TN: 1982 Gruaud-Larose
 

Spurred by John Taverner's note today, and by the happy coincidence of
our celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary today, we opened a bottle
of the '82 Gruaud-Larose with a dinner of broiled rack of lamb with
fingerling potatoes. As I mentioned in John's thread, the provenance of
this bottle was as iffy as it gets in our household: Jean had given it
to me for my 27th birthday in 1986, and it had sat in my apartment on
Manhattan for 2 years before traveling West to Berkeley in a rented
truck, sitting in our crawlspace in Berkeley for 18 months, before being
flown to Indiana, where it has slumbered since.

1982 Ch. Gruaud-Larose
color: ruby red with a light hint of brick at the edges
nose: initially, the "Cordier funk", later giving way to pencil lead,
berry fruit, and herbs
palate: medium body, meaty, herbal, minerals, pencil lead, solid core of
fruit, good balanced acidity and a rich finish

As John T. mentioned, the tannins in this wine are gone: it is as smooth
and supple as one could hope. Also noteworthy, though, in this era of
blockbuster claret, is the incredible sense of balance that this wine
displays: it is big but graceful. It went splendidly with the simple
lamb preparation and didn't change noticeably over the course of a 1 1/2
hour dinner. IMO, no hurry to drink this up, but I also don't see it
getting any better. OTOH, if your G-L has been stored at a constant 50
F/10 C since purchase, YMMV.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

1982 Gruaud-Larose
 

.. IMO, no hurry to drink this up, but I also don't see it
> getting any better. OTOH, if your G-L has been stored at a constant 50
> F/10 C since purchase, YMMV.

Mark, congrats and the 82 GL is a wonderful wine. Perhaps I was too hard in
saying its on the slide, " will not improve " is what I should have said.

Had my 60th bash y'day so feeling a little jaded today, had 35 friends and
family to Sunday lunch at the local restaurant, house fizz, NZ SB with
asparagus and a OZ cab with the beef.

It is my true 60th birthday today, we still do not know what to do, having
been working hard for y'day.

I have 96 Dom in the fridge and 88 Mouton ready to go, but after a round of
golf and lazy lunch, may end up with a beer!!!

John T

TN: 1982 Gruaud-Larose
 

On Apr 29, 10:33�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Spurred by John Taverner's note today, and by the happy coincidence of
> our celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary today, we opened a bottle
> of the '82 Gruaud-Larose with a dinner of broiled rack of lamb with
> fingerling potatoes. *As I mentioned in John's thread, the provenance of
> this bottle was as iffy as it gets in our household: Jean had given it
> to me for my 27th birthday in 1986, and it had sat in my apartment on
> Manhattan for 2 years before traveling West to Berkeley in a rented
> truck, sitting in our crawlspace in Berkeley for 18 months, before being
> flown to Indiana, where it has slumbered since.
>
> 1982 Ch. Gruaud-Larose
> color: ruby red with a light hint of brick at the edges
> nose: initially, the "Cordier funk", later giving way to pencil lead,
> berry fruit, and herbs
> palate: medium body, meaty, herbal, minerals, pencil lead, solid core of
> fruit, good balanced acidity and a rich finish
>
> As John T. mentioned, the tannins in this wine are gone: it is as smooth
> and supple as one could hope. *Also noteworthy, though, in this era of
> blockbuster claret, is the incredible sense of balance that this wine
> displays: it is big but graceful. *It went splendidly with the simple
> lamb preparation and didn't change noticeably over the course of a 1 1/2
> hour dinner. *IMO, no hurry to drink this up, but I also don't see it
> getting any better. *OTOH, if your G-L has been stored at a constant 50
> F/10 C since purchase, YMMV.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

I meant to reply to John's note yesterday. The bottle I had 2 years
ago was very nice but I thought could improve (it was decanted several
hours before dinner, got better through meal). I think John Belden who
brought it does have quite cold storage. Of course, both bottles and
tastes have lots of room for variance!

1982 Gruaud-Larose
 

On Apr 30, 3:11�am, "John T" > wrote:
> . *IMO, no hurry to drink this up, but I also don't see it
>
> > getting any better. *OTOH, if your G-L has been stored at a constant 50
> > F/10 C since purchase, YMMV.
>
> Mark, congrats and the 82 GL is a wonderful wine. Perhaps I was too hard in
> saying its on the slide, " will not improve " is what I should have said.
>
> Had my 60th bash y'day so feeling a little jaded today, had 35 friends and
> family to Sunday lunch at the local restaurant, house fizz, NZ SB with
> asparagus and a OZ cab with the beef.
>
> It is my true 60th birthday today, we still do not know what to do, having
> been working hard for y'day.
>
> I have 96 Dom in the fridge and 88 Mouton ready to go, but after a round of
> golf and lazy lunch, may end up with a beer!!!
>
> John T

Happy Birthday!

TN: 1982 Gruaud-Larose
 

On Apr 29, 10:33�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Spurred by John Taverner's note today, and by the happy coincidence of
> our celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary today, we opened a bottle
> of the '82 Gruaud-Larose with a dinner of broiled rack of lamb with
> fingerling potatoes. *As I mentioned in John's thread, the provenance of
> this bottle was as iffy as it gets in our household: Jean had given it
> to me for my 27th birthday in 1986, and it had sat in my apartment on
> Manhattan for 2 years before traveling West to Berkeley in a rented
> truck, sitting in our crawlspace in Berkeley for 18 months, before being
> flown to Indiana, where it has slumbered since.
>
> 1982 Ch. Gruaud-Larose
> color: ruby red with a light hint of brick at the edges
> nose: initially, the "Cordier funk", later giving way to pencil lead,
> berry fruit, and herbs
> palate: medium body, meaty, herbal, minerals, pencil lead, solid core of
> fruit, good balanced acidity and a rich finish
>
> As John T. mentioned, the tannins in this wine are gone: it is as smooth
> and supple as one could hope. *Also noteworthy, though, in this era of
> blockbuster claret, is the incredible sense of balance that this wine
> displays: it is big but graceful. *It went splendidly with the simple
> lamb preparation and didn't change noticeably over the course of a 1 1/2
> hour dinner. *IMO, no hurry to drink this up, but I also don't see it
> getting any better. *OTOH, if your G-L has been stored at a constant 50
> F/10 C since purchase, YMMV.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

And happy anniversary!

TN: 1982 Gruaud-Larose
 

On Apr 29, 10:33 pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Spurred by John Taverner's note today, and by the happy coincidence of
> our celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary today, we opened a bottle
> of the '82 Gruaud-Larose with a dinner of broiled rack of lamb with
> fingerling potatoes. As I mentioned in John's thread, the provenance of
> this bottle was as iffy as it gets in our household: Jean had given it
> to me for my 27th birthday in 1986, and it had sat in my apartment on
> Manhattan for 2 years before traveling West to Berkeley in a rented
> truck, sitting in our crawlspace in Berkeley for 18 months, before being
> flown to Indiana, where it has slumbered since.
>
> 1982 Ch. Gruaud-Larose
> color: ruby red with a light hint of brick at the edges
> nose: initially, the "Cordier funk", later giving way to pencil lead,
> berry fruit, and herbs
> palate: medium body, meaty, herbal, minerals, pencil lead, solid core of
> fruit, good balanced acidity and a rich finish
>
> As John T. mentioned, the tannins in this wine are gone: it is as smooth
> and supple as one could hope. Also noteworthy, though, in this era of
> blockbuster claret, is the incredible sense of balance that this wine
> displays: it is big but graceful. It went splendidly with the simple
> lamb preparation and didn't change noticeably over the course of a 1 1/2
> hour dinner. IMO, no hurry to drink this up, but I also don't see it
> getting any better. OTOH, if your G-L has been stored at a constant 50
> F/10 C since purchase, YMMV.
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

Is the "Cordier funk" the initial barnyard or is a "bretty" wet dog
thing? I recently posted notes on a 1990 G-L that I noted had a bit
of funk but I didn't think of it as being indicative of Cordier. I've
always found their wines to be a bit heavyon the barnyard though.

TN: 1982 Gruaud-Larose
 

Bi!! wrote:

> Is the "Cordier funk" the initial barnyard or is a "bretty" wet dog
> thing? I recently posted notes on a 1990 G-L that I noted had a bit
> of funk but I didn't think of it as being indicative of Cordier. I've
> always found their wines to be a bit heavyon the barnyard though.

Hmmm... Since Cordier sold off G-L back in 1983, I don't think you can
blame any off smells in the '90 G-L on Cordier. To me, "Cordier funk"
refers to an animal/barnyard quality that might be a touch of Brett. I
can't say that "wet dog" fills the bill, but maybe I just haven't
smelled enough wet dogs...

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

TN: 1982 Gruaud-Larose
 

On Apr 30, 3:52 pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Bi!! wrote:
> > Is the "Cordier funk" the initial barnyard or is a "bretty" wet dog
> > thing? I recently posted notes on a 1990 G-L that I noted had a bit
> > of funk but I didn't think of it as being indicative of Cordier. I've
> > always found their wines to be a bit heavyon the barnyard though.
>
> Hmmm... Since Cordier sold off G-L back in 1983, I don't think you can
> blame any off smells in the '90 G-L on Cordier. To me, "Cordier funk"
> refers to an animal/barnyard quality that might be a touch of Brett. I
> can't say that "wet dog" fills the bill, but maybe I just haven't
> smelled enough wet dogs...
>
> Mark Lipton
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

FWIW, it appears that G-L wasn't sold until 1993 or maybe I'm mis-
reading the history of G-L. They did have an injection of foreign
capital in 1983 from the Suez Group though.

TN: 1982 Gruaud-Larose
 

In article >, Mark Lipton >
wrote:

> Spurred by John Taverner's note today, and by the happy coincidence of
> our celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary today, we opened a bottle
> of the '82 Gruaud-Larose with a dinner of broiled rack of lamb with
> fingerling potatoes. As I mentioned in John's thread, the provenance of
> this bottle was as iffy as it gets in our household: Jean had given it
> to me for my 27th birthday in 1986, and it had sat in my apartment on
> Manhattan for 2 years before traveling West to Berkeley in a rented
> truck, sitting in our crawlspace in Berkeley for 18 months, before being
> flown to Indiana, where it has slumbered since.
>
> 1982 Ch. Gruaud-Larose
> color: ruby red with a light hint of brick at the edges
> nose: initially, the "Cordier funk", later giving way to pencil lead,
> berry fruit, and herbs
> palate: medium body, meaty, herbal, minerals, pencil lead, solid core of
> fruit, good balanced acidity and a rich finish
>
> As John T. mentioned, the tannins in this wine are gone: it is as smooth
> and supple as one could hope. Also noteworthy, though, in this era of
> blockbuster claret, is the incredible sense of balance that this wine
> displays: it is big but graceful. It went splendidly with the simple
> lamb preparation and didn't change noticeably over the course of a 1 1/2
> hour dinner. IMO, no hurry to drink this up, but I also don't see it
> getting any better. OTOH, if your G-L has been stored at a constant 50
> F/10 C since purchase, YMMV.
>
> Mark Lipton

What a great example of the resiliency of wine. Too much is made over
perfect storage and preservation. Many well made wines can survive much
of what you throw at them.

TN: 1982 Gruaud-Larose
 

Lawrence Leichtman wrote:
> What a great example of the resiliency of wine. Too much is made over
> perfect storage and preservation. Many well made wines can survive much
> of what you throw at them.

Well, it helps when you're dealing with a bruiser of a wine like the '82
G-L. Also, to put it all into perspective: the wine likely never
experienced a temperature that exceeded 75 F, though it probably spent a
good deal of time above 70 F.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com