1986 wine

Where would I look for a 1986 wine? I'm not particular about the kind (Merlot, Zinfendal etc) but I am concerned about the price. I heard of a bottle at $100 and I hope to find something less expensive. I'm also not concerned about the size of the bottle. Thanks for any help. [color=blue][/color]

Hi Mil2al

If you go to http://www.winesearcher.com and plug in 1986, you'll get a huge number of places which will be happy to sell you some. Finding one that's good is a bit harder, but the people here can help if you give us an idea of the occasion, taste preferences, etc.

Also, welcome to the WLDG!! I hope you'll stick around and talk wine with us. If you could, we'd appreciate your real name rather than a handle. It's a board policy that helps keep the tone here civil (not that it wouldn't stay that way on its own).

Mike

Hi: Thanks for the reply - I'll try that site. Since my post I found vintagewinegifts.co.UK which has a good selection at reasonable prices. It's for a 20th anniversary. Thanks again.

Was `86 a vintage year for Port? There`s an idea if so.

1986 is a fine long-lived year for Bordeaux, but one must be careful with less expensive ones- some have more tannin than fruit left. Sauternes is a safer option.

That UK site is horrendously overpriced. If you are really looking for wine, there are better options (forgive my slight suspicions, but when someone posts a questions and then answers with "hey I found a site", if often -though not always- can be a little questionable- no offense).

Thank you for the info - and no offense taken. I'm not well versed in wines and am grateful for all the suggestions I can get.
PS Forgot to ask you if you can give me some other options rather thant the UK site I mentioned. Thanks again.

Thank you for the info - and no offense taken. I'm not well versed in wines and am grateful for all the suggestions I can get.

Have you run across anything you find interesting? Whatever you get is likely to be expensive and there are some folks here who are likely to know whether a given wine has fluorished over the last 20 years or has barely survived. Let us know what you're thinking of and you may be able to get a really phenomenal bottle rather than one that's a bit disappointing.

A twenty year anniversary deserves a really spectacular bottle!

Mike

Are you in US? If it were me I'd go for Bordeaux, a quick look at Winesearcher (1986, $50 & under) shows MacArthur's in DC (reputable store) has the very good La Lagune for $50. I haven't had the Poujeaux, but it might be quite good, and it's $40 at MacArthurs (aka Bassins). Chancier would be the de Sales, $30 at Sokolin (LI, NY).

Safest bet is generally ports, who has ever had a dead one? Normally LBV are for "drink on release", but Woodland Hills (LA) has the Smith-Woodhouse LBV for $23. Probably not stellar,but drinkable. 1986 wasn't a generally declared year, but there are single quintas out there,the best under-$50 is probably the Dow Bonfim at Grapes in Rye, NY (disclaimer, I've drunk wine with Daniel at Grapes, but no other affiliation other than satisfied customer).

Some Sauternes half-bottles too, but stores I don't know (La Cave in Dallas).

PS Forgot to ask you if you can give me some other options rather thant the UK site I mentioned. Thanks again.

If you can ship from Europe try http://www.belgiumwinewatchers.com/ . Their stock changes very rapidly and their prices are usually very fair.

I cannot find a place on winesearcher site to indicate the price that I'd like to see.

[Robin Garr]

I cannot find a place on winesearcher site to indicate the price that I'd like to see.

Mil, Wine-Searcher.com returns all its findings in order by price, cheapest first. All you need to do is scroll down until you hit your budget range. If the list STARTS too expensive for you, you've got a problem, because it indicates that the wine you want isn't available for what you want to spend.

I cannot find a place on winesearcher site to indicate the price that I'd like to see.

Sorry, I was using Winesearcher pro. Guess not an option on free version.

I would not buy Port from 1986 but had three Bordeaux from 1986 last night and with a few hours of decanting, they can be very enjoyable today.

Thanks for the info. I still haven't found a site in the US that has 1986 wine available. I cannot find a site that allows me to key in 1986 and see what is available for that year. I must be doing something wrong.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks for the info. I still haven't found a site in the US that has 1986 wine available. I cannot find a site that allows me to key in 1986 and see what is available for that year. I must be doing something wrong.

Mil, try http://www.Wine-Searcher.com again. When you get to the home page (you don't need the Pro edition, although it's worth the dues), leave the "Wine Name" line blank. Enter '1986' in the "Vintage" line. Leave "Show all matching wines" alone, Chose USA in "Merchant Location," and "US Dollar" in "Currency." This will return more than 900 wines, and you can then click among them for details on cost and vendor.

Thanks for the info. I still haven't found a site in the US that has 1986 wine available. I cannot find a site that allows me to key in 1986 and see what is available for that year. I must be doing something wrong.

Go to
http://bassins.com
Put vintage in dropdown menu, then 1986 in search field. They have a dozen or so 1986 Bordeaux, including La Lagune, Poujeaux, Chasse Spleen and L-Barton.

Other sites sure to have 1986 Bordeaux (and possbibly other 1986 stuff) include http://www.grapesthewineco.com, http://www.cellaraiders.com, http://www.hdhwine.com, http://www.zachys.com.

http//chambersstwines.com is a favorite store, not really Bdx specialist but they do have the excellent Sociando. Premiercru.net is another great store.

No affiliation other than as a satisfied customer at all of the above.