Tried 3 different vintages of Lafite during the Decanter Masterclass in Singapore.
2018 was very tight and tannic with primary fruits dominating both the aroma and palette. Can see how the wine will be elegant and great in the future.
2008 was more advanced but still had great structure and started to show more softness but still had the primary fruit core.
1988 was the one that made me go ‘what the hell!?!?’ The first sniff I took almost made me gag. The barnyard funk was so strong that I thought I put my head into a pail of horse shit. Honestly, I’m not sure if this is representative of what older Bordeaux wines taste like. But it was quite revolting. The speaker remarked that we have to look past the barnyard funk to see the underlying tertiary notes. At this point, I was seriously questioning if the wine was corked or spoilt but it was my first time trying a 30+ yo wine and everyone around me didn’t say anything so I didn’t want to raise any questions lol.
For those of you who’ve tried this vintage in recent years or have had experience with much older Bordeaux reds, is it common to have such a strong barnyard funk (smelling like horse shit)? Personally I didn’t find it enjoyable so idk maybe it’ll be something I have to experience more to appreciate.
by Better_Contract370
10 Comments
Had a similar experience with an 89 mouton, but after a couple of hours in a decanter the funk had blown off and it was glorious. Did your hosts decant this at all?
I described a 1988 Pichon Baron as smelling like horse shit in a leather purse, so yeah, it’s a thing lol
That’s beeeeeaaaaautiful! Thanks for sharing! 🤩
I tasted a 93 lafite last week that I did not find enjoyable at all. “Horse shit” wasn’t one of my descriptive words but there was way too much funk and vinegar for my palate
Had a 1988 Lafite last week next to a 1988 Figeac (1/4th the price) and the Figeac topped the Lafite, both were good though.
I had an 88 Lafite in magnum a few weeks ago. It was beautiful, medium bodied with dark fruit, tobacco and earthy notes. Incredibly long finish. No funk at all. I think you got a bad bottle that they were trying to pass off as ok…
The red Chinese 8 on the 08 is craaazy
Brett in old Bordeaux is quite common so that sounds about right on the 88!
88 Mouton was incredibly primary when I tried it last month. No real funk, just lovely vegetal qualities after the first couple hours. Glad I have two more bottles!
Probably the most honest wine review I’ve read. Old Bordeaux is only great if that’s what you love. Nothing wrong with drinking on the fruit or somewhere in between. You like what you like and you’ve likely just saved yourself thousands in wine storage!