Cigar smoke, flinty gravel, and warmed red fruits dominate the palate. Black core, with beef-blood rim. Tannins were rounded but far from resolved, akin to a beef side shrinking ever so gradually via dry aging. Medium-weight glycerin and subtle acidity, as texture. Loooong finish. Over the span of several nights, the wine did not budge, tempting me to try blender aeration. Altogether, more closed than prior bottles, indicating another twenty years before peak maturity. Disappointing, in the narrow sense of opportunity cost, as my stash gets smaller. My 2003 and 2005 bottles may catch up to this, in drinking readiness. Thanks.
This is, as I recall, a favorite all-time wine of many Berserkers, including Steve Saxon. Odd (and frustrating) that it would enter another development (closed) phase. Sorry to hear it, Victor, but thanks for the note!
Better to have a second potential slumbering phase, than being at death’s door. If this is the worst bottle variation to experience with the wine, I have no meaningful complaints.
A good blessing just being able to drink any wine nowadays…much less regarding this classic.
Bummer on the showing, but thanks for adding the data input. Wine is never linear, obvious nor straightforward. We as a community can try and help shed some light, but there’s always a bit of drama before pulling that cork.
Cheers
True dat, Faryan. I have only had one lone opportunity to try this great wine, in fall 2008. Back then, at a monster tasting, it finished 4th (to a Chave, a La-La and a 2001 Leflaive Chevy Montrachet), but was still deeply memorable, kicked the 90 HB’s butt, and ended up on the WOTY list for that year:
"1989 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion
Wow. The tobacco is bang-bang here. A dab of gunpowder underneath. Other stuff is there, but quite buried. On the palate, this is a-mazing. Yes, the burnt leaves and tobacco frame it all, but it’s SO rich and oozing with exuberant fruit at the same time. The combination is truly unique and will stay with me for a while. #4."
Still enjoyable bottle.
Nowhere near as painful as that photograph of Charlie Fu using Screaming Eagle as Purple Drano.
Not me brother, I’m still waiting to try my first one. 
Have had the '82 courtesy of P-Rob before. Like Father Saxon, I am still waiting to try an '89 LMHB & HB. Maybe someday.
Had the 82 a few times, one ok experience, one out of this world! What did you think of it? The 89 Haut Brion is legendary, and consider it one of the all time great drinking wines, and right up there with other excellent 89’s. Thinking Petrus . . .
thank you–this is one of the 89 Bordeaux that I cellar for my daughter–who turns 21 in less than a week. It’ll help me decide what to open for her!
alan
At 21 years of age, it’s all about the bottle and not the wine. Your experience could be better or worse. My two most recent tastings of this wine were sublime.
FWIW, IMO 89 LMHB is a better wine than the 82. My best guess is, 2000 & 2005 are both going to be better than the 89.
99 points - Tasted Jul 2, 2010
Served blind at Chateau La Mission Haut Brion over dinner - Cigar, ash, minerals, earth, cassis, tar, leather black fruit, hot stones and freshly ground coffee beans open up the aromatic fireworks. This dense elixir is packed and stacked with layers of rich, intense, ripe dark fruit. The tannins feel ripe. But this wine is tannic and requires more bottle age than Haut Brion. The wine finishes with an intense display of ripe, spicy black fruit, cassis and fresh dark cherries.
99 points - Tasted Jun 18, 2009
Cassis, tobacco, chocolate, plums, smoke, and licorice with dark berry aromatics are all over the place. Full bodied with intense levels of concentration, this is one of those rare thrill a sip wines. Dense, opulent, rich, and fat, this wine tastes great, pouring over every inch, every nook and cranny, of your mouth. The seamless finish goes on and on with an endless array of palate pleasing, sensations. Still young, it will get better over the next several decades.
If I could only have one Bordeaux year in year out it would La Mission. 1975 is my best bottle to date. 1982 and 1990 are only perfect. Sitting on a lone 1989… just waiting for the day. I want to backfill some older gems, but it is just so hard to find good storage “pedigrees”.
Jeff IYO how does the 89 compare to the 75? I have a mag of the 75.
Steve… The 89 blows away the 75! The 75 has great aromatics as well as concentration, but the style of the wine is hard. It’s an austere wine that lacks the elegance and charm found in the sublime 89. I have two bottles of the 75 LMHB remaining and I’m waiting at least another decade before popping one. As you have a mag, do you have grandchildren yet? ![[tease.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/c/c5b32b76bebaa359b0452ae247b61189ffe5fa7e.gif "tease"){kind=small}
Thanks Jeff, looks like it might be a deathbed wine.
'75 LMHB is WAY overrated. The tannins outweigh the fruit.
Don’t agree about the '89 being better than the '82. I’ve had them head to head at least a dozen times and the scorecard is probably 50-50. However, proper bottles of both are great wines. '90 LMHB has closed the gap over the past few years, but is still a step behind those two vintages.
Its hard for me to imagine any wine on the face of the earth blowing away the 1975 La Miss. but as I have one bottle of the 1989, I am quite excited at the prospect of seeing for myself one day.
What Ray said. As time goes by, I like the entire '75 Bordeaux vintage (and '86, for the same reason) less and less.
However, '89 HB and '89 LMHB take turns being better than the other. All three '82 HBs (four, if you count HBB) can be very great on a given night.
I was treated to the 1990 in March at Eleven Madison Park - the wine was awesome - better than the restaurant!