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One of the most singular Bordeaux I have ever tasted, it verges on being port-like, but it pulls back because of the extraordinary minerality and laser-like focus. The wine is massively concentrated, still black/purple-hued to the rim, and offers a nose of incense, blackberries, blueberry liqueur, acacia flowers, and forest floor. It reveals low acidity and high tannins, which are largely concealed by the sheer concentration and lavish glycerin the wine possesses. Aging at a glacial pace, it is approachable, but it will not hit its peak until 2020; it should last for twenty years thereafter. Release price: ($1200.00/case)Robert Parker | 100 RPLiquid cashmere. Stupendous St.-Emilion. Dark ruby color. Wonderful aromas of blackberries, preserved cherries, Indian spices and violets. Full-bodied, with fabulously polished tannins and a long, long finish.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2006. 3,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 98 WSParker made this wine a legend when he gave it 100 points on release. And I have had perfect bottles in my life of it. BTW, the 1989 is almost as good. This bottle that I had this week in Hong Kong was very, very closed and not giving the opulent character that I have encountered in this wine. It had been decanted three hours in advance and I still triple decanted it after tasting it because it was so shy on the palate. The 1990 Beausejour Duffau-Lagarosse seems to be going through a dumb period right now but it shows some fascinating dried fruit, mushroom and earth character. It’s full and chewy. I would leave it for a year or so and come back. A living, sort of bitchy wine at the moment.James Suckling | 96 JSDeep ruby to the rim. Extravagant aromas of black fruits, violets, and toffee. Voluptuous and sweet; this has outstanding concentration but with so much baby fat there’s little delineation on the palate. Finishes with a kick of alcohol and substantial ripe tannins. Very dense, but while a flight of other top right-bank wines were sending off fireworks in the glass, this chunky wine sat like a lump of coal.Vinous Media | 91 VM

A sensational effort, and one of the two finest Clinets made before the 2008, this prodigious wine made by the late Jean-Michel Arcaute has always been a sprinter out of the gate. Even at age 19, it continues to strut its stuff. A dense blue/garnet/purple hue exhibits slight lightening at the edge, and the gorgeous nose offers up aromas of sweet blueberries, licorice, smoke, acacia flowers, and camphor. Full-bodied with silky tannins, low acidity, and terrific purity, this 1990 has hit its plateau of full maturity where it should remain for another decade.Robert Parker | 97 RPMy previous encounter with the 1990 Clinet was out of magnum, circa the release of my Pomerol tome around a decade ago. It was impressive. However, this bottle suggests that this lauded Pomerol is beginning to stumble after 30 years. Rather volatile on the nose, the 1990 offers smudged black cherries, kirsch, green olives and dates, heady and ostentatious, though missing a bit of refinement. The palate is quite hedonistic, loaded with glycerine, a core of sweet black fruit with touches of fresh date and camphor, some VA just evident on the finish. Highly enjoyable for sure, though I would not leave bottles too long to drink. It is a Pomerol rather emblematic of the time.Vinous Media | 92 VMBeautifully crafted red. Brilliant ruby color. Aromas of fresh berries, blackberries and chocolate jump from the glass. Full-bodied and chewy, but velvety and caressing. Lots of ripe fruit.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2002.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

I remember paying what at the time seemed like a small fortune for bottles of Giacosa’s 1990 Barolo Riserva Falletto at Peck’s Enoteca in Milan. What I would give today to be able to buy more at the same tariff! The 1990 Barolo Riserva Falletto is one of Bruno Giacosa’s most towering wines. Period. Rich, layered and opulent, this mineral-driven, powerful Barolo covers every inch of the palate with masses of dark fruit, smoke, soy, plums, menthol, dried roses, pine and a host of other balsamic overtones. This vivid, kaleidoscopic Barolo is a reference-point wine readers won’t want to miss. As always, the Riserva Falletto is virile and authoritative in tone. Simply put, it its profound. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPI remember paying what at the time seemed like a small fortune for bottles of Giacosa's 1990 Barolo Riserva Falletto at Peck's Enoteca in Milan. What I would give today to be able to buy more at the same tariff! The 1990 Barolo Riserva Falletto is one of Bruno Giacosa's most towering wines. Period. Rich, layered and opulent, this mineral-driven, powerful Barolo covers every inch of the palate with masses of dark fruit, smoke, soy, plums, menthol, dried roses, pine and a host of other balsamic overtones. This vivid, kaleidoscopic Barolo is a reference-point wine readers won't want to miss. As always, the Riserva Falletto is virile and authoritative in tone. Simply put, it its profound.Vinous Media | 98 VM

A complex nose of subtle menthol intermixed with black currants, cherries, spice box, cedar, and herbs emerges from this fully mature 1990. It is a fleshy, round, generously endowed Margaux with silky tannins, low acidity, and beautiful purity. Drink it with great pleasure now, or cellar it for another decade. Release price: ($300.00/case)Robert Parker | 94 RPThe 1990 Rauzan-Ségla is another vintage that I have not tasted for some time. It was picked from September 17 to October 7. Now at 28-years of age it shows some maturation on the tawny rim, the core a little lighter in colour than the 1998 for example. The bouquet has certainly matured in recent years: blackberry, strawberry pastilles, touches of garrigues, clove and fennel, and freshly tilled soil. It is very...1990! There is little oak presence here (the new oak was in fact just 40%, so unsurprising.) The palate is medium-bodied with grainy, slightly rustic tannin. I love the flavor profile here: dark chocolate, leather, clove, oregano and a touch of soy that is, for me, quite Saint-Julien in style. One can tell that this 1990 will not improve with continued bottle age however, it has great depth and you come away with the sense that it wears its heart on its sleeve. Tasted at the Rauzan-Ségla vertical at the château.Vinous Media | 93 VMVery concentrated. Dark garnet color. Pretty licorice, plum and currant aromas. Full-bodied, with velvety, ripe tannins and a long black licorice and cherry aftertaste.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2004. 11,250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

The 1990 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos St.-Jacques 1er Cru is magnificent. It displays stunning definition on the nose; there’s no messing about as it ladles out captivating raspberry, wild strawberry and light oyster shell notes. Though opulent and reflective of the growing season, the bouquet oozes class. The palate has a sorbet-like freshness and so much vitality after 31 years, building toward a perfectly symmetrical finish featuring vivacious morello cherries and raspberry coulis and hints of bay leaf. This is simply Rousseau in full flight. How do you follow that pair?Vinous Media | 97 VMThis was a wine that I was quite curious to try because while I had the good fortune to have enjoyed it several times in the 1990s, it had not come my way since 2001. I’m happy to report that it did not disappoint with its ripe yet airy aromas of sous-bois, spice, earth, game and beautifully well-layered secondary fruit. There is fine richness as well as very good power to the delicious and attractively textured medium-bodied flavors that exhibit equally good layering on the impressively persistent finale. This is not a particularly elegant vintage for the Rousseau CSJ and there remains enough tannin to notice on the slightly warm finish but overall, I found this to have aged out extremely well.Burghound | 93 BHThe outstanding Gevrey-Chambertin-Clos St.-Jacques possesses a saturated deep ruby color, and an explosive nose of black fruits, spicy new oak, flowers, and truffles. In the mouth, the wine is dense, seductive, and ripe, with low acidity, glycerin, and alcohol in the finish, making it a voluptuous, opulent mouthful of chewy Pinot Noir. Drink it over the next decade.Robert Parker | 90 RPA supple 1990, with a firm core of solid tannins and enough fruit to compensate for the tannic backbone. A well-integrated wine, with lots of raspberry, mushroom and wet earth flavors. Best after 1996.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

The 1990 Cos d’Estournel is a vintage that I have not tasted for several years. I have always had a soft spot for the 1990. It does not disappoint with gorgeous scents of clove, bay leaf, and warm gravel that are almost Pomerol-like in style. The palate is fresh and lively. This 1990 is very well balanced and eschews the warmth of that summer and allows the terroir to shine. It grips the mouth and offers black truffle and sage towards the slightly grainy textured finish that lingers on the palate. What a sublime Cos d’Estournel. Well-kept bottles will be giving immense pleasure although, you can envisage this lasting another fifteen years, possibly twenty. Tasted at the Cos d’Estournel vertical at the property.Vinous Media | 95 VMNot as concentrated as the 1982, or as most of the vintages made since 2001, the 1990 Cos has reached full maturity. It exhibits sweet berry fruit intermixed with spice box, herbs, and spring flowers. Expansive, round, and sensual, with wonderful purity as well as lushness, this irresistible wine can be enjoyed over the next 6-10 years. Release price: ($350.00/case)Robert Parker | 94 RPRefined with dark fruits with delicate spice and leather notes. It’s full to medium-bodied, with fine tannins. It is a little funky. I would drink it.James Suckling | 92 JS

(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

A big, ripe and full-bodied effort that’s fully mature, the 1990 Chateauneuf du Pape offers fabulous character and depth, and is about as classic as they comes. Showing an amber/mature color, it has loads of garrigue, spice meats, red currants, licorice and pepper as well as a rich, layered and seamless profile on the palate. It’s a thrilling wine, but it’s not going to get any better, so drink up.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RP

A very strong effort form Petit-Village, and made before a very noticeable decline in the quality of wines over the subsequent seven years, the fully mature 1990 has plenty of amber at the edge, a dark garnet color, a sweet nose of melted licorice, espresso, dried herbs, and black cherries and currants. The wine is fleshy, silky-textured, and very easy to drink and understand. Anticipated maturity: Now-2010. Last tasted, 3/01.Robert Parker | 90 RP

1990 was the first vintage (4,756 cases produced) and one of the most abundant before the replanting became essential because of phylloxera, and was again made at Robert Pepi. However, the percentage of Cabernet Franc jumped to 10% in the final blend. Mia Klein, who worked with Tony Soter, was part of the winemaking team. This wine performed beautifully, and had that Château Margaux-like finesse, elegance and richness. Beautiful blackcurrant notes, graphite, rose petal and licorice, were all present in this deep ruby/plum-colored wine that came across like a Napa version of a first-growth Médoc. It is medium to full-bodied, with beautiful, integrated tannin, acidity and wood. This should continue to drink well for another 10-15-plus years.Robert Parker | 95 RPStill young and firm, this delivers spicy plum and chocolate flavors; it’s polished, balanced and intense. Approachable now.--Spottswoode vertical. Best after 2000. 4,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

This magnificent Lynch Bages has been drinking well since the day it was released and it continues to go from strength to strength. The biggest, richest, fullest-bodied Lynch Bages until the 2000, the fully mature 1990 exhibits an unbelievably explosive nose of black currants, cedarwood, herbs and spice. The majestic, classically Bordeaux aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, voluptuously textured, rich, intense wine with superb purity as well as thrilling levels of fruit, glycerin and sweetness. This beauty should continue to provide immense pleasure over the next 15+ years.Robert Parker | 99 RPThe 1990 Lynch-Bages remains the towering Pauillac it has always been, even if Jean-Michel Cazes personally prefers the 1989. It has a riveting, graphite-infused bouquet that is brilliantly defined, very focused and sharp as a razor-blade. Poured directly against the 1990 Lafite-Rothschild, this Fifth Growth beats it hands down. The palate is very well structured; this is an aristocratic Lynch-Bages with impressive grip after 28 years. There is a symmetry underpinning this wine, a sense of energy undiminished by the passing years, that makes this 1990 Lynch-Bages so compelling. Just awesome. Tasted during the Christmas Dinner at Noble Rot restaurant.Vinous Media | 96 VMAromas of tar, currant and berries follow through to a full-bodied palate, with silky tannins and a long, long finish. Still not completely ready, but so good anyway.--Lynch-Bages non-blind vertical. Best after 2008. 35,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château Lynch Bages) The 1990 Lynch Bages is a very good example of the vintage that shows off the differences between ’90 and ’89 quite well in its lack of mid-palate depth vis à vis the 1989 version. The nose on the 1990 Lynch is excellent, wafting from the glass in a blend of cassis, black cherries, a touch of saddle leather, gravelly soil tones, fresh herbs and plenty of toasty new wood. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and very long, with good, but not great depth at the core, moderate tannins and lovely length and grip on the complex finish. While approachable today, the 1990 Lynch could still do with a few years in the cellar to allow it to more fully blossom. It is a very good wine, but it does not possess the same sappy depth of the superior 1989 Lynch Bages. (Drink between 2016-2045)John Gilman | 90+ JG

It has been some years since the last time I cracked a bottle and at 22 years of age, it would be fair to say that this has reached its apogee with a really lovely and fully mature nose redolent of fully mature secondary aromas that do not yet evidence any notes of sous-bois. There is excellent richness to the delicious, sappy and still solidly well-concentrated flavors that possess excellent depth and fine length. This is not an especially refined effort but one that is most satisfying and while there is no further upside development to be had, neither is there any rush to drink up. In a word, lovely.Burghound | 91 BHA firm wine that offers generous, clear black cherry, raspberry and spice aromas and flavors. Solid, with pure, focused flavors balanced by enough acidity and tannin. Drinkable now to 1998. 375 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Draws you into the glass with enticing plum, blackberry, vanilla and coconut aromas and flavors. Full-bodied yet balanced, with an abundance of soft tannins, but not aggressive. Best after 2000.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Les Forts de Latour) The 1990 vintage of Forts de Latour is outstanding and is quite a bit more forward than the grand vin, albeit with the structure to continue to cruise along as well for many years to come. The superb bouquet wafts from the glass in a fine blend of black cherries, cassis, a touch of cigar wrapper, dark soil tones, smoke and a nice touch of fairly toasty new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely plush on the attack, with a fine core, ripe, suave tannins and a long, focused and complex finish. This is already quite easy to drink, but will cruise along effortlessly for at least a few more decades. (Drink between 2014-2035)John Gilman | 91+ JGThe rich, well-endowed 1990 possesses round, generous, surprisingly concentrated flavors. It will make ideal drinking over the next 10-15 years. The most complete second wine made at this property since their glorious 1982, over one-half of the crop was relegated to this wine. Anticipated maturity: Now-2005.Robert Parker | 90 RP