine will get better and better.

All in all a simply stunning bottle of wine that I will definitely drink again at some point if I am lucky enough, the taste simply lingers on the tongue. However to get the best out of the bottle I would recommend opening at least 4 hours prior to consumption.    

Note: In accordance with floydtp’s notes on cellartracker.com I agree these have been the toughest tasting notes I have written to date as the wine simply keeps evolving in the glass almost continuously. It will be really interesting to have a glass in 20 years’ time.

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Chateau Lynch Bages 1982 Tasting

I first tasted this British favorite on a Thursday evening coupled with a beautiful rib of beef cooked on the barbeque: the two complimented each other perfectly! The bottle was absolutely flawless which was pretty impressive considering it was a duty paid bottle that had no verifiable provenance however it came at a bargain price and would have been rude not to buy it! In hindsight I did not regret this decision one bit.  The second time I tasted this I was very kindly invited to a friends house for dinner again it was accompanied by beef.

Both times the Lynch produced consistent results on the palate and was a very dark and dense rich purple in colour slightly amber around the rim of the glass signifying that it is beginning to mature.The nose reminded me of opening the wonderful fresh box of cigars a friend kindly bought me from Cuba and my mouth was filled with a delicious spicy taste followed by fragrant blackcurrent. If you have a bottle of this I would recommend that you consume it in the next few years as it is most certainly drinking fabulously right now. 

Lynch Bages 1982 Cork

"The Lynch Bages 1982 is drinking beautifully right now"

Tasting Notes        

Lynch Bages 1982 Bottle (75cl)

Time Opened:7.30pm

Colour:Dark purple in colour, with some bricking

Nose: Massive fruit, tobacco, cedar and an earthy spice   

Comments:

“This classy elegant Pauillac is spicy, full and chunky”

“Very vibrant and powerful”

Final Comments:

Considering the market price of this wine right now, I would highly recommend you to pick up a bottle of this before it is all gone as it is quite simply an absolute bargain and punches way above its weight as a fifth growth. Its essential Bordeaux drinking.   

Moncharm