When it comes to our burgeoning direct import program, only one category consistently gives us a major rush: Decades-old Bordeaux with flawless provenance. Emerging with one of these pristine artifacts is akin to discovering a long-lost treasure of the wine world, and that’s certainly the case with our most recent finding from Château Bel-Air Lagrave. Coming in at a whopping 30 years old, this esteemed Cru Bourgeois estate has crafted an extraordinarily classic Bordeaux.
Three decades of undisturbed aging certainly plays a massive role, but it’s also about superior real estate, too: Bel-Air is blessed with prime positioning in Moulis-en-Médoc, a Left Bank appellation that sits between titans Saint-Julien and Margaux. It is here where you’ll find a star-studded trove of châteaux (Poujeaux, Chasse-Spleen, Maucaillou) that impress critics with their elegance, price-to-quality, and longevity. But perhaps nothing can compare to today’s sublime 1990: This perfectly preserved stash has just been released from Bel-Air Lagrave’s cellar for the very first time. What’s more, they went the extra mile by reconditioning, recorking, and refilling each bottle (like Remoissenet does with their Burgundies from the ‘60s and ‘70s) in order to deliver a quintessential Bordeaux experience. If you enjoy savor, refinement, and a powerful terroir imprint in your mature Left Bank reds, this is one of the coolest finds you can get your hands on. Very limited quantities available.
While you may not need this reminder, I’ll repeat it anyway: Bordeaux is big. Nevertheless, most of the attention is lavished upon a relatively tiny fraction of the region’s estates—namely, those Crus Classés (“classified growths”) listed in the famous ranking of 1855. One could stay busy with the 61 red wine-producing châteaux in that 1855 Classification, but at this point, you’ll pay handsomely to do so. That’s why we spend so much time turning over rocks in search of wines like today’s. Bel-Air Lagrave actually falls under one of Bordeaux’s other classifications—that of Cru Bourgeois, created by merchants in 1932 to showcase estates of high quality throughout the “Left Bank.” Over the decades, this ever-evolving classification has become a shining beacon of value.
Owned by the same family since the 19th century, Bel-Air Lagrave has as much pedigree as they do patience in the cellar. For decades, they’ve held back an impressive amount of inventory, a common practice of yore, and this has resulted in a “library” filled to the brim with back vintages. When the new generation recently took over, they began releasing some of these closely held heirlooms, which is how today’s 1990 was made possible.
As with most châteaux in Moulis, Bel-Air Lagrave’s land holdings lie further away from the Gironde River, where the soils transition from sandy gravel to more clay-limestone. Their vineyards are heavily planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (65%) and Merlot (30%) with a smattering of Petit Verdot, and today’s 1990 roughly mirrors that blend, albeit with a touch more Cabernet Sauvignon since it ripened so well in this epic vintage.
Today’s 30-year-old Grand Vin is showing beautifully right now because it (1) is from the legendary 1990 vintage, (2) evolved for 20 months in mostly new French barrels, (3) didn’t move an inch for well over a quarter-century, and (4) was recorked/refilled before shipping. And although the reconditioning of each bottle removed a good portion of the sediment, we still recommend a quick double decant (gently pouring into decanter, rinsing the bottle, pouring back into the bottle) before serving in large Bordeaux stems around 60 degrees. For us, the wine didn’t require much time to open up: Within 10 minutes, it was singing an incredibly savory tune of dried plum, black raspberry, dried cherries, blackcurrant, pipe tobacco, dusty gravel, bell pepper, damp herbs, pencil lead, myriad baking spices, and vintage leather. The palate offers a savory, medium-bodied Bordeaux that is impressively vibrant for its age; there’s still a substantial tannin and acidity to be had here! Although it’s ready to drink today, I still see several more years of positive evolution, as evidenced by the bottle I drank over three hours—it hardly showed any sign of tiring! Overall, this is a definitively classic Left Bank that will greatly appeal to those unafraid of earth-driven Bordeaux bursting with secondary flavors. What a find! Cheers.
