TN: Chateau D'Angludet (Margaux) 1990

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

The impressions on initial decanting were not that favourable (although not because of TCA), but the wine blossomed in decanter over 3 hours or so.

Dark red touching on brown, in colour. Secondary and tertiary fruits – there would have been a fair amount of blackcurrant, plum and red berries in the young wine. The smell of a wooden box that used to hold cigars. Dried herbs (oregano, rosemary). Leather, and Christmas cake.

Palate is well balanced given the advanced age. No fruit sweetness at all, but a fair dollop of dried berry and plummy fruit – not like a jam, but fruit elements or components apparent, and in an attractive way. Some fine tannic grip, and good acid through to the medium length.

Not sure how to rate this wine. There’s a lot of signs of a good wine here, but they’re not combined in the way I would expect for a younger wine. Is it on the decline, or is it in a phase I am not familiar with?

Cheers
Allan

[Ozzie W]

Great TN. It's always a pleasant surprise when a wine that seems over the hill opens up into something so much better.

Not sure how to rate this wine. There’s a lot of signs of a good wine here, but they’re not combined in the way I would expect for a younger wine. Is it on the decline, or is it in a phase I am not familiar with?

Based on the 16 tasting notes on CellarTracker, this wine is on the decline.

[Waiters Friend]

Great TN. It's always a pleasant surprise when a wine that seems over the hill opens up into something so much better.

Not sure how to rate this wine. There’s a lot of signs of a good wine here, but they’re not combined in the way I would expect for a younger wine. Is it on the decline, or is it in a phase I am not familiar with?

Based on the 16 tasting notes on CellarTracker, this wine is on the decline.

Thanks Ozzie. That is my suspicion as well, but I don't have vast experience with wines of this age - and I have also been surprised with Bordeaux particularly that take 3-5 hours to open up. A 1999 Batailley recently came close to going down the sink, and it was only that we forgot the decanter was still there that saw us re-try the wine after 5 hours to find a totally different (and very enjoyable) wine had emerged.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Hi Allan,

Cellaring and assessing wine longevity isn't easy. Quite a number of wine critics when I first started collecting, Parker in particular, didn't get it right. I would be very surprised if this d'Angludet does not live on - well, not this bottle - for many more years. I didn't know this but the d'Angludet changed their name to Angludat in 2008. Their website says this about longevity:

Can be laid down for between 10 to 20 years, while the best vintages will still be providing much pleasure after 50 years.

I have a few bottles of this estate the youngest being a couple of bottles from the '89 vintage.

Cheers ................. Mahmoud.

[Waiters Friend]

Interesting comments, Mahmoud. I look forward to seeing your tasting notes on the older wines.

[asajoseph]

I am saddened that there won't be any 2017 Angludet - it's a chateau that performs at least as well as those on the lower rungs of the Cru Classe scale, and it was definitely one of my candidates for EP purchases this year. But I'd be surprised if it holds up to 30 years ageing, in all but the best vintages, and 1990 was not as good in Margaux as elsewhere on the left bank. That said, your note suggests there's life in the old dog yet - though I'm not sure how much. May be one to get the best of now?

[Mahmoud Ali]

Well I hope that some d'Angludets last more than 30 years. The 1979 d'Angludet was one of my earliest Bordeaux purchases and as with all good wines one never knows for sure how long it will last unless one cellar it. I learned a long time ago that I needed to hold on to wines if I wanted to explore their longevity. Few peole I knew would be doing it. I recall an aquaintance opening a '93 Haut Brion when it was only 15 years old because he thought the fruit was going. However I thought it had the structure to last a whole lot longer. One never knows.

Mahmoud.

[asajoseph]

I'm sure it can. Late last year, we opened a bottle of 1948 Chateau Fontesteau that, while totally tertiary & savoury, had a really interesting liquorice & quinine character. Not a wine that I think you'd expect to last that long, but definitely an interesting experience. And if Fontesteau can do it, I'm sure Angludet can too - having tasted it comparatively against mid-range Cru Classe wines from 2009 & 2010 last year, it more than held its own.

I think old wine often comes down to personal taste - people often seem to assume that older = better, but I do wonder when reading reviews from people like Michael Broadbent of wines over 100 years old, how much they're REALLY enjoying the experience.