Review: Chateau Bel Air Lagrave 1989
- vinterest
- May 25, 2015
- 1 min read
The low-down: A 26 year old wine to celebrate my young 26 year old brother-in-law's birthday. It's a Cru Bourgeois from Moulis-en-Medoc - a respectable Bordeaux that doesn't command the silly speculative premiums of its neighbours. The 10 ha chateau has been family run for the last 150 years - they harvest by hand.
We've been fortunate enough lately to be opening some older Bordeaux: a 1999 Fugue de Nenin Pomerol, a 1998 Chateau Fieuzal, a 1991 Chateau Trimoulet and a 1990 Chateau Rahoul for example.
The blend is majority cabernet sauvignon (60%) with merlot (35%) and petit verdot (5%).
We picked this up from Le Clos at the Dubai Airport for 35 Euros.
The take: A very dark red appearance; thick, slow, long legs; some sediment - expected in older wines. On the nose blue fruit, texta (that chemically smell from ink markers from your childhood ... it's an Aussie term), sour, herbaceous with a hint of the sea. The attack is thick, tannic, very tannic. Doesn't seem at all 26 years. After a decant: blackberries, spicy, tobacco, coffee, a bit bitter. A little light on flavour/depth.
In closing: Still going strong!
Rating: 7.5 out of 10.
Fact corner:
Country: France
Region: Moulis-en-Medoc (AOC)
Producer: Chateau Bel Air Lagrave
Vintage: 1989
Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Serving temperature: n/a
Price range: Mid-range
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