Jay Kline

9.5

First things first, the wines of Bel Air Marquis d’Aligre or “BAMA”, as they are affectionately known, are not for everyone. They are essentially relics of a bygone era, made by a man who has largely resisted change over the last 74 years. Yes, that’s right, Jean-Pierre has been making the wine at BAMA since 1950. While nearly everyone around him has adopted whatever technology or technique that is trending, Jean-Pierre has held fast to his tradition. Before I get into the tasting notes, it’s worth sharing that opening a bottle of BAMA is a wild trip. A spirit walk of sorts. There are periods when you think the wine is fading and then minutes later, it’s a whirling dervish. It transformed every 20 minutes so be ready for the ride of your life.

Popped and poured; consumed over two days. Remarkable throughout. In the glass, the wine is a deep garnet color moving towards a rust color rim; slightly hazy with a near opaque, translucent core. Medium viscosity with light staining of the tears and some signs of fine sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous showing notes of desiccated cherries, currants, rhubarb, prunes, pomegranate, tobacco, cedar box, a well-conditioned horse saddle, an old library, espresso, roasted Brussels sprouts and damp earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium(+?) tannins and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is seriously 5 minutes long; it’s got the elegance of Margaux with an unctuous texture. Truly remarkable. A veritable abyss of complexity. Drink now with patience but honestly, I’m not even sure a wine like this ever dies so I wouldn’t be concerned about holding these for another couple decades. Special thanks to @Lyle Fass for the assist. — 15 days ago

Tomo F

8.9

Pepper, oak, black current and a bit of cassis. Soft chewy tannin. Would want to try in several years. — 5 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Ruby core still , thin garnet rim . A bit of development , quite cool spicy black fruits , touch of earthy , mineral notes , tobacco. After a while more red fruit , floral notes , elegant . Quite linear and cool on the palate , dark cedar blackcurrant fruits . Nice balanced acidity and quite gritty tannins still . Ok length , with mineral and saline finish . Good to drink now and over the next 10 years — 2 hours ago

Pooneet K

9.1

Very nice Margaux from a year I haven’t had before. Wonderful nose. Decanted 6h which I recommend at this point - or check back in after 3-5 years. Tannins and oak are there, relatively classically Bordeaux. Needs food - as a pairing with lamb tagine, very nice. — 20 days ago

Big Wave Dave

9.0

At Brane tasting. Acid and tannin still untouched but the fruit is on the wane, giving an overall slightly disjoined whole. Still - at almost 40yo, still an amazing effort. — 6 days ago

Anthony De Blasi

9.2

Good wine, I scored it a bit less seen the QPR is not in balance here. — a month ago

Ted

9.3

Order has been restored to the universe. The Lions choke as usual and this wine is fantastic. Gigantic bone in rib-eye is next. Extremely approachable wine as an infant. — 15 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Pretty deep ruby . Quite exuberant blueberry with blackberry , touch of spice and then more grafite notes . Quite round and ripe , blackberry , violets , touch of black currant , grafite , earthy , saline touches . Nice juicy tannins with balancing acidity . Good length, balanced alcohol , cocoa richness on the finish. Can be drunk now but better in 5 years and will last a further 10 . — 2 hours ago

Robert Ahlstrom

9.3

Chocolate, well balanced, licorice, great pairing with thanksgiving turkey — 15 days ago

Paul Jakubowski

9.4

WOTN! PnP. Dusty, earthy nose and similar on the palate. Refined and complex. Excellent vintage and high quality. — 20 days ago

with Brooke