1990 Chateau Meyney, Saint Estephe, Cru Bourgeois
1990 is a great vintage of Bordueax, to me, it’s undisputably one of the best vintage, even better than the legendary 1982, as the quality is very even across both banks, it’s hard to have a disappointing Bordeaux 1990. Meyney did not disappoint either. It may not be the best Cru Bourgeois, in memory, one of the best was probably Chateau Gloria 1990, though it was not far from my expectation. Everything I asked for, I got it from Meyney. Bouquet of definitive oak, leather and dark ripe cherries. A sip and I was overwhelmed by the finesse, very refine, very high class. I decanted the wine for 2 hours, and I was still surprised by the evolution of the wine as I was not expecting any, as the decanting would have opened up the wine by now. Initially, there was this seductive cherry sweetness, but it somehow dissolved into the content after my second glass, and then dark cherries dancing elegantly around my palate. I always stress, Bordeaux in a great vintage, you don’t have to drink first growth to have pleasure, in any case, first growth is definitively not ready for a 34 year old wine, of which you can keep it in your cellar for another 20 years. Drink Cru Bourgeois, if you don’t need to show off with labels, Cru Bourgeois 1990 is the sweet spot right now.