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

.. 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

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!

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!

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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