Gaul Is Well : Perfection Eludes the ’86 Bordeaux Wines, but They Still Rate Highly

IN MAY AND November, groups of Bordeaux vintners, wine makers and chateau owners visited Los Angeles to herald the debut and glories of the ’86 vintage.

I sampled a range of Bordeaux, First Growths through lesser growths, and found the vintage to be--well, very good.

For perhaps the first time in history, this Bordeaux was not declared “the vintage of the century,” as had been the case with past editions. Gallic wine growers, prone to prophetic euphoria whenever the sun shines brightly during the ripening season, are given to ecstatic declarations if that condition continues into the harvest season. Nature seldom supplies even three good years in 10 to French wine growers. But the “Golden ‘80s,” as they are now being called, have had a succession of good vintage years: 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1988, and well-founded great hopes for 1989.

At the November “1986 Bordeaux on Tour” celebration at the Calabasas Inn, Jean-Michel Cazes, who headed the second delegation, discussed with me the French clarets and California Cabernets, which are so good that they threaten the pre-eminence of Bordeaux clarets. (Cazes is the owner of Chateau Lynch-Bages and director of Chateau Pichon-Longueville.)

As we talked, we sipped a California Cabernet that was surprisingly awkward in taste.

But none of the French Bordeaux had that problem. All the chateau wines were dominantly Cabernet Sauvignon--graceful, accessible, with no tannic armor.

Even those Bordeaux that would benefit from aging--wines perhaps two or three years from their ideal pouring time--reflected the dedicated artistry of the bordelais.

Space precludes listing all the wines, but the highlights follow:

Chateau Margaux (Margaux), a lovely wine of subtle balance. Hints of cherries, cassis, cedar. Needs time to mature ($125).

Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac) is close to perfection. Cassis-fruit beneath subtle oaken robe ($125).

Chateau Lafite (Pauillac), refined essence of Cabernet. Universally winning acclaim ($110).

Chateau Latour (Pauillac), ruby-rich, huge wine; outstanding bouquet. Longevity assured ($110).

Chateau Lynch-Bages (Pauillac), velvet-smooth and rich-textured; hints of loganberries ($50).

Chateau Pichon-Longueville (Pauillac), deep garnet wine, velour-soft, cassis-brulee ($42).

Chateau Leoville-Barton (St. Julien), pleasingly accessible with fine berry aftertaste ($40).

Chateau Figeac (St. Emilion), splendid edition; tastes of tart plum ($55).

Chateau Fieuzal (Graves), discovery wine of great charm, floral bouquet; for present enjoyment ($27).

Cazes and I talked briefly about the new book, “California’s Great Cabernets” by James Laube, senior editor of the trade publication Wine Spectator, with its controversial attempt at classifying California Cabernets. Laube, I told Cazes, had accorded First Growth status to a winery that produces Cabernets so heavily tannic that you could stand a spoon in them, and he had ranked the ever-graceful Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernets among the Fifth Growths.

Also, Laube had omitted the ever-dependable Monterey Cabernets of Smith & Hook and the Jekel Vineyard Monterey Cabernet, which was awarded a gold medal by the British. I plopped a spoon into the California Cabernet I was holding, which was excessively tannic, and suggested that a few of California’s growers had some learning to do.