WTN: Lunch Bags

1985 Chateau Lynch-Bages Pauillac
I bought six bottles of this when it was first released. I still had one left and the other day I decided to open it. At first release it was not the sort of rough, tannic monster that young grand cru Bordeaux can be. It was approachable and very pleasant. The line on it from the critics was that it didn't have the structure needed for long-term ageing and should be enjoyed now. Ten years later I opened another bottle. It had matured a bit and improved considerably. It was still approachable and very pleasant. My assessment was that it should be enjoyed now and probably didn't have the structure needed for long-term ageing.

So here we are 41 years after the harvest. It has the brick-red color of old Bordeaux but it's still an intense red. It hasn't gone pale. It has a bountiful and wonderful mature aroma. The flavors are very complex, surprisingly intense for such an old wine, and everything is in perfect balance. It was a delight to drink when young, it was a delight to drink at 10 years, and it's a delight to drink now. Triple Larry.

BTW, it seems to lack the structure needed for more extended ageing, so you should probably drink it now.

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

I love ‘85 Bordeaux. All about balance.

Agreed. The '85 Pichon-Lalande is no slouch, either. I haven't opened one lately. Encouraged by the '85 Lunch Bags I probably will soon.

-Paul W.

1985 Lynch-Bages Pauillac
[...]
So here we are 46 years after the harvest. It has the brick-red color of old Bordeaux but it's still an intense red. It hasn't gone pale. It has a bountiful and wonderful mature aroma. The flavors are very complex, surprisingly intense for such an old wine, and everything is in perfect balance. It was a delight to drink when young, it was a delight to drink at 10 years, and it's a delight to drink now. Triple Larry.

Am I missing something here? Lovely note, regardless.

You're not missing anything. Bad math on my part. That should read 41 years. I'll correct the posting. Thanks.

-Paul W.

Thanks for the inspiration - still have a bottle of 1970 I had better get to, and some 82 I better finish off - both are in my Fall/Winter 'to be drunk' list now. Also some 1970 Lynch, Montrose and Ducru. Should be a good winter!

The 1970s were before my time in the wine world, but I do have various 1980s Bordeaux that I'm getting to. 1985 Lynch-Bages was the first. Alas, the bottle I just reviewed was my last of that wine.

-Paul W.

I think that the first vintage I collected was 1982 but I filled in at every chance I got, with 1970, 75, 78, 79 etc. Still have one bottle of 1964 Trotanoy that I am wondering when to pop, but that's my oldest Bordeaux.

1982 was the first Bordeaux vintage that I collected. I got six bottles each of Mouton and Pichon Lalande. I opened one of the Moutons ten years later and was so disappointed by it that I sold off the rest of the bottles at auction. I still have some of the '82 Pichon Lalande.

-Paul W.

'82 was the first vintage I collected, too, although our purchasing power in that era wasn't great. We bought the '82 La Lagune, Potensac, Lynch Bages and Gruaud-Larose (our splurge). The Gruaud-Larose we drank ca. 2000 and I'm sure that it was still too young even then.

Oops! In checking my 1982 holdings I find that I have one bottle of 1982 Wegeler-Deinhard Bernkasteler Bratenhöfchen Riesling Auslese. Now I'm afraid to try it - hate leaving wines too long!

Sweet German rieslings from MSR and the Rheingau can last a lot longer than one might think.

-Paul W.

I think 1982 was a good not great vintage in most of Germany (David can correct me if I am wrong), and while I'd have more confidence in a 1983 my money would be on it being alive (if not lively). But not a producer I know,

My first "wow" wine was a 1982 Gloria in about 1991/1992, so missed buying any release wines. But have since backfilled quite a few, with good results if from good provenance.

[David M. Bueker]

Given the vintage, the vineyard, and the producer I am not so confident in Bill’s ‘82 Auslese.