Collector Wines

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(Château Mouton-Rothschild) This was the last vintage to be made by the Baron de Rothschild, and I have always had a sneaky suspicion that the 1987 may have been made a bit more memorable by the inclusion of some of the 1986 or 1988 bookends that may have been laying around, as the wine utterly transcends the vintage in terms of depth and power. Regardless of how the quality of the wine was ultimately arrived at, it is the finest 1987 Medoc that I have ever tasted, jumping from the glass in a blend of red berries, spices, coffee, eucalyptus, a touch of walnuts and the traditional Mouton nicely toasted new oak. On the palate the wine is medium-full, complex and à point, with excellent focus and fine length on the shapely finish. This is a lovely, commemorative bottling that still has plenty of life ahead of it. (Drink between 2003-2012)John Gilman | 91 JGOctober 2002 at a mad Swiss collector’s house at 10am. Light brick core. Tawny rim. Delicate leaf/minty nose. Quite earthy and mature on palate. Well-balanced, better than Lafite. Moderate concentration but quite austere and classic. Drink soon. Tasted amongst in a collectors gnome garden in Switzerland at 10am! Tasted again at the SuperBOWL and making perfect sense with a leg of lamb. A slightly diffuse, tobacco scented nose followed by a palate of moderate concentration with cedar and tobacco. Quite a soft texture but with vibrant acidity. A gentleman’s claret. Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 88-90 RP-NM

Berry, cherry and chocolate on the nose, with hints of spices. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a spicy, cedary, dark chocolate aftertaste. Very silky and caressing. Grabs your attention. Muscular for Cheval. Overlooked by many Cheval fans.—’88/’98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Drink now. 12,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS(40 h/h; 12.5% alcohol): Bright red. Very pure floral nose with enticing aromas of redcurrant, violet, minerals, licorice, lead pencil and coffee: very cabernet franc! Then linear, pure and juicy, with pristine flavors of red berries, dark plum, minerals and coffee. This midweight finishes clean and smoothly tannic, offering amazing balance and an impression of seamlessness on the long, very floral finish. As much as I like its pure aromas and flavors, I find this Cheval Blanc lacks a little density for an even higher score. This was an overall dry and cool year, with some rain present only in the first part of the year, which caused some mildew pressure. The dry conditions started at the end of July and never really let up; from July to September, there was less than two inches of rain. Flowering was late, taking place on June 10, and veraison on August 20. Harvested during the first ten days of October.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The wine of the vintage and one of the greatest Haut-Brions ever made. Superpowerful and ripe, with masses of spice, mint and berry character. Full-bodied, with full yet polished tannins, this wine is a joy to taste and will be for decades.--1988 Bordeaux horizontal.Wine Spectator | 98 WSA more firmly structured Haut-Brion, built somewhat along the lines of the 1996, this dark garnet-colored wine is showing notes of licorice, underbrush, compost, truffles, dried herbs, creosote, and sweet black cherries and currants. Medium-bodied, rich, but still structured, this wine unfolds incrementally on the palate, showing superb density and a lot of complex Graves elements. It is just beginning to hit its plateau of full maturity. Anticipated maturity: Now-2025. Last tasted, 11/02.Robert Parker | 92 RPThe 1988 Haut Brion is another vintage that I have not seen for a number of years. It has a light, maybe slight smudged nose that is quite leafy in style, autumnal, hints of bay leaf and a light marine influence developing but never quite delivering the vigor of its sibling, the 1988 La Mission Haut-Brion. The palate is medium-bodied with dry tannin on the entry, a fine thread of acidity, but I would argue this is too simple for a First Growth in a decent vintage like this, does not engage or charm like the 1985 or 1986. Of course, matter would be redressed by the legendary 1989 Haut-Brion. The 1988? It is more like a footnote to Jean-Bernard Delmas’s crowning glory that arrived 12 months later. Tasted at the château.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Iodine aromas, with tobacco, cedar and sea shells, and earth and ripe fruit underneath. Full-bodied, with slightly chewy tannins and a vanilla, berry and cherry aftertaste. Big and powerful still. I would give it a little more time to mellow. But an impressive wine for the vintage.--'88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2010.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château La Mission Haut-Brion) The 1988 Château La Mission Haut-Brion is a very strong example of the vintage, with the ’88 tendency to a slight leanness nicely complemented by the property’s inherently broad shoulders. The deep and mature nose wafts from the glass in a very complex constellation of sweet dark berries, black cherries, still a touch of medicinal Graves tones, summer truffles, a fine combination of Cuban cigar ash and wrapper, gentle meatiness, a complex base of gravelly soil notes, a bit of smoky new oak and just a hint of violet in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with a fine core, still just a bit of backend tannin, good acids and fine focus and grip on the long and complex finish. This is one of the top 1988s that I have had a pleasure to taste and a very fine La Mission, even if it will always be just a touch sinewy by the rather robust standards of this outstanding estate. It is not quite as sweet in its fruit component (yet?) as the 1983 or 1981, but it may well get there, and if it does so, my score will be a tad conservative. (Drink between 2015-2040)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 1988 La Mission Haut-Brion is a vintage that I have not encountered for ten years. Now at 30 years old it has a charming bouquet with scents of tobacco and cigar box infusing the black fruit, just as it did a decade ago. It is not powerful but undeniably very refined. The palate is medium-bodied with leafy black fruit infused with bay leaf, clove and black tea. Yes, it is a relatively austere La Mission compared to the succeeding two vintages, but there is a sense of effortlessness about this wine that makes you fall in love. Maybe not quite as vigorous as it was before, but you would still polish off a bottle in no time at all. Tasted at the château.Vinous Media | 92 VMFirm, masculine and tannic with plenty of earth, truffle, asphalt and volcanic characteristics, this burly La Mission-Haut-Brion is bordering on being monolithic/foursquare. It reveals good body as well as plenty of tannin, adequate acidity, a dark plum/garnet color, and classic La Mission terroir characteristics of smoke, scorched earth, spice, roasted meats and camphor. Neither big nor wimpish, it, like many wines of this vintage, appears to be aging nicely. While fully mature, it displays enough youthful characteristics, from its tannin to its vibrant, moderately intense fruit, to suggest it will hold up for another two decades.Robert Parker | 90 RP

This brilliant wine is one of the best new breed Tuscan reds I have tasted. The color is a sensational black/purple and the nose offers gorgeously intense aromas of black plums, cassis, licorice, and spicy new oak. In the mouth, there is extraordinary opulence and richness, enough acidity to provide grip, and plenty of tannin lurking behind the cascade of fruit. The explosive finish goes on and on. Approachable, even delicious now, this splendid wine promises to get even better over the next 4-6 years and possibly last through the first decade of the next century. Impressive!Robert Parker | 93 RPA solid wine, with wonderful structure for aging, but still closed and not giving much at this stage. Dark-ruby color, with smoke, berry and cherry aromas and flavors. Loads of velvety tannins, full body and a long finish. Great, soft texture. Wait until at least 1997.--Super Tuscan retrospective. — JSWine Spectator | 93 WSThe 1988 Ornellaia (magnum) shows a touch more complexity and delineation than the 1985 in its layers of dark fruit, herbs, licorice, minerals and spices, with a surprising level of freshness and firmness. It is a beautiful Ornellaia with several years of fine drinking ahead. The 1988 Ornellaia is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc that spent 11 months in French oak, 40% new.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Subtle yet rich aromas of grilled meat, black olive and dark red fruits. Full-bodied, very soft and silky, with ultrarefined tannins. The finish lasts for minutes. The quality of the tannins is beautiful and the complexity of fruit, earth and spices is impressive. Drinking this is like listening to Mozart.--’88/’98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Drink now. 3,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThis wine has become increasingly herbaceous with the tannins pushing through the fruit and becoming more aggressive. The wine started off life impressively deep ruby/purple but is now showing some amber at the edge. It is a medium-bodied, rather elegant style of Petrus with a distinctive cedary, almost celery component intermixed with a hint of caramel and sweet mulberry and black cherry fruit. It has aged far less evenly than I would have thought and is probably best drunk over the next 8-10 years. Last tasted, 11/02.Robert Parker | 91 RPThe 1988 Petrus is a vintage that I have encountered in two occasions. It is a forerunner for the 1989 and 1990 and frankly, it cannot hold a torch to those twin titans. In retrospect, one can see it more as a small progression from the capable 1987. It has a youthful hue with less bricking on the rim than you would expect. The bouquet is well defined with autumn leaves and thyme aromas filtering through the red berry fruit, perhaps a little austere but attractive in its own modest way. The plate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins, conservative and clearly not a flamboyant Petrus, though balanced with a discrete sense of breeding towards the finish. There is no need to cellar bottles for longer although it should remain at this level for another decade. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at Hide restaurant in London.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Aromas of coffee bean, dried flowers and blackberry follow through to a full body, with very sweet and ripe fruit. Long and flavorful, with dark chocolate, tobacco and plum. Complex and fascinating. Will improve for many years.—'88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Drink now. — JSWine Spectator | 93 WS(Château Trotanoy) The 1988 Château Trotanoy is a really lovely example of the vintage, with decidedly “cooler” fruit tones that are on the black fruity side of the ledger, as well as the notes of fresh herbs and gravel of less ripe vintages at this estate. The super bouquet is a blend of dark berries, black cherries, cigar ash, gravel, coffee, tobacco leaf, fresh herbs and a deft framing of nutty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still a bit on the young side, with a superb core of fruit, moderate tannins, good acids and excellent focus and complexity on the long and black fruity finish. Not a classic vintage of Trotanoy, but a classic example of Trotanoy from a cooler year. (Drink between 2016-2040)John Gilman | 92+ JG

Bartolo Mascarello’s 1989 Barolo (magnum) is all freshly cut roses, plums, prunes and sweet spices. The aromas and flavors continue to emerge with notable vigor and intensity, framed exquisitely by firm, silky tannins. Grace and class come to mind as apt descriptors for a wine that balances exceptional depth yet also floats on the palate with ethereal qualities that are hard to do justice to on the printed page. The finish is long and wonderfully pure, with overtones of licorice and menthol that invite a second (and third!) taste. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RP(Barolo-Bartolo Mascarello) I have no doubt that the 1989 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo will prove to be one of the greatest vintages in the long and consistently excellent career of this maestro, but it is only just starting to show its secondary layers of complexity and desperately deserves more time in the cellar to really reach its apogee. The bouquet is deep, pure and very promising, offering up a blend of cherries, beef bouillon, roasted gamebirds, a touch of wild bay, complex, autumnal soil tones and a topnote of woodsmoke. On the palate the wine is very pure, full and sappy at the core, with great soil inflection, ripe, fine-grained tannins, outstanding focus and grip and a very, very long, pure and complex finish. It is not a crime to be drinking this wine today- if you have enough bottles remaining in the cellar that you are not going to miss one ten years down the road- but this is a wine that is still climbing and its best days are still several years further out. (Drink between 2016 - 2060)John Gilman | 95+ JGOne of the most anticipated wines of the night, the 1989 Barolo is not as exceptional as it can be. I have tasted the 1989 mostly from magnum recently, so perhaps my expectations are a bit colored. Even from the big bottle, though, the 1989 has always shown slight imperfections, especially in the bouquet. In this tasting, my impression is that in the standard bottle those imperfections are more evident. There is plenty of texture and depth to the fruit, but it is the aromatics that are penalizing here.Vinous Media | 91 VM

This wine has such balance and harmony. I remember when it was young and how the new wood and intense fruit came out, but they have finally come together in such a beautiful way. It shows subtle and complex character of plums, cedar, dried flowers, and earth. The texture or mouthfeel is beautiful as you taste it.James Suckling | 100 JSOne of the great modern-day Bordeaux, the 1989 Clinet still has a saturated purple color and a sweet nose of creme de cassis intermixed with incense, licorice, smoke, and mineral. As the wine sits in the glass, more blueberry and blackberry notes emerge, intermixed with some toasty oak, earth, and spice. This spectacularly concentrated, full-bodied, multi-dimensional wine is the stuff of dreams. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025. Last tasted, 10/02.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 1989 Clinet is the vintage that put this Pomerol estate on the map thanks to a perfect score from you-know-who. While I have never encountered a perfect bottle myself, a magnum hinted that it was not beyond the realm of possibility, though I have found bottles to be a bit hit-or-miss. This bottle is one of the better examples. It features kirsch, cassis and crushed violets on the nose, like a Margaux with the dial turned up to eleven (and I mean that in a positive way.) There is some VA here, but it merely gives kick to the aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with a rich, precocious entry and generous sloe and brown sugar notes, very deep and rounded. A slightly volatile finish offers marvelous length. I suspect that to really experience the 1989 Clinet at its peak, you need to find perfectly cellared larger formats, although clearly bottles can be a thrill. Tasted blind at lunch in London.Vinous Media | 95 VM

A remarkable, profound example of how top Sauternes wines age, with intense notes of marmalade on the nose. Although it seemed there were some hints of passerillage, Sandrine Garbay confirmed no dried grapes made it into the blend. A subtle note of botrytis adds even more to the aromatics. Amber in hue, the palate is laden with complex flavours of tropical fruits, citrus notes of lime and orange zest, all supported by cleansing acidity and an intriguing mineral undertow. This still has at least 20 years ahead of it, perhaps a lot more. From a year where the growing season was very warm, before a cool and rain-affected September and much cooler October. 80% Sémillon, 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Residual Sugar: 127g/L. (Drink between 2022-2040)0.Decanter | 100 DECThe 1989 Yquem is my favourite of the triumvirate and this bottle was stellar. It explodes from the glass with scents of quince, acacia, honeysuckle, saffron and wild heather (a trait that I have observed previously). What marks this out is the stunning delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with tangerine, fig, marmalade and quince. A livewire Yquem with enormous depth and intensity, a bit more swagger than the 1988, a bit more precision-tooled than the 1990. Fabulous. Tasted blind at a private dinner in Bordeaux.Vinous Media | 99 VMThe favorite sweet wine of millionaires, Chateau d’Yquem has, not unexpectedly, turned in a brilliant effort with their newly released 1989. It is a large-scaled, massively rich, unctuously-textured wine that should evolve effortlessly for a half century or more. It does not reveal the compelling finesse and complexity of the 1988 or 1986, but it is a far heavier, richer wine than either of those vintages. It is reminiscent of the 1976, with additional fat and glycerin. The wine is extremely alcoholic and rich, with a huge nose of smoky, honey-covered coconuts and overripe pineapples and apricots. As with most young vintages of Yquem, the wine’s structure is barely noticeable. These wines are so highly extracted and rich yet approachable young, it is difficult to believe they will last for 50 or more years. The 1989 is the richest Yquem made in the eighties, and it has an edge in complexity over the powerhouse 1983. It remains to be seen whether this wine will develop the extraordinary aromatic complexity possessed by the promising 1988 and 1986 Yquems. Last tasted 11/97.Robert Parker | 97 RPVery classy and beautiful, packed with botrityzed flavors. Marvelous blend of vanilla, cream, tobacco-box notes, with a lot of oak on it for now but also loads of pure, clean and elegant fruit. An infant that will age for a long time.--Yquem vertical. Best after 2020. 12,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS

Harvest took place this year from 11th to 24th September. The wine was aged for around 12 months in two-thirds new oak. Pale to medium brick colored, the 1989 Ducru-Beaucaillou sashays out of the glass with pretty notes of dried flowers, fallen leaves and dusty soil over a core of warm figs, dried cherries, prunes and spice cake plus wafts of unsmoked cigars and powdered cinnamon. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is still seductively rich with a lively line of soft, silt-like tannins, finishing long and wonderfully savory.Readers should note that this vintage fell within a notoriously patchy period at Ducru, where the cellar is likely to have fallen victim to TCA or a TCA-like taint, and it appears some bottles were impacted from 1986 to 1994. By 1995, the chateau had a completely new vat room/cellar and the problem ceased. Therefore, there could be some bottle variation to be had with this vintage. This bottle, however, was pristine, tasted at the chateau.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPDelivers lots of tanned leather and spices, with very ripe fruit, from dried strawberry to raisin, turning to jam. Full-bodied, offering a very fresh palate of exotic fruit, currant and raisin as well as silky and polished tannins. So long and beautiful. Why wait? But it has a long life ahead. There is a lot of bottle variation in this wine due to TCA issues, but this is a beauty.—’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe 1989 Ducru-Beaucaillou is showing some bricking on the rim, although the core remains quite dark. This has an attractive bouquet with lovely tobacco-infused black fruit and touches of black truffle and morels. There is something very gentle here but also intense. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a fine bead of acidity, a little meaty and bloody in style with maybe just a hint of brettanomyces toward the finish. But it seems to complement and enhance the wine. Tasted from an ex-cellar bottle at the château.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Lovely sous-bois, well-worn leather, steeped tea and mulled red currant fruit aromas and flavors glide together here, with velvety tannins lining the finish, allowing the fruit to linger gracefully. Very alluring for the range and perfume, though this is now fully mature, showing a hair less concentration than the more modern vintages.—Non-blind La Fleur-Pétrus vertical (December 2015). Drink now through 2020.Wine Spectator | 94 WSIn the ongoing competition between the 1989 and 1990 vintages, in the case of La Fleur-Petrus, the 1989 comes out a clear winner. The dense plum/garnet color offers up notes of underbrush, dried herbs, caramel, sweet cedar, and jammy black cherries intermixed with some balsam wood. In the mouth the wine is deep, very pure, ripe, with moderate tannins still to be shed. A very impressive, gorgeous La Fleur-Petrus that is the best wine made during a somewhat indifferent period for this property. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2015. Last tasted, 3/02.Robert Parker | 91 RP

Beautiful, rich and still extremely young, this is Lafite at its gulpable, elegant, sculpted, age-defying best. Deeply-spiced cassis notes are joined by touches of cedar - the result of a dry year that saw one of the earliest harvests since 1898. The grapes were picked with high alcohol and ripe tannins and they have absolutely lasted, and will continue to do so. The tannins are cradling the fruit, barely perceptible and yet still fully in control. Drinking Window 2018 - 2040.Decanter | 98 DECChâteau Lafite-Rothschild Pauillac 1989: I have never been a huge fan of this Lafite but it seems to be coming into its own now. It’s a wine with a character of cloves and berries with hints plums. It shows loads of potpourri. Roses too. Full and so balanced. Tight and youthful. The winemaker at Lafite says that when he wants to show someone a perfect example of Pauillac this is the Lafite he pours. Maybe he is right?James Suckling | 97 JS(Château Lafite-Rothschild) The 1989 Château Lafite-Rothschild is an outstanding example of the vintage and this is one of my favorite wines from this very, very successful decade at this great property. The bouquet is pure and nicely ripe with the vintage’s generosity, wafting from the glass in a complex blend of cassis, black cherries, tobacco leaf, a beautiful base of gravelly soil, a touch of fresh herbs and a very well-done framing of toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very suave on the attack, with impeccable focus and balance, a lovely core of black fruit, fine soil signature and a long, seamlessly tannic and complex finish. Just a lovely, lovely vintage of Lafite. (Drink between 2016-2060).John Gilman | 95 JGSubtle, yet rich and decadent, offering meat, sweet berry and fresh leather on the nose. Full and very soft, with velvety tannins and a long, fruity finish. This has so much ripe fruit. Reserved and firm, this is turning to a very fine and shy Lafite. This is fresh and structured, but still holding back. I wouldn’t wait, though.--’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 1989 Lafite-Rothschild, a wine that I have had several times both from bottle and magnum, is a better wine than the 1990, although I wonder whether its best days are now behind it. There is noticeably more bricking on the rim compared directly with the succeeding vintage. I also notice a touch of VA on this bottle with scents of molasses, cedar and a dab of the old boot polish. I find that the 1989 has more personality than the 1990 Lafite. The palate is supple and rounded in the mouth, a sense of warmth here although not complex and I would prefer more tension on the finish as it delivers allspice, mulberry and sage on the aftertaste. I wonder where this will go? At the moment it is difficult to see: heading down a cul-de-sac or Route 66? Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild dinner at Amuse Bouche in Hong Kong and then blind at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the property.Vinous Media | 91 VMAs I suspected, the 1989 and 1990 vintages of Lafite-Rothschild have gone dormant. Both wines were among the more closed, backward examples in my blind tasting. The 1989 Lafite is also outstanding, but closed, with the tannin more elevated, and the wine so stubbornly reticent as to make evaluation almost impossible. Lafite’s 1989 was far more easy to taste and understand several years ago. It appears to have gone completely to sleep. This medium ruby-colored, medium-bodied wine reveals new oak in the nose, and a spicy finish. It is a quintessentially elegant, restrained, understated style of Lafite. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025.Robert Parker | 90 RP

(Château Le Pin) Perhaps the greatest vintage ever of Le Pin, the 1989 has moved from its ostentatious and exotic youth into a more stately, but no less complex and compelling stage of developing maturity. The bouquet is deep and profound, with candied scents of mulberry, red currants, cocoa, tobacco, a bit of truffle, woodsmoke and vanillin oak exploding from the glass. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and laser-like in its focus, with great underlying structure, some ripe tannin, and great length and grip on the finish. This is clearly the most serious bottle of Le Pin that I have had the pleasure to taste. It is not yet at its apogee, but it is such a spectacular glass of wine today, that it would certainly be difficult to keep paws off. (Drink between 2005-2025)John Gilman | 97 JGA slightly firmer, more structured wine than the 1990, with similarly low acid but more noticeable tannin, the color remains a very healthy saturated ruby/purple. The nose needs more coaxing and offers up noted of coconut, roasted herbs, jus du viande, along with plenty of black currant and sweet cherry fruit with nicely integrated toasty oak. The wine has similarly high levels of glycerin to the 1990, but less accessibility, and more structure and possibly power. This is a remarkable wine, and certainly one of the great vintages for Le Pin. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2022. Last tasted, 12/01.Robert Parker | 96 RPTasted at the Pomerol Comparative Exploration tasting in London, the 1989 Le Pin has always been a sensual wine, not as exotic as the 1982, perhaps a bit more "grown up". Here it has a luxuriant bouquet of black cherries, crème de cassis, terracotta tiles and clove. There is a patina of warmth still emanating from that warm summer. The palate is velvety smooth, voluptuous and decadent yet the acidity keeps everything in check. I noticed a wild mint note that I have not seen on previous bottles, building in the mouth towards a multi-faceted, caressing finish, like a loved one begging you not to leave. It is simply ridiculously pleasurable from start to finish.Vinous Media | 96 VMI like this better than the 1990. It shows loads of licorice and blackberry, with hints of cherry on the nose. Full and refined, with silky tannins and an elegant finish. Lovely. Still very young and bright. The acidity holds it in. Much better than I remember.--Le Pin non-blind vertical. Best after 2010.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

A lovely, classic example of a fully mature St-Julien, replete with ripe berry fruits and tannins that whisper rather than shout. You’re pulling up a chair right by the fireside here, where the embers are still warm. Coffee, cedar and sandalwood take the lead over brambly black fruits. This is lovely, but unquestionably fully evolved and open. Drinking Window 2018 - 2028Decanter | 92 DECA delicious, well-structured Bordeaux, with plenty of ripe fruit, beautiful berry, green tobacco and cherry character. Full-bodied, adding velvety tannins and a long, caressing finish.--1989 Bordeaux horizontal. Best after 2002.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThe bottle of 1989 Léoville-Barton is probably the best I have encountered over the years; indeed, it is better than a bottle opened by Lilian Barton-Sartorius when I visited the property a few weeks earlier. It has a comely old-school claret bouquet of red fruit infused with cedar and loamy scents, and maybe some dustiness, but I have come to expect that in older vintages of this Saint-Julien. The palate is medium-bodied, pure and elegant, with svelte tannin and moderate acidity and a surprisingly sweet, almost precocious finish thanks to that year’s hot summer. It has softened in recent years and yet there is still good backbone and grip to this wine. Just enjoy. Tasted at the 1989 Bordeaux dinner at Hatched in London.Vinous Media | 91 VM It has been a little while since I tasted the Château Léoville-Barton 1989. Now at 25 years of age, it has an open bouquet with vestiges of brambly red fruit, scorched earth and chestnut, touches of fireside hearth developing with time. There is something almost comforting about Anthony Barton’s wine, its familiarity putting you at ease. The palate is medium-bodied with tannins that have softened in recent years and it gently builds to a saline, rather austere finish. Gentle, but classy Saint Julien, you can enjoy this for another 15 years without worry. Tasted June 2014. Drink Date 2014 - 2030Robert Parker | 90 RP

1989 was an early year, with flowering three weeks ahead of usual. Now at 30 years old, a floral aspect curls out of the glass, with touches of roses and peonies, followed on the palate by bilberries and blackberries, with a cigar smoke and eucalyptus finish. It’s still vigorous in its tannic structure, but it’s soft and supple enough to enjoy today. This bottle was recorked by hand at the winery last year, with five people checking every single one of the 5,000 bottles remaining at the chateau. The wines were topped up from magnums of the 1989. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend - a variety not used in the grand vin since 1996. Drinking Window 2019 - 2040Decanter | 98 DECVery ripe, with raisin and dried fruits on the nose. You can smell the sun-dried grapes. Full-bodied, delivering firm tannins and a very fresh palate. Long and flavorful, offering currant, berries and all sorts of dark fruits, but turns lightly earthy and floral. This is a thoroughly complex wine. Just starting to really open into the mature 20-year-old wine it is, but such a great life ahead of it. Muscular.--’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now.Wine Spectator | 96 WSOne of the most youthful wines of the vintage, the 1989 Léoville Las Cases unwinds in the decanter and glass with aromas of blackcurrant and pencil shavings, framed by a discrete patina from its aging in oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and tightly wound, it’s impressively pure and vibrant, though it lacks the mid-palate plenitude of the vintage’s best wines, displaying a touch of tannic asperity on the finish. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it continue to improve with further aging, though my sense is that the Cabernet Sauvignon might have been picked a little prematurely in this vintage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

Freshly picked blackberries turn into minty dark chocolate and oozing caramel with domineering eucalyptus on the nose. It becomes yet more complex on the palate thanks to layers upon layers of spices and sage plus fat and rounded tannins. There’s a long finish with a bitter aftertaste, suggesting this could do with another 10 years or more of bottle aging. This is a Mouton I found massive at the time, then elegant and slightly austere years later, but today true to its former glory. Like the amazing 1947, it should not be forgotten.James Suckling | 98 JSAn extremely early year for the property, with harvest from 6-25 September. One to savour, it has the signature smoked, toasted glamour of Mouton, with cappuccino, crushed bilberry and blackberries, pliable tannins, and a drawn-out finish that gets better and better in the glass. The label, by the way, featured Georg Baselitz, a German painter, to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall.Decanter | 97 DECShows so much ripe and decadent fruit on the nose, from dried berries and raisin to strawberry and sultana. There is a nutty, cedar undertone as well. Very complex and full-bodied, with lots of vanilla bean and ripe plum flavors. This is almost Burgundian in texture: so soft and so attractive, but then the Bordeaux tannins kick in at the end. What a wine. So much ahead in its life, but just coming around now.--’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now. 25,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS(Château Mouton-Rothschild) This most recent bottle of the 1989 Château Mouton-Rothschild, was by quite some margin, the finest I have tasted, and it is hard not to be persuaded that the wine is only now really starting to come fully into its own. As I have mentioned in the past, this is from the era when Mouton used a lot of very heavily-toasted oak in its wine, but the ’89 vintage provided plenty of depth of fruit to carry the generous serving of new oak and the two are beautifully synthesized today. The bouquet is deep, complex and strikingly attractive, wafting from the glass in a fine blend of cassis, black cherries, Cuban cigar wrapper, a nice touch of Mouton spices starting to emerge, the aforementioned toasty new oak and, with air, just a touch of fresh herb tones that are very, very attractive. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and still new oaky in personality, with an excellent core of fruit, melting tannins and excellent focus and grip on the very long and very classy finish. As one of the tasters around the table dubbed this wine, “the best vintage from Mouton’s coffee oak period.” The 1989 Mouton is a far more impressive wine today than it was ten years ago and, though I would have liked it better with less toasty oak, its future seems to be excellent. (Drink between 2019-2060)John Gilman | 95 JGTasted from magnum and presented by Baron Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, the 1989 Château Mouton-Rothschild might not reach the ethereal heights of the 1982 or 1986, but it is certainly a lovely Claret. It has an attractive, slightly leafy bouquet armed with cedar and pencil lead. There is less fruit concentration than I expected, resolutely classic, slightly austere Bordeaux. The palate follows suit. What it lacks in substance it compensates with in balance and personality. This is an understated Mouton-Rothschild that is probably at its peak, although I envisage this offering another two decades of pleasure. Whilst this showing did not replicate some glorious bottles in the past, it remains a very fine Claret that may not be inclined to improve any further. Tasted February 2016.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 93 RP-NMThe 1989 Mouton-Rothschild is a vintage that I have always had a lot of time for. Now at 30 years of age, it has quite a potent bouquet of blackberries, raspberry coulis, cedar and mint that feels opulent but youthful. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin and a fine bead of acidity, and quite succulent in mouthfeel, featuring generous wild strawberry mixed with cedar and tobacco. There is a sense of swagger about this Mouton-Rothschild and it feels very persistent on the surprisingly dense finish. Very fine. Tasted from an ex-cellar bottle at the château.Vinous Media | 93 VM

All elegance and fine texture. Beautiful aromas of milk chocolate and ripe berries. Full- to medium-bodied, with silky tannins and a sweet fruit, chocolate aftertaste. Hard to resist now.--1989 Bordeaux horizontal. Best after 2000.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

One of the wines of the vintage, the 1989 Pichon-Longueville Baron is drinking beautifully today. Bursting from the glass with aromas of ripe blackcurrants, plums, Cuban cigar, loamy soil, black truffles and burning embers, it’s medium to full-bodied, rich and enveloping, with powdery tannins and a concentrated core of fruit. Fleshy and dramatic, with a sumptuous, low-acid profile and a long, expansive finish, to my palate this is the one 1989 Pauillac that, on a good day, can rival the extraordinary 1989 Lynch Bages. While I tend to think it’s at its peak, every bottle I open from my cellar in Beaune seems to be better than the last.Robert Parker | 97 RPThe 1989 Pichon-Baron repeats its performance from the vertical tasting in May 2018. It storms from the glass, bearing copious blackberry, cedar and perhaps a little more mint than I noticed on the previous bottle. There is so much youthful zeal to this harmonious, refined Pauillac that you would barely guess it is 30 years old. Long and tender with a graphite-infused finish, this bottle might be even better than the ex-château example. Tasted at the 1989 Bordeaux dinner at Hatched in London.Vinous Media | 95 VM(Château Pichon-Baron) The 1989 vintage remains the single greatest wine I have ever tasted from Château Pichon-Baron, and this most recent bottle was flat out spectacular! I have liked this wine very well from the moment it was released, but never imagined it would rise to the level it is currently displaying, and it was clearly one of the great, great bargains of the 1989 vintage when it first came out. The bouquet is deep, pure and very, very promising, albeit still a tad on the young side, as it delivers a refined aromatic constellation of black cherries, plums, a touch of mocha, gravelly soil tones, cigar smoke and cedar. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with great focus and grip, moderate tannins and a long, nascently complex and impeccably balanced finish. I last drank this in the autumn of 2017 and it was still a few years away from fully blossoming, but it is one of the purest, most precise and promising 1989s to be found in the Médoc! Great juice. (Drink between 2021-2060)John Gilman | 95 JGWhat a nose here, from crushed mulberry to tanned leather to tar. Full-bodied, with big, velvety tannins that are soft and caressing, like cashmere. This is so tight and powerful still; it seems to be holding back. Be patient, because it will open with another five or six years of bottle age. Hard to wait. So why do it?--’89/’99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now. 20,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The second part of this tasting kicks off with the 1989 Pichon Lalande. Off the charts aromatic intensity, silky tannins and exceptional finesse give the 1989 much of its considerable allure. Crushed flowers, sweet red fruit, tobacco, cedar and incense are some of the many notes that waft from the glass, but it is the wine’s textural finesse that elevates it into the realm of the profound. Wonderfully alive and delineated in every way, the 1989 is one of many highlights on this magical afternoon.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThis has entered its secondary phase, with alluring notes of black tea, steeped plum, mulled spice and warm pain d’épices emerging from the core of supple plum, cassis and black cherry fruit. The long, fine-grained finish lets a perfumy singed cedar accent linger. A beauty.--Non-blind Pichon Lalande vertical (July 2014). Drink now through 2030.Wine Spectator | 95 WS(Château Pichon-Lalande) Paired up with the 1990 at our vertical tasting, the more powerful and flamboyant side of the 1989 comes through rather dramatically. Along with the magical 1982, this is my favorite vintage of Pichon-Lalande from what must be its most successful overall decade in its long and illustrious history. The bouquet is pure, still sappily youthful and oh, so promising, soaring from the glass in a blend of sweet dark berries, a hint of plumminess, menthol, cigar smoke, coffee bean, gravelly soil tones, chocolate and toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and plush on the attack, with a great core of fruit, lovely mineral drive under the layers of fruit, ripe, buried tannins and outstanding focus and grip on the long, beautifully balanced and nascently complex finish. The last time I drank this wine it seemed like it was really starting to enter its plateau, but here at our vertical, paired alongside of the à point 1990, the relative youth of the 1989 is more apparent and I would be inclined to still give this great vintage of Pichon a few more years in the cellar to further unfurl. I clearly underestimated its potential longevity the last time I drank a bottle of this wine, as it has decades and decades of life still ahead of it! (Drink between 2022-2075)John Gilman | 95+ JGApproaching full maturity, Pichon-Lalande’s1989 has a deep ruby/plum color with some lightening at the edge. The nose offers sweet plums and creme de cassis intermixed with vanilla and graphite. The wine is lush, medium to full-bodied, and layered with texture, low acidity, sweet tannin, and the hallmark purity and elegance this estate routinely produces. Some tannins remain, but this wine has reached its plateau of maturity, where it should remain for another 10-15 years.Robert Parker | 93 RP

(Château Ausone) The 1990 vintage of Château Ausone is a stunning wine. There is a purity and soil signature front and center here that is not always evident in wines from this torrid vintage on the Gironde, and Ausone’s signature elegance is now very much this wine’s calling card. The beautiful bouquet wafts from the glass in a blend of red and black cherries, nutskin, cigar wrapper, chalky soil tones, a touch of blood orange and a lovely, floral topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and deep at the core, with superb transparency and grip, modest tannins and a very long, complex and vibrant finish. At age twenty-nine, the 1990 Ausone is just starting to blossom and drink with generosity and refinement, but the more exotic topnotes here have not yet fully emerged and there is even more magic to come for those who can defer gratification for another ten years! (Drink between 2019-2060)John Gilman | 96 JGChewy, monolithic wine. Aromas of dried herbs and berries. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a tar, tobacco aftertaste. Puckers your mouth with tannins. Will improve with age.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2005. 2,150 cases made. —Wine Spectator | 92 WSAfter revealing some amber at the edge as well as copious aromas of fruitcake, crushed rocks, incense, and a weedy character, the 1990 Ausone offers up sweet, jammy fruit notes as well as a firm finish with the tell-tale crushed rock minerality that this estate often achieves. The aromatics suggest a fully mature wine, but in the mouth, the firm structure and density indicate this effort needs more time. This wine gives off mixed signals, and I suspect it will last much longer than it appears, but only time will tell. There is a lot to like here, but the 1990 is not one of the most profound Ausones, such as those made since 1998. Owners should try a bottle and make up their own minds, but I think it has another 10- to 15-year window of maximum pleasure.Robert Parker | 91 RPThe 1990 Ausone is a vintage that I have tasted half a dozen times, waxing lyrical when I first tasted it way back in 2000, but then my sentiments cooling off with each encounter. It has an exotic bouquet that articulates the growing season more than the terroir – camphor and eucalyptus, quite heady and showy (some might say vulgar but that would be too pejorative.) There is a smear of chocolate on the entry, moderate acidity, fleshy and ripe but missing the complexity of its peers, espresso and dried blood tincturing the fruit on the finish. It is a pleasurable Saint-Émilion rather than a great Ausone. Tasted at the Ausone vertical in London.Vinous Media | 90 VM

Dark ruby color. Lots of earth, berry and leather aromas. Full-bodied, with chocolate, berry and earth flavors. Velvety tannins. Delicious, funky Beychevelle.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now. 25,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS