Chateau Margaux 1986

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 1986 Chateau Margaux is one of the dark horses of the vintage. It has an exquisite bouquet that is now fully mature, with a mixture of red and black fruit, violets, pastilles and hints of cold stone. It blossoms in the glass, gaining intensity all the time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, a more robust Margaux as you would expect given the vintage, clearly with firm backbone, more straight-laced than the 1985 or 1989. Yet there is wonderful delineation and focus here. If you seek strictness and classicism in a wine, then this is the place to come, plus there is superb mineralité and tension on the ferrous finish. Perhaps a little overlooked in recent years, the 1986 Margaux comes highly recommended for those who love the property. This is a wine finally coming of age. Tasted July 2016."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This has matured fully but still clings to a slightly rugged feel, with a briar patch note framing the core of dried currant, blackberry and bitter cherry fruit. Twinges of alder, plum skin and cedar fill in the finish, which shows a decidedly grippy edge of smoldering charcoal. Impressive for depth and power, though this very tannic Margaux may never yield fully to the inherent elegance of its terroir. It can certainly handle more cellaring.--Non-blind Château Margaux vertical (December 2013). Drink now through 2030."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Karmingranat, zarter Ockerrand, Wasserrand. In der Nase einladende Süße, dunkle Beeren und feine Schokolade, feine Minze, saftiges Cassis, facettenreiches Bukett. Komplex, sehr gut eingebundenes, aber noch präsentes Tannin, das im Abgang deutlich zum Tragen kommt, trocknet im Finish leicht aus, es fehlt ein klein wenig an der finalen Frucht, ein guter Essensbegleiter, monolithischer Stil."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Most wines improve with age, provided they have all the right stuff. Here, you have a wine with all the right stuff, but the hard nature of its tannins and austere character is becoming the dominant force in this wine. This is an old school classic with a stern nature, great nose, power and hard tannins that overwhelms the fruit. If the austere nature of the vintage captures your fancy, you will like this a lot more than I did."

WEINWISSER: "Der Jahrgang gehört ja zu den verschlossensten überhaupt, was in Fachkreisen und bei Freaks regelmässig die Frage aufwirft, wann und ob er überhaupt irgendwann in die perfekte Trinkreife kommt. Im Duft schon eher kühl und weniger kommunikativ als seine beiden extravaganten Vorgänger. Im Mund sehr klassisch, viel Struktur, die feste Tanninstruktur ist noch griffig und zeigt weitere Reserven. Dennoch mit schöner Eleganz, fast von zeitloser Dimension. Ein Klassiker, der zu einem kräftigen Essen alle seine Vorteile ausspielen dürfte."

JAMES SUCKLING: "This was really tannic when it was young and is still tannic and hard. Full yet lacks some fruit. Mushroom. have tasted many times but suggest drinking."