TN: 86 Grange and two others

Jon Reuter · Post by **Jon Reuter** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 2:28 pm

Howdy all,

After much anticipation I finally opened my sole bottle of 86 Grange. A classmate and I had originally purchased the bottle with the intention of drinking it upon our graduation from graduate school. This past weekend, several years late, we pulled the cork. The 86 Lafite will have to wait until we've been tenured (knock on wood).

1986 Grange Hermitage - this has got to be the most tannic wine I've ever tasted! Double decanted back into the bottle about one hour before dinner and then consumed over two and a half hours. The lighter-than-expected red color and the plum aromas coming out of the decanter had me thinking this bottle was ready to go. Wrong! This is a big and brooding monster that demands another five to ten years in the cellar. When poured at the restaurant, the nose and palate were both muted. By the end of the evening, the wine began to come out of its shell, but was probably hours away from really shining. I don't have a lot of experience with Grange, but towards the end of dinner, the 86 Grange was beginning to remind of the 80 and 82 vintages of Grange -- aromatically complex, dense, with layers and layers and layers of fruit, licorice, mocha, etc. In fact, I remember sticking my nose into the glass and exclaiming "It finally smells like Grange" -- a comment that the couple sitting at an adjoining table seemed to have a hard time making any sense of. Next Grange I buy and drink will be an 80 or 82 -- and the wine will spend substantially more time in the decanter.

2001 Dutschke Oscar Semmler - we opened this up so that we'd have something to drink while the Grange opened up; we would have been much better served with another aged Shiraz, but my classmate was keen to try the Semmler; sadly, it came across as quite candied and unstructured next to the Grange; I've raved about this wine on previous occasions; context is everything.

2001 Moss Wood Chardonnay - really, really good; the oily texture I associate with Meursault, good ripe fruit, and a long steely/minerally finish. I'm not looking to buy much wine these days but this is a heckuva good Chardonnay for $30.

That's it for now.

Jon

markg · Post by **markg** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 2:38 pm

Nice notes Jon.

I agree with your estimate of the Grange. Needs quite a few more years going by the one we had at dinner a few weeks ago (thanks Gary

), it really started to pick up speed after a few hours decanting, but could have done with ages more (say 12+ hours).

michel · Post by **michel** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 2:56 pm

Jon,
thanks for the 1986 Grange notes- i have two for my 2 year old daughter so will leave them a bit longer. :lol:

I had the 2001 Oscar upon release and liked it a lot. Recently I had it and it is sweet candied and one dimensional. I dont know but I will not rush to try one again for a couple of years.
regards
michel

Von Ridler · Post by **Von Ridler** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 6:59 am

Jon,
Thanks for the notes I was thinking of pulling the cork on a 1986 this year and was wondering after decanting how long to let stand. After reading your notes will probably leave for a few years.
Am I right in saying that I think I read some of the 1986 had cork problems?

Regards,
Ron.

michel · Post by **michel** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 9:45 am

Von,
I emailed Penfolds and they said it was only certain ones or something to that effect and said for 750 ml bottles there was no probs and not to worry or come to the clinic unless there was a noticable problem.
michel :shock:

Blake · Post by **Blake** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 10:42 am

I am not surprised with your notes on the 86. I had one a few months back. I decanted about 3 hours before dinner. It is a truly massive wine. It actually filled the kitchen and livingroom with wonderfully spicy berry aromas ! It is a lovely drink. You can immediately recognise that it is superior wine. Unlike you I found the fruit and tannin well balanced. But I must admit to being slightly underwhelmed by it over dinner. Whilst I am certain all the components are there, it was just far too young. At least 10 years too young in my opinion. It was just a puppy. Although it is always difficult to predict these things, I would not be at all surprised if it lived another 30 years.

By way of comparison, the 76 (a Penfolds vintage of comparable quality to 86) I had in January this year was just about perfect. At age 28 everything had come together with that wine. It had another 10 years or more left in it by my reckoning. Bottle variation can be frustrating with wine of this age, but the bottle that I had could not have been better. In fact, as I stated on the night, I will be perfectly happy and not the least bit surprised if that bottle of 76 is the best wine I ever have the pleasure of tasting.

Blake

Hang onto the 86s !

Von Ridler · Post by **Von Ridler** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 12:05 pm

Michel,
Thank you for your reply regarding 1986 corks, will leave my 1986 for a while and probably open one of my 1995 this year.
When last tried over a year ago the 1995 Grange appeared to be coming to hand quite quickly.

Regards,
Ron.