### Cellar Journal: Bordeaux 1920-2015

BY NEAL MARTIN | DECEMBER 04, 2019

Every now and again I sweep up the tasting notes for wines that fall through the cracks between standalone articles, Cellar Favorites and Vinous Tables. The [last edition](https://vinous.com/articles/cellar-journal-bordeaux-to-start-jul-2018) of Cellar Journal was back in July 2018, so I am long overdue a second _tranche_. Part of the delay was due to my heart surgery in May 2019, which threw my plans into disarray. In fact, this article includes the very last wine I drank just before experiencing the first signs of trouble, though I am not suggesting that the wonderful bottle of **1983 Latour** was the cause. Some of the tasting notes derive from mini-verticals at _châteaux_ – **Léoville Las-Cases** , **Nénin** and **Batailley** , for example – that provided insufficient notes for standalone pieces, but are useful in terms of updating the database to keep readers abreast of how they are evolving.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1575472235255-ripeau_1955.jpg)

_The 1955 Ripeau and 1955 Cheval Blanc were served at a private dinner in Beaune._

The wines in this article include “big names” such as the aforementioned First Growth and monuments such as the **1982 Mouton-Rothschild** (from an ex-cellar jeroboam) or the **1990 Cheval Blanc** that serve to update existing notes on the Vinous database. More importantly, however, this roundup covers esoteric names and/or less heralded vintages. For example, who knew that the **1955 Ripeau** , the **1982 Cos-Labory** or the **1990 Certan-Giraud** (now Hosanna) could yield so much pleasure for savvy Bordeaux-lovers? These notes keep you “in the know.” At the opposite end of the scale, some expensive wines from off vintages are for curiosity purposes only: wines like the **1984 Lafite-Rothschild** or the perplexing **1996 Léoville Poyferré**. Incidentally, all the aforementioned bottles were served blind, another important factor in assessing mature claret without prejudice.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1575472247907-cheval_blanc_1955.jpg)

_The 1955 Ripeau was certainly not overawed by the 1955 Cheval Blanc._

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**You Might Also Enjoy**

[The Future’s Not What It Was: Bordeaux 2018](https://vinous.com/articles/the-future-s-not-what-it-was-bordeaux-2018-nov-2019), Neal Martin, November 2019

[The Other Side of Bordeaux](https://vinous.com/articles/the-other-side-of-bordeaux-sep-2019), Neal Martin, September 2019

[A Century of Bordeaux: The Nines](https://www.vinous.com/articles/a-century-of-bordeaux-the-nines-sep-2019), Neal Martin, September 2019

[Finally: Bordeaux 2015 In Bottle](https://vinous.com/articles/finally-bordeaux-2015-in-bottle-jul-2019), Neal Martin, July 2019

[Cellar Journal – Bordeaux to Start…](https://vinous.com/articles/cellar-journal-bordeaux-to-start-jul-2018), Neal Martin, July 2018



Cellar Journal: Bordeaux 1920-2015

Cellar Journal: Bordeaux 1920-2015 (Dec 2019)

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