1986 Chateau Lagrange, St. Julien

Here is a classic example of a wine that is showing significantly more complexity and richness from the bottle than out of cask, although it was certainly a potentially outstanding wine when tasted from the barrel. In a vintage that produced a number of enormously structured, rich, concentrated wines, Lagrange is a blockbuster wine that seems capable of lasting 30-35 years. Black/ruby in color, with a closed-but-burgeoning bouquet of spicy new oak, black fruits, and flowers, this muscular, full-bodied, tannic wine is packed with fruit, and is clearly one of the great long-distance runners from this vintage. I admire how the significant investment made by the Japanese owners in this property has paid off with a thrilling, albeit amazingly backward, wine. The finest Lagrange to date! 92 points, Robert Parker