Bordeaux 1994 Vintage

It has been about 6 months since I last posted because I forgot my login and this is backed up by my being too lazy to try and find it. I was OK until I opened a '94 Cos Estournel last night and felt ogligated to share the experience. I tend to like the classic vintages including '75, '86, '88 and the '94 fits this profile. What was most amazing was a drop dead nose. You could recognize this as a Bordeaux from across the room. The first sip was nice but nothing like the nose. After about 1 hour a beautiful fruit appeared with a very structured body, well put together with nothing out of balance. This has been my experience with the few '94s I have opened over the last year. If you have them in the cellar you are lucky and at this time I think they need about 1 hour decanting prior to drinking. Things should get even better over the next 10 years.
Walt

[David M. Bueker]

Salil just posted a note about '94 Pichon Baron in Wine Focus. I think his impressions were not far off from yours.

I carried this (Cos) to a 94 horizontal earlier this year, and that bottle didn't show as well as Walt's. Big hard tannins (and I'm pretty tannin tolerant). My favorites of the night were Haut Brion, Angelus, L'Evangile (Lafleur probably had the most potential).

I carried this (Cos) to a 94 horizontal earlier this year, and that bottle didn't show as well as Walt's. Big hard tannins (and I'm pretty tannin tolerant). My favorites of the night were Haut Brion, Angelus, L'Evangile (Lafleur probably had the most potential).

Dale,
I have the Haut Brion but was not planning on touching it for several more years. The Cos really improved over the evening. This is the main problem I have with tastings; your first taste defines the wine. Some improve greatly and then there are some that fall apart.
Walt

Opened a '94 Las Cases a couple of years ago. Was told sternly not to open any more for several years. By Thor.

[David M. Bueker]

Opened a '94 Las Cases a couple of years ago. Was told sternly not to open any more for several years. By Thor.

You trust him?

Opened a '94 Las Cases a couple of years ago. Was told sternly not to open any more for several years. By Thor.

You trust him?

When I read Hoke's comment two things popped into my head. One was your comment and then the other was "how long can Hoke afford to hold wines to drink later
Walt

Not too damn long.

...Haut Brion, Angelus, L'Evangile (Lafleur probably had the most potential).

I've posted before that I believe '94s are underappreciated and so am happy to see posts of this nature. I've had all you've mentioned (but the L'Evangile not in the past year) and totally agree with HB, Angelus and Lafleur. I'd recommend La MIssion Haut Brion as well.

I have for a couple years had very positive experiences from halves of the '94 Cos. I was usually derided for the notes I posted I'm happy to hear that I haven't, after all, been the only one to like the wine. Very classic and very classy IMO.

The only 94s I have had in any quantity have been the Haut Brion [my last case purchase], Pichon Lalande [half case] and Grand-Puy-Lacoste [half case] and they have been very good through good to o.k. in that order. All were/are tannic [I only have the Haut Brion left] and the last two with a greener profile than is ideal for me and the first of them were probably drunk too early except the GPL even though I prefer my wine on the young side.

The Haut Brion has really only just started to sing and the more recent bottles of the Pichon were definitely better than the first although it had also stopped improving for me. I don't regret buying the GPL since I enjoyed all the bottles but it is e.g. furthest away from its 95 equivalent than either of the others which in time will all be significantly better wines IMO.

So far I haven't had a 94 which I haven't liked. They are Bordeaux on the austere side unlike the 82 which I opened a few days ago but I like that if there is enough savoury fruit. I have small stocks of Pontet-Canet, Haut-Bailly and Léovile-Poyferré as yet unbroached, Poujeaux of which one (good) has been drunk, had some Phélan-Ségur, all good and all gone, and one or two others.

Some "experts" are saying drink up before the fruit dries out, but from what Walt and Hoke (and Thor) are saying some obviously have a lot of life in them yet.

Interestingly this is a vintage which Parker called more or less correctly. He praised it more than most critics at the outset and his overall opinion seems to be borne out by experience, though he may have got it wring on individual wines; for example, if I remember rightly, he gave good points to Haut-Bailly, which some wine pals tell me is disappointing; it's about time I take a look at one of mine; if the wine pals are right, it's EBay for the rest.

Some "experts" are saying drink up before the fruit dries out, but from what Walt and Hoke (and Thor) are saying some obviously have a lot of life in them yet..

Personally (as a non-expert) I wouldn't be in any hurry to drink 94s. While I think the ones I don't like are unlikely to get much better, I don't see the ones I do like as falling off a cliff. I think the better Pomerols, Graves, and northern Medocs should do well for a while (with the exception of Angelus and Figeac I don't thinK I've had a St Emilion I've really liked, nor a Margaux).

Of course a lot is what you are looking for. I'm pretty happy with the 1994s I have, but to me they will always be good not great, and better as steak wines than something elegant. They're stylistically a bit like 1986s and 1988s, but a bit more forward and for me a step behind the better wines of those vintages. YMMV.

Robert, I wouldn't invest in 1994 for laying down nowadays but it might be worth taking a flutter on an odd bottle for the short term if you see one.

An update on Haut-Bailly 1994. Since I wrote my above contribution on 2009, I have opened 5 bottles of this wine and two of them were so badly "off" that they went straight down the drain; unpleasant aromas of stewed cabbage veering to blocked drains. The other bottles ranged from decent to very good for the vintage. This is perhaps the worst cases of bottle variation in my experience; all the bottles came from the same source and had been stored identically.

Given my age I haven't been laying down Bordeaux for over 10 years, so I can't give personal advice on present day opportunities. Some people claim that the unfashionable 2012s are charming for near/medium term drinking at reasonable prices.