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Gruaud Larose 1986At an auction, it would say: "label stained", and no trader would buy it. But private buyers who do not collect labels but like to drink good wines. That's probably how I got this bottle years ago and it has given me a lot of pleasure again now. A ripe, soft, deep, difficult to fathom, even powerful wine, but one that has long since left behind its caginess and angularity. Robert Parker once asked (loosely translated), "Given the tremendous structure, impressive concentration and massive tannins, one has to wonder when this wine will be ready to drink.... for many, this is a wine to put in the cellar for the kids." And he puts the "enjoyment window" in the years between 2000-2030. I'm not at all sure about that, though, because the wine - I mean - is ready to drink now, and I'm afraid it won't deliver on its promise until 2030. Well - I don't need to worry about that anymore, though. At least this bottle is gone, drunk, enjoyed, admired... When I look through previous reviews (including my own!) some things have changed - despite the good forecasts. For example, the Cabernet note, which is so characteristic for the winery (and the appellation), has largely disappearedGruaud Larosehas largely disappeared, absorbed by hints of spices, liquorice, plums, smoke, cinnamon, truffles...

Something seems important to me: You have to decant the wine for a long time, longer than I did. It needs a lot of air, as I only realised towards the end of the bottle - not so much to break up its closedness (it's already soft and round!), but to bring out those notes from the depths that it likes to keep with it and take with it into its well-behavedness and artfulness, because even without full development, it's a great wine, the kind that is only made every few years, for example 1982, 1990 and maybe 2000, with the younger vintages (2005, 2009,2010) I don't dare make a prediction yet.

And another thing: it is not a loud wine, rather a quiet wine, a wine that encourages silence and contemplation, that works inwardly, less outwardly, that - in my case - goes well with tender pork tenderloin (with light paprika sauce) and that - in the aftertaste - accompanied me all the way to bed, into sleep, maybe even into a dream. But this is another chapter.

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