1986 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve

The bottle tasted in California was rated 78, the bottle from my cellar tasted one month later was significantly better, but not outstanding. Dark garnet/ruby-colored with an amber edge, this lean, medium-bodied, acidic wine is foursquare, short in the finish, with no flavor focus or intensity. A bottle from my cellar that I opened later revealed more fruit, better color, a spicy, dusty, curranty nose, medium body, high acidity, as well as astringent tannin. At best it is a good to very good wine that is closed and possibly out of balance. This wine has not lived up to its initial praise, and I remain concerned about the wine's high acidity dominating its moderately-endowed personality. It should keep for another 10-20 years. The tasting notes for this section are from two single blind tastings, one conducted in May, 1996, in California, and the other in June, 1996, in Baltimore.