Description
Château Bel-Air Lagrave, Cru Bourgeois MAGNUM
Welcome to another thrilling edition of “Magnum Monday!” Sixteen months ago, this titanic 1985 Bordeaux appeared in your inbox and triggered a fusillade of orders until inventory crash-landed on zero. And, after spending the last year in talks with the château, we’re now able to offer a rare second opportunity to acquire our shrewdest cellar-direct import to date. The only difference? It’s now available for less than $100!
We’ve offered a number of Bel-Air Lagrave’s 30+-year-old Left Bank antiques, but today’s 1985 MAGNUM—from an extraordinary vintage that’s enjoying a peak drinking window—is the king of them all. Coming directly from an esteemed Cru Bourgeois estate, this rare gem showcases a producer who has long mastered the craft of traditional Bordeaux and sustained patience in the cellar. For over three decades, this batch of magnums evolved without any sunlight, movement, or fluctuation in temperature. What’s more, their team went the extra mile by reconditioning, recorking, and refilling each bottle (with the same wine) to ensure a perfect experience. Although this special magnum offer is only available here, I highly doubt any other retailer could ever hope to match our $99 price tag, so if you swoon for intensely savory, elegant, 1980s’ Bordeaux, do not miss this! Up to six magnums per person, and three secures complimentary shipping.
While you may not need this reminder, I’ll repeat it anyway: Bordeaux is big. Nevertheless, most of the attention is lavished upon a relatively tiny fraction of the region’s estates—namely, those Crus Classés (“classified growths”) listed in the famous ranking of 1855. One could stay busy with the 61 red wine-producing châteaux in that 1855 Classification, but at this point, you’ll pay handsomely to do so. That’s why we spend so much time turning over rocks in search of wines like today. It is here in Moulis-en-Médoc, a low-dollar/high-value Left Bank appellation that sits between titans Saint-Julien and Margaux, where you’ll find a star-studded trove of châteaux (Poujeaux, Chasse-Spleen, Maucaillou, Bel-Air Lagrave) that dazzle critics with their elegance, price-to-quality, and longevity. Further, Bel-Air Lagrave actually falls under one of Bordeaux’s other classifications: Cru Bourgeois, created by merchants in 1932 to showcase estates of high quality throughout the “Left Bank.” Over the decades, this ever-evolving classification has become a shining beacon of value.
Owned by the same family since the 19th century, Bel-Air Lagrave has as much pedigree as they do patience in the cellar. For decades, they’ve held back an impressive amount of inventory, a common practice of yore, and this has resulted in a “library” filled to the brim with back vintages. When the new generation recently took over, they began releasing some of these closely held heirlooms, which is how today’s 1985 magnum was made possible.
As with most châteaux in Moulis, Bel-Air Lagrave’s land holdings lie further away from the Gironde River, where the soils transition from sandy gravel to more clay-limestone. Their vineyards are heavily planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (65%) and Merlot (30%) with a smattering of Petit Verdot, and this roughly mirrors that blend, albeit with a touch more Cabernet Sauvignon. Following fermentation and blending, the wine was transferred into mostly new French oak for 20 months. It was bottled towards the end of 1987 and sent to rest in their cellar for over 33 undisturbed years.
Since the oxygen-to-wine ratio is much smaller in a magnum bottling, this ‘85 has matured more slowly and is drinking exceptionally well right now. All you need to do is gently extract the cork, serve in your grandest Bordeaux stems around 60 degrees, and allow it to rest in your glass for about 10 minutes before taking your first sip. From here, we suggest consuming over 2-3 hours, although the one we opened was still showing impressive energy on day two! In the glass, it erupts with supple yet intoxicatingly savory notes of vintage leather, crushed gravel, wild herbs underbrush, loose tobacco, cigar wrapper, baking spice, and cedar shavings. But, wait a few minutes, and soft notes of dried plums, currant, mixed brambleberries, and dried cherry shed their nervous shell and really come alive. As we mentioned for the previous Bel-Air Lagrave offers, this is for those who live and breathe ancient terroir, one that’s more than a striking visual—what lies inside is the real deal. It’s a tour de force with extreme finesse and legitimate terroir identity. Enjoy now (impossible not to) and over the next 5-10 years. Cheers!
