by Tim York » Thu Jun 03, 2021 6:07 am
How long is a piece of string? With LB Bordeaux, it depends on cru, vintage, bottle size and, as you point out, storage conditions. When I started my wine interest in the 60s, 10 years was a good rule of thumb before opening LB claret but some vintages were more forward than others. For example, the elegant '53s were already drinking beautifully from half bottles by about 1961. I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time in Bordeaux between 1963 and 1965 and explored many of the different crus from that vintage then in sublime form. In more recent decades, 1985 is probably most like 1953 in character but, as Bill Spohn points out in another post, most 1986s are maturing at a snail's pace.
On account of my age, I stopped laying down claret from early in the present millenium. I realise that global warming coupled with husbandry and cellar techniques under the Parker/Rolland influence is leading to riper wines which are approachable younger but still don't feel seriously tempted to buy even the affordable GCs, except in "lesser" vintages like 2012 where most of the wines are probably reaching their peak right now.
Tim York
