1994 Bordeaux

I bought 1994 Bordeaux futures and every once in a while I try a bottle hoping that the vintage will ultimately come around. Last night we had a dinner with 1994 Bordeaux as our theme. We sampled the following:Cos, Montrose, Pichon Lalande (Comtesse), La Mission Haut Brion, Ducru Beaucaillou, Pontet Canet, Angelus, Margaux and Latour. It was a very difficult evening, as virtually all of the wines were very tannic and hard. Without going into detail, the group consensus ranked the wines as follows (in descending order of preference): Ducru, Margaux, Latour, La Mission Haut Brion, Pichon Lalande, Angelus, Cos, Pontet Canet and Montrose (a defective bottle). Agt the top, the Ducru had some elegance and would score approximately 90 points. At the bottom end, the Pontet Canet was an 80 or so.

We double decanted all of the wines approximately two hours before consuming them. The air helped, but not enough. The Margaux and Latour had some promise for the future, but none of the rest of the wines seemed to show much promise for substantial improvement in the future. I have had many other bottles of the Pontet Canet and felt that this bottle was a bad example. While the wines were enjoyable with food, I think I might have to give up on this vintage (at least for a few years). Next time I think we'll move on to see how the 1995's are doing.

On the plus side, we had a great bottle of NV Dom Ruinart rose, followed by an even better bottle of 1996 Charles Heidsick rose with some amazing jamon iberico bellota brought back by a friend on a recent trip to Paris.

While there do not seem to be frequent wine tasting note posts, I would be happy to relate my wine drinking experiences in the future, if others on the board have any interest.

I'm interested.

Why so did you invest so heavily in 1994? Or do you do this much in Bordeaux every year?

Would love to hear about them!

After generally miserable years in 1991, 1992 and 1993 I was anxious to add a few bottles to my cellar. As I recall, early impressions of the vintage were generally pretty positive. Robert Parker scored most of the wines around 90 or so, and that was the best information available at the time. Now there are websites compiling various critics opinions (see http://bertrand.leguern.club.fr/blg/pri ... 05&lang=en for example). Buying the vintage seemed like a good idea at the time. Additionally, most futures were probably closer to about $20 a bottle at the time, so it wasn't quite the financial commitment it is today. A friend convinced me that it was a good idea to buy 2 cases of each wine, as one would probably be consumed before the wine was mature and one would be left when it was actually ready to drink.

deesher wrote:Additionally, most futures were probably closer to about $20 a bottle at the time....

$20 a bottle for the wines you list there? Where were you buying??? Are you talking about their first wine or their second wine? (Margaux or Pavillon Rouge, for example). I know we're talking about 13 years ago or so, but still...

A friend of mine provided the Latour and Margaux. I think the 1994 first growths were about $65 at the time. I bought a 1995 first growth for $960 a case (I don't usually buy first growths). The Angelus and LMHB were about $35, and everything else was around $20. I bought almost all of my futures through Sam's or from a gentleman named Leonard Solomon at the time. All of the wines were first "wines". The 1995's slightly more expensive, but not much. Even in the much hyped 2000 vintage, I think I spent between $30-35 a bottle on average. Things started getting out of hand with 2003 and became ridiculous in 2005. d5dn't b4y any 2004, but might go back and pick up a few things as the vintage seems to be under rated. Some of the best wines of the vintage (not first growths) are available for $30 to $45. Given the increases associated with 2005, they seem kind of cheap. On the other hand, the 2005 burgundies are supposed to be the best in 20 years and I think there are a lot of lesser known 2005's available at $25 or less. So many choices.

My son was born in 1994, so I bought several cases as futures, including the Ducru and Pichon Lalande. I also got leoville las cases, Meyney, montrose and La dominique. I bought mine at Wine Discount center, and paid 25 for the ducru and 23 for la dominique. The most expensive was the Leoville at 32/bottle. Parker or somebody compared the vintage to 78 and 79, which were 2 of my favorite affordable vintages. They drank great from 1990-2000, so the 94's should be getting there. Since the 94's werent expected to be particularly good agers, I bought some 94 california magnums to save for my son, and I am planning to drink the bordeaux. I wouldnt want them to go bad. I have had a few over the years and I agree with your assessment, though they seemed to be a bit more approachable than you describe. I keep mine in my uncooled basement, which tops out at 68 degrees in the summer, so they may be aging a bit faster than if stored perfectly. Just to be sure, I am planning to try the Ducru and La Dominique tonight.

-Will

deesher wrote:While there do not seem to be frequent wine tasting note posts, I would be happy to relate my wine drinking experiences in the future, if others on the board have any interest.

I'm certainly interested. There are a lot of reasons why I think wine posts aren't as frequent as they might be, in part because it's a hard thing for a lot of people to talk about. I do very much enjoy listening to what others have to say, though. Look forward to reading more.

Cheers,

Aaron

Lots of TN on the wine boards like ebob and WS but it's nice to see different folks post about wine.

I tried the 94 Ducru and La Dominique last night, and I agree that the Ducru needs more time. It was tight and tannic. La Dominique was drinking much better, perhaps becasue the St Emilions have more merlot and so come around sooner. Neither one had a ton of fruit, so I am a bit concerned for the future. I had missed that you tried the Montrose before. That wine usually takes a long time to be ready, so I havent even tried any of mine yet.

-Will