Francois Audouze
03-06-2011, 04:25 PM
Aging of Guigal
Yesterday I had a dinner with my son, and I opened two halves of 1926 Léoville Barton.
They were a little tired, so in the middle of the meal, I wanted to drink something more lively.
And I took in the cellar which is rather cold a la Landonne Guigal 1984.
Even if warming the glass with my hands, the wine appeared closed, shut, dull, with no real expression.
I drank it with no pleasure.
The ranking of the wines of the dinner was : 1 - Cristal Roederer 1990, 2 - Lafite 1969 in half (surprisingly good), 3 - the best half of 1926 Léoville Barton, 4 - La Landonne Guigal 1984, 5 - the lesser half of 1926 Léoville Barton.
During the night, I wondered : Do the Guigal Lalas need to be drunk in their youth ?
And I was ready to say yes.
But the day after, we drank the last 40% of the bottle. And the wine was completely transformed. It has power, presence, weight, deepness, and filled the mouth with an extreme pleasure.
With my son we looked at each other, and we were happy.
So, such wines require massive oxygen.
But anyway, the question remains. I have just bought 6 Mouline 1973. I need to try one to see if the Guigal's which I adore in their youth, are able to age as Bordeaux and Burgundies do.
Yesterday I had a dinner with my son, and I opened two halves of 1926 Léoville Barton.
They were a little tired, so in the middle of the meal, I wanted to drink something more lively.
And I took in the cellar which is rather cold a la Landonne Guigal 1984.
Even if warming the glass with my hands, the wine appeared closed, shut, dull, with no real expression.
I drank it with no pleasure.
The ranking of the wines of the dinner was : 1 - Cristal Roederer 1990, 2 - Lafite 1969 in half (surprisingly good), 3 - the best half of 1926 Léoville Barton, 4 - La Landonne Guigal 1984, 5 - the lesser half of 1926 Léoville Barton.
During the night, I wondered : Do the Guigal Lalas need to be drunk in their youth ?
And I was ready to say yes.
But the day after, we drank the last 40% of the bottle. And the wine was completely transformed. It has power, presence, weight, deepness, and filled the mouth with an extreme pleasure.
With my son we looked at each other, and we were happy.
So, such wines require massive oxygen.
But anyway, the question remains. I have just bought 6 Mouline 1973. I need to try one to see if the Guigal's which I adore in their youth, are able to age as Bordeaux and Burgundies do.