We took a break from our usual Burgundy-based themes to do a retrospective of 1989 Bordeaux (in spite of some protests), and I am sure glad we did.
The 1989 vintage in Bordeaux was one of a triumvirate of great vintages stretching from 1988, 1989 to 1990. A warm and sunny year, with extremely early harvests, it was full of early charm and voluptuous fruit, with Merlot seeming to show better than Cabernet Sauvignon. Many thought it was the laggard of the three great years back then, lacking the structure and finesse of the vintages that came immediately before and after. Even in Sauternes and Barsac, which were blessed with botrytis and wonderful ripe fruit, it was rated behind the great 1990 vintage.
I am glad to report though, that 30 years on, this had turned out to be an absolutely fabulous year. Less stern than the 1988s, and less brooding than the 1990s, it is a vintage of charm and balance, with fine, velvety structures and beautiful poise and balance in its acidities, all this forming a frame for wonderful warm, yet ever so pure and transparent fruit - this is truly a claret lovers vintage.
The top wines are singing now as well. Very serendipitously, we seemed to have every major commune represented, from St Estephe, Pauillac, Margaux, St Julien and Graves on the left-bank, to St Emilion and Pomerol on the right, and then white Pessac, and even Sauternes with the lovely 1989 d’Yquem. On the night, with the possible exception of the powerful Montrose, and the finely sinewed Cheval Blanc, every other wine was showing wonderfully well.
I thought we would miss the seductive charm of our usual Burgundies, but these clarets were stunning, and very eager to please indeed. I really enjoyed the wines on the night.
BUBBLES TO START
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1989 Pommery Champagne Cuvée Louise Brut - France, Champagne
From magnum, this was an interesting, if slightly edgy and nervous start to the dinner. The nose smelt nicely mature without quite being over-aged, with notes of earth and yeast, white fruit and earthy mineral. The palate still felt really tight and edgy, with bright, lemony acidity and a stern backbone of mineral running through super-defined white fruit flavours. Still really tight and bit reserved even at 30 years of age, but pretty nice. It would be interesting to try this in another decade down the road. (91 pts.)
WHITE PESSAC
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1978 Château Pape Clément - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Pretty good. This felt that its best days were behind it at first, but kept growing in the glass until it showed really pleasantly by the last sip. The nose was nice - with a lift of sweet white peaches, apples, honey and a still a bit of sweet vanillin oak edged in there. Quite pretty. The palate was a bit edgy at first, with lots of bright citrus acidity racing through juicy lemon flavours, some kumquats and a touch of candied tropical melons. The finish then lingered away with a touch of bittersweet, stony mineral and some kumquats peel - a nice counterpoint too the sweeter fruit on the attack and midpalate. I thought it was a touch short at first, but by the end of the night, there was a really nice nutty length to it. Pretty nice, and drinking remarkably youthfully for a 30 year-old white wine. (92 pts.) -
1989 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Tragically corked. It got a bit better with time and air, especially on the beautifully structured palate, but this always felt a bit stripped by TCA. NR (flawed)
RIGHT-BANK
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1989 Château La Conseillante - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol
Lovely. This had a wonderful nose. Pure Pomerol, with lovely lush notes of earthy forest floor, then spice and tobacco, a whiff of smoked tea leaves, some violets, and then beautiful blueberry and plum aromas. Lovely aromatic stuff. The palate was drinking beautifully too. Pure, lifted and transparent, with delicious flavours of fresh plums, dark cherries and blackberries, all infused with a lovely warm spice, and then a nice earthiness ringing on the bass notes. Absolutely mouthfilling, and yet effortlessly elegant - this was power and opulence without any weight at all. Wonderfully easy to drink too, with soft balancing acidity and beautifully silky tannins carrying the wine into a deliciously gentle finish that just lingered and lingered on the back palate, with a
of juicy fruit and some lovely quiet floral notes floating away into the distance. Beautiful stuff, and drinking deliciously well now. (94 pts.)
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1989 Château Cheval Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
The first bottle was sadly corked, thankfully the back-up showed really nicely. While clearly not one of the greatest vintages, this was a very good Cheval Blanc that drank very nicely on the night. The nose was pure Cheval Blanc, with typically reserved notes of subtle dark cherries and berries alongside drifts of tobacco leaves, earth and fragrant cigarette smoke, maybe a bit of violet florals at the side. The palate had that same noble reserve as well, with fine acidity and filigreed tannins framing clean, clear, very pure notes of cassis and dark berries seasoned by more of those earthy, smoky tobacco notes, all this trailing away into an elegant finish, again haunted by a hint of floral perfume. A spare, elegant wine at first, but also showing a nice depth and authority underneath all of that. Nice, and drinking well now too - I cannot help feeling this will get better with a few more years under its belt though. (93 pts.)
THE SAINTS
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1989 Château Léoville Las Cases - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
This was very good indeed. It had a lush, lovely nose, yet with typical Las Cases reserve, wafting out of the glass with notes of earth and leather, cassis and blackberries, cedar and spice, and just that bit of tea leaves too. The palate was lovely as well. Clear and transparent and impeccably balance, yet wonderfully structured in pure Las Cases style, with sinewy tannins coiled around a brilliant core of cassis and black cherries laced with a lovely tobacco spice. Just depths of power here, yet so elegantly noble and so light on its feet. Quiet long finish too, with juicy notes of sweet cassis patted down with a bit of earth. Just lovely stuff, drinking beautifully now. Absolutely delcious stuff. (94 pts.) -
1989 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
A funkier bottle than the clean, noble 1989 Las Cases on the same flight, but really nice in its own right. The nose had nice thick aromas of cassis and blackberries, earth and funky leather, spice and tobacco leaf. Nice. The palate was still youthful and aggressive, with powdery tannins and bright acidity still giving a bit of chew to really fresh flavours of dark cherries, cassis and smoky tobacco spice. Everything still felt a bit tight and reserved, with the fruit hiding behind the structure on the midpalate. The lengthy finish was still coated with a chew of tannins as well, just before a drift of spice and tobacco came in at the end. Underneath all that though, was a noble, masculine left-bank Bordeaux with tons of authority and strength to it. Needs time, but this is a very good wine indeed. (93 pts.)
PAUILLAC
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1989 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Beautiful, this was classic Pichon-Lalande. The nose had that lovely feminine touch to it, with leafy tobacco, loamy earth, and then wafts of sweet cassis touched with little floral drifts. The palate was beautiful as well. Soft, silky, balanced, with wonderfully resolved tannins and gentle acidity draped like a velvety robe around a beautifully glowing core of cassis and sweet berries, all this lined with charming notes of earth and cedar and tobacco and gentle spice, just gliding away into a wonderfully effortless finish that quietly went on and on and on and on. Not as clearly powerful as the 1989 Lynch-Bages that we had alongside, but this was elegant, ethereal, and drinking perfectly. What a great wine. A beautiful Lalande drinking at the peak of its powers. (94 pts.) -
1989 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Wow. Probably the best Lynch-Bages I have ever had. The nose stood out amongst the other Bordeaux, with a tremendous blast of classic Pauillac aromas - cedar wood and damp earth, cassis and blackberries, tobacco and spice. Lovely, compelling stuff. The palate was amazing too. Layers of power and authority, yet with no lack of grace, this opened up across the mouth with wonderful layers of cassis, dark berries, menthol and spice, then some earth and mineral, all absolute filling every crevice of the palate. Wonderful finish too - long, full, earthy and full of charm. This was remarkable. Not as refined and elegant as the other wines on show, this was more rustic, but not in a bad way - like a gentleman farmer - elegant yet homely and charming. Superb stuff, drinking beautifully now. (95 pts.)
THE ELEGANT ONES
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1989 Château Palmer - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux
Remarkable. This was a beautiful Palmer, probably drinking at its very peak. The nose was marvellous, with layers and layers of earthy sous bois, cassis, plums, a drift of florals, fragrant tobacco - I could go on and one. This was just beautiful, beguiling stuff. All warm and inviting perfume. The palate was absolutely en pointe as well. Juicy, succulent and voluptuous, with wonderfully delicious gobs of cassis and dark berries, then tobacco and spice, just quietly exploding in the mouth in deliciously sweet, palate-enveloping flavours. Absolutely wonderful. Lovely long finish too, with a dried flowers, earth and mineral floating away beautifully on a bed of silky tannins and juicy acidity. This was amazing, and drinking at its absolutely peak. A wonderful Palmer, full of feminine Margaux elegance. The WOTN amidst some truly stiff competition. (96 pts.) -
1989 Château Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
A fabulous wine, but surprisingly not noticeably better than the half-dozen or so 1989 Bordeaux that we had on the night. The nose had fragrant layers of tobacco smoke, deep cassis tones, earth and a gentle spiciness. Great stuff. The palate had a lovely gravelly feel to it, with stony mineral and fine-boned tannins underlying beautifully defined flavours of earth and cassis, and plums, with fragrant spice and and gentle tobacco notes running along behind, and all the way into a beautifully earthy, gravelly finish. A complete, balanced, and impeccably perfect whole - I can see why this has become quite a legend. On the night though, it did not quite have the visceral charm of some of the other wines on the night. This seemed intellectually great, but not quite as enjoyable as say the Palmer, the Las Cases, the Conseillante or the Pichon-Lalande. A dumb phase maybe, but this is nevertheless a superlative wine, and one built for the long-term. (95 pts.)
A SWEET ENDING
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1989 Château d’Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Such a lovely way to end the night. D’yquem, like so many other lesser Sauternes, really hit the spot in 1989. The nose was wonderful - treacle, honey, molasses, and then dried figs, liquered apricots, peaches, and just that touch of d’Yquem coconut. Wonderful, wonderful stuff. The palate was beautiful. Soft and all-enveloping, it unfolded in layers of dried peaches and nectarines, honey and spice, coconut and a bit of treacle, all spiked with a bit of soft, orangey acidity. Really delicious stuff - this was hedonism in a glass. Great finish too, with a of orange blossoms and sweet dried stone fruit flavours sticking to the back of the palate and refusing to let go. A wonderful wine, drinking beautifully well right now. This is nigh indestructible though, and should age effortlessly through the decades. (94 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker