Chateau Margaux 1985

The Wine Advocate: "Approaching full maturity, this beautifully sweet Chateau Margaux has a dense plum/purple color and a huge, sweet nose of black currants intermixed with licorice, toast, underbrush, and flowers. Medium to full-bodied with supple tannin and a fleshy, juicy, very succulent and multi-layered mid-palate, this expansive, velvety wine has entered its plateau of maturity, where it should remain (assuming good storage) for at least another 10-15 years. A very delicious, seductive, and opulent Chateau Margaux to drink over the next two decades."

Decanter: "On this tasting, Margaux 1985 is holding up the best of the Firsts, with the seductive opulence and caressing fruits that have been a marker of this wine for much of its life, now with tertiary notes of saffron and salted caramel. A satin texture to the still very present tannins, with the whole thing given lift by gentle notes of iris flowers and crushed mint leaf on the finish. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. This is the only one of the Firsts that is still headed up today by the same person as in 1985 - Corinne Mentzelopoulos, just five years into taking over from her father André at this point. Drinking Window 2021 - 2036"

Jancis Robinson: "Very sweet and rich on the nose. Much less intense than the earlier vintages. Sweet and round and charming but without the sheer intensity of the younger wines. Very fresh. A flattering wine that’s at its peak. Intense and rich. Quite long. Racy. Super-fresh, though not intense."

Falstaff: "Mittleres Rubingranat, zart unterockert, breiter Wasserrand. In der Nase zart nach feuchter Wolle, stark tabakige Nuancen, Kirschenkonfit. Am Gaumen saftig und frisch, elegante Textur, kirschige Frucht, kraftvolle, bereits gut eingebundene Tannine, zart nach Bitterschokolade, dezente vegetale Noten im Nachhall, sehr guter Essensbegleiter, ein sehr typischer, finessenreicher Margaux, zeigt eine gute Länge, ist im Mund noch einiges überzeugender als in der ersten Nase."

Wine Spectator: "Shows mint and savory notes out front, with a very elegant structure weaving gently around the core of dried cherry, red currant and pomegranate fruit. The long sandalwood and singed cedar finish is very stylish. A bit outpaced by '88 and '86 in this flight, but as a standalone wine this is very confident in its old age."