Over the past two days Mr Georgie Gonzalez hosted a double blind retrospective of the 1989 Bordeaux vintage. At the beginning of each flight attendees did not know the region nor the wines to be tasted. Region and wines were revealed at the end of each flight.
Conclusions:
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Even though there was consistency between the wines of each flight it was difficult to identify the commune. At 25 years of age the wines are showing more secondary and tertiary characteristics on the nose than terroir imprint.
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The structure of the 1989 vintage is still evident and present. Graves and Pauillac displayed the most fruit, body and power while Left Bank wines were pretty lean with the exception of Cheval Blanc, Clinet, and Figeac.
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Graves killed it in 1989. The trio of Haut Brion, Mission, and Bahans Haut Brion were spectacular and have tons left in the tank.
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Top end Pauillac needs more time in 1989. Of all wines tasted only Pichon Lalande was open for business. Mouton displayed glimpses of greatness but really needs time. Lynch, Latour, and Pichon Baron need tons of time.
Day 1
Pomerol
Lagrave a Pomerol
Domaine De L’Eglise
Chateau L’Evangile - beautiful balance and attack. Bit short.
Chateau Clinet - Nice chocolate tones with solid length
St Julien
Talbot - Really tasty and young
Beychevelle - Tired. Bottle?
Ducru - Grumpy and asleep
Leoville Las Cases - Good but not great
Gruad Larose - WOTF
St Emilion
Canon
Cheval Blanc - Breed and class. Really really good
La Tour du Pin Figeac
La Dominique
Figeac - Big manly wine with gobs of fruit and structure.
Day 2
Margaux
Rausan Segla - unidimensional but tasty
Chateau Margaux - Did not show a thing. We’ve had recently much better bottles.
Chateau Monbrison
Palmer - Elegant, fragant, really good
D’Issan
Graves
De Fieuzal
Domaine Chevalier
Bahans Haut Brion - Surprise of the fllght. It stood shoulder to shoulder with Haut Brion and Mission
Haut Brion - Really good but needs years to show full potential
Mission Haut Brion - Heaven in a wine glass
Pauillac
Latour - Impenetrable.
Clerc Milon
Pichon Lalande - Open, sweet, long
Pichon Baron - Another wall of tannin
Mouton - This wine was geisha like, enticing but not really attainable yet
Lynch Bages - Totally closed.
Thanks for reading.
Thanks for the notes Carlos. You live in a Caribbean paradise and drink first growth Bordeaux ? Living the dream brother !
Wow, what a great line-up. I cut my teeth on the '89 vintage, so it will always hold a special place for me. Have had two '89 Pichon Barons over the past year, and while I appear to have enjoyed them more than you did, I keep asking when they will be fully ready for business. Goes to show that a classic Bordeaux in a classic year really needs lots and lots of time to fully evolve. One of the reasons I have feared going too deep on the big classic guys in 2010 as they will outlive me! I just picked up some more '89 Bordeaux from Graves, and agree, it’s a special region in this year.
I did a double take when you mentioned they were 25 years old. Amazing how time has passed by so quickly, and yet my experience has been that only recently have these wines begun to come round.
I am not surprised that many are so “impenetrable”.
Carlos…the '01 Bahans haut Brion is one of the best bordeaux’s wines I have tasted in the 2000’s
So it appears the quality is there and I rarely see anyone talk about this wine…maybe that’s a good thing because if you can’t afford an '89 Haut Brion then how about the next best thing?!!
I to have tasted two bottles of '89 Pichon B with Robert Alfert…one bottle was fantastic the other a bit bashful, but the Talbot he popped from '82 was the sickest animalistic beastly freak show of a wine…mind blowing incredible
Thanks Nick. We are lucky to have a vibrant and generous wine community in PR. Some very deep Bordeaux, Burgundy, Napa, and Spain cellars in PR owned by a group of really good people. The chapters of the Commanderie du Bordeaux and Chevaliers du Tastevin are very active and there are various other tasting groups that make for a busy and high quality wine agenda.
Ok Carlos, this thread just prompted me to pop an '89 Graves for dinner with my Pops. Advice on decant time, if any? It’s a high-quality Cru, not one of the big dogs. Chateau Olivier.
We did 90 minute slow ox and then decanted and poured and allowed for opening in the glass.
Great report, thanks! I’ve been keeping my hands off the '89s I have, after a couple of not-ready-for-prime-time experiemces like yours.
Nice notes & report. I’ve been lucky to taste the 89 Haut Brion and 89 La Mission a number of times, including head-to-head. The 89 La Mission tends to be more powerful and tannic; the 89 Haut Brion is more balanced and complex. But on any given night, it’s a tossup which one is showing better.
I’ve read some notes indicating that some bottles of the 89 Lynch Bages were coming around, but I still think that’s a wine that needs more cellar time.
Bruce
Great report Carlos. My experience with bottles of '89 Lynch Bages that I’ve cellared since release have been similar to you’d: shut tight. I’ve had some bottles from less pristine storage that have shown more open.