A group of friends met yesterday to celebrate the 65th birthday of one of our wine buddies. The topic was Haut Brion and we tasted the wines from the 66, 69, 70, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90 vintages. IMHO Haut Brion is the most consistent among the first growths and also the one that better displays its terroir across different vintage conditions. All bottles proved sound and it certainly was an afternoon to remember. This tasting lasted over 6 hours so the wines had time to develop in the glass and the tasters had time to evaluate and compare back and forth amongst vintages. It was impressive to experience that none of the wines deteriorated in the glass even with prolonged exposure.
First Flight: 66, 69, 70
All 3 wines had vibrant colors, lively fruit, and showed younger. The 69 had a green aspect to it that made it a bit less enjoyable than the other 2. The 66 was clean with good fruit with acid lift and the 70 had more depth and power. Great start.
Second Flight: 81, 83
The 83 was a show stopper. Wow wine for sure. Layered fruit with amazing depth and complexity accompanied by gorgeous Graves aromatics. The 81 was good on its own merits but felt unidimensional compared to the 83.
Third Flight: 84, 87
The 87 HB has always been a great wine from a mediocre vintage and yesterday’s bottle was alive and joyful. Youthful in taste and appearance with superb Bordeaux tipicity. The 84 surprised everybody with its elegance and balance. Great flight and certainly above expectations.
Fourth Flight: 85, 88
Both wines clearly spoke of their respective vintages. The 88 was leaner with higher acids and considerable length. The 85 burst with sweet fruit and superb balance. Great pair of wines. The 85 was breath taking as only a great work of art can be.
Fifth Flight 89, 90
2 perfect wines. 2 perfect bottles. 12 quiet tasters. It is really hard to comment on perfection. The 90 was more open and giving and maybe starting its plateau. The 89 was as usual serious and brooding but this bottle was more giving and the wine is starting to yield and to strut its majesty. The 89 feels like it has more in the tank for future development.
It is very unlikely that I’ll experience this tasting again and it was made better by the company of close friends with a shared tasting history. In summary the preferred wines were the 85, 83, 89, and 90 in no particular order. The 85 was the WOTN.
It sounds like a special and wonderful event all around. I had the chance to taste the '89 and '90 together a couple of years ago–truly astonishing, and the '90 then also was a little more giving, though the '89 seemed to promise to be a slightly more profound wine.
Cool about that ‘69, which was you know, was a very tough year (bad year) in Bordeaux. My best friend jsut turned 50 and I really wanted to get him a 69 Bordeaux but ended up going with a 69 Mayacamas that was lovely. Your Haut Brion would have been cool.
That 89 is by far the most perfect Bordeaux that I have ever had. My other perfect scores have been a more opulent 89 Petrus, and similarly a more opulent 82 Mouton and beastly 86 Mouton, but while those wines blew me away, none had the aristocratic elegance of the Haut Brion.
Carlos, did your 83 seem very youthful and dark? I’m asking because I had one in a tasting several years ago and it was so youthful I suspected it was a fake (excellent wine, though). Maybe it really is that way?
What a superb evening! You really know how to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
Haut Brion is my favorite Bordeaux and the 1989 is my favorite of favorites. The few bottles in the cellar are special occasion wines, and I especially appreciate the notes on that one. While 1981 and 1983 are often overlooked due to proximity to 1982, all three are excellent in their own right. I agree with your take on the 1988. That’s our wedding year and I’ve had it more often than any other vintage. It holds a special place in my heart.
The 86 Martha’s in magnum was a classic example from the golden 80’s in Napa. The wine was fully resolved and integrated. The fruit was sweet and mature and the aromatics carried a bit of green that served mostly as seasoning. Good change of pace after the HB.
Congratulations Carlos … what a fabulous tasting…and to think the 1984 and 1987 showed so well…in the UK Haut-Brion is the favourite first growth according to a poll I conducted, even though it is is the least expensive of the first growths.
