Adam Kincaid

9.2

Birthday year wine for me. So far, I’ve aged better than this bottle but it’s close! The ‘88 is slightly past its prime but still worth tasting. In the garden of earthly delights - dried figs, plums, dates, and mushrooms. Some peat and chocolate. Plenty of spice. Very fun. Happy birthday to me! — 3 months ago

with Jillian

Jack Goldenberg

9.6

On the eve of Linda’s 75th birthday we drank Margaux of the same vintage. The last time we tasted this wine was at its peak in 1988. I was pleasantly surprised that it was still delicious. Good fruit…past peak, but amazing at 75! — 3 years ago

with Linda and Rachel

Simon Gilligan

9.5

Amazingly found this bottle at rustic pizza, Clare Valley at a $130. Thought this might be our only chance to drink a Wendouree so grabbed it. Beautifully fresh fruited, lovely balance, crisp acidity, medium bodied. Black/red fruited with violet highlights, spice, earth, eucalypt, silky dry tannin. The longer we sat with it the leather and tannin became quite firm, perhaps overwhelming some of the earlier fruit flavours. Drunk too young but still memorable. — 3 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.2

Dark tawny, opaque. Nice meaty nose with notes of black fruit, moist dark soil, some menthol and some slate stone. Soft and delicate in the mouth, with no tannins or rough edges. This is at peak or just a bit past... but a nice drinker right now. Good effort for the vintage. — 4 years ago

Jeremiah Diaz

9.2

Deep garnet in color; raisins, blackberries, and oak on the nose; medium minus acidity; medium tannins; tastes like black cherries, molasses, and a hint of chocolate with a long finish. Probably a little past prime, but still tasty. Jason says it's ok. — 8 months ago

with Jason

Thomas McKee

9.3

Found this 2010 Portfolio buried deep in my cellar. Sightly past it’s peak but drinking beautifully. Needs time to open up. Rich and deep with dark cherry, blackberry and spice flavours it paired nicely with a New York Strip roast. A delicious wine from a great vintage — 3 years ago

David Nicewicz

9.3

Birth year Bordeaux and this has been excellent. Very old school nose of copious tobacco, forest floor and dark berries. Medium bodied but gaining intensity over the course of 2 h - tannins completely melted. Bricking is apparent on first pour but the color grows darker with time. Perfect bottle that is a little past it’s prime but fun to step back in time. — 4 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

The wife is making fish so I oblige with this pull. Amber gold, a bit darker than past bottles of this which I’ve had several times. Viscous and heavy in the glass. A nice nose, it doesn’t appear to come across as old on the first smells. Notes of apricot, white stone, some spice and a little citrus. Great acidity and texture in the mouth. With a few hours of air it even gets a bit chewy and more powerful in its impact. Great showing for the color. — 4 years ago

Doug Powers

9.4

Still shows some lovely primary redfruits, cassis, currants, quite tannic as well (characteristic of the 1986s I cellared), long, lingering finish, should show even better after my wife’s grilled lamb and my grilled steak come off the grill. I will say I was nervous when the final 1/8-inch of the cork severed off my old Ah-So cork puller, but not a problem!

Interesting sidebar — I purchased this upon arrival in 1989 at K&L in SF — by that time there were widespread reports of bad corks in Ducru from (at least) 1985 and 1986, so when I visited the shop I explained the situation and committed to purchasing 6 bottles, but only if I knew this batch didn’t have the cork problems — so, I said I’d pay for another bottle and we could open it together in the shop, I’d pay and also buy the other 6 bottles if it was NOT corked, and said if it was corked, then they’d pay for the opened bottle and I wouldn’t take the 6 other bottles — they agreed, we mutually tried the bottle then and there, no cork taint so I paid for 7 bottles total.

Telling the story in part because K&L has always been, IMHO, one of the classiest wine shops in the U.S., and they deserve credit agreeing to my deal (BTW, Wine Advocate had written about the cork taint issue within the preceding 3-6 months, so they were aware of the potential for it) — anyway, they’ve gotten a lot more of my business in the past 35+ years since!! — 8 months ago

with Jim

Conrad Green

9.5

A little ‘pffst’ as it opens. This is past the vigorous stage. A lovely gold color with hints of amber. On the nose some brioche, caramel, dried apricots. On the palate some hazelnut and a low hum of salinity. This is certainly mature with mid fizz level and some really lovely deep flavors. Long and complex. Drinking beautifully if you like the mature style.... with some time in glass there’s more minerality coming through and a distinct taste of oyster shells. Delicious — 4 years ago

with Bex and David