WTN: '86 Meyney, little engine that could

I was pretty exhausted when I got home Friday, but I perked up at the word "ribeye." Betsy served the meat over a watercress/parsley salad , with a side of roasted vegetables (beets, sweet potato, fennel and garlic). I opened the 1986 Ch. Meyney. Tannins have mostly integrated, though you can still get a feel on palate. Nose of cedar and a little forest floor, in the mouth clean red and black currant fruit and noticable acidity (this is more apparent earlier, as it warms towards room temp in decanter it gets rounder). Nice classic northern Medoc that stands up well to the meat; decent length, some minerally/graphite notes after a while. This has always been nose to nose with the '89 as my favorite Meyney, and I enjoy this a lot for the level. It's never going to be especially charming (hey, it's St Estephe), but for a hardy workhorse of a Bordeaux I'm very pleased. No need to wait, but I feel better safe drinking this over next 5-7 years. B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
 

Sounds very nice, Dale. From reading some notes on Meyney I get the impression that it's a reasonably good value (at least in Bdx) that can really age nicely. I think I need to find some...

Must be good. I have an uncle by marriage who is still kicking around in his '90s. Meyney is the wine he drinks, and he dinks it often. We have enjoyed many ourselves over the years.

[Jenise]

Got three of them! The last one we opened, about four years ago, had a beautifully expressive nose but lasted on the palate about 4 minutes before going utterly to sleep. Was thinking after tasting the 86 Lagune yesterday that it's time to revisit these. Will do so soon.

Wow am I happy to see these notes! I have a case of the '86 Meyney that has been perfectly stored since I purchased it about 15 years ago. Looking at the notes on Cellar Tracker I figured I'd missed the boat! Gotta pull this case out right away and start drinking these!