TN: 1986 Bordeaux at the Orchard, NYC

Ok, on to main event: Right Bank and Graves

1986 Ch. L'Arrosee Nice nose with smoke and mineral. Tannins are integrated, this seems fully mature, for drinking now my surprise WOTF. B+

1986 Vieux Chateau Certan Attractive nose as poured, but on tasting there's a little green pepper note in the background. Once I note it on the palate I find it on the nose, too. Tannins still a little spiky, and there's not much in the way of Pomerolish lushness. B--C+

1986 Haut Brion Funky nose, but sweet fruit outlasts the funk. Smooth with black cherry and cbuttis fruit, but finish is surprisingly short. A (mild) disappointment. B

1986 Pape Clement Someone remarks on the very dark color. Some distracting VA when I first pour, initially I don't really care for, but comes back a bit. Seems young. B

Margaux

1986 Ch. Margaux Tight, brooding, monolithic. I had double-decanted this about 6-7 hours before (giving it half-hour in a decanter as I was cleaning bottle and other chores)- it wasn't giving up much then and it wasn't giving anymore now. Big, needs time (25 years!). Think it will eventually be amazing, seems to be a lot hiding there. Saving some in my glbutt eventually resulted in a big powerful cbuttis-driven wine. A--B+ (note: the Margaux was a communal buy with several of us chipping in. Label was shot, but I think wine was intact, just tight)

1986 Palmer Dark berry fruit, cedar and earth, very nice but could use a little time. B+

1986 Rausan Segla Fully mature and ready, blackberry and blackcurrant, drinking beautifully now. B+-A-

Pauillac

1986 Pichon Baron Herby, smoky, fragrant. Very good showing. B+

1986 Lynch Bages Very mature, ready to go. Nice flavors but a little short. I liked better last time I tried. B-B-

1986 Pichon Lalande Funky, not showing well. Some off odors- I thought corked at first, but then changed mind. I don't think it was a good bottle, however. C+

1986 Lafite-Rothschild High expectations, fullfilled. Very nice- big but balanced, lots of graphite, cedar, and leather supported by dense sweet fruit. My WOTN, and I think clear winner in voting. A

St Julien and St Estephe 1986 Gruaud Larose Others seemed to like more than I did. I usually love this wine, but this just seemed sooooo tight. Later with air more fruit and cigarbox aromas came out. B-B+

1986 Talbot WOTF for me, and just trailing the Lafite for WOTN. Big but with outfront sweet dark (cbuttis) fruit, pleasant nuances of cedar, leather, and earth. A-

1986 Cos D'Estournel Another wine I've liked better previously. Big, brawny, somewhat tight. Some coffee and wood spice aromas. B

St Julien #2 1986 Beychevelle Seems mature, with big red fruit, some earth and mushroom, clean finish. B

1986 Leoville Barton Young, brawny, with good black plum and blackcurrant fruit. B+-B

1986 Lagrange Didn't care for this at first, but it picked up steam in glbutt. Mature, not as big as some others, but well-balanced claret. B-B+

1986 Ch. D'Yquem Young, but oh so gorgeous. A--A

I should say that while I always say I'm an easy grader, I probably was a little tougher last night to allow myself to differentiate between a lot of very good wines. I would have very happily drunk any of the 1986s, except the Pichon Lalande and maybe the VCC, on another night.

Orchard is a nice space, and service was generally good. I liked the flatbread canapes (shortribs, tartare, duck, mushrooms) a lot. My first course of foie gras was quite good, as was my lamb tenderloin. Overall the menu was more Pinot Noir-Nebbioloi-sh that Cab friendly, but it worked out fine. Thanks to Arv, Paul, and Matt for organizing, and to all in a nice group for contributing.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency