TNs: Two '89's from Bordeaux

WINE TALK
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  • 1989 Château Bahans Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (7/26/2014)
    A day 2 glass from a bottle opened with dinner last night; color is still a murky ruby at the core, lightening out to translucence on the rim. Mature nose, “deep” with an almost Cordier-like funk, blackberry fruit and blood.

While you don’t get much on the nose, you do get a scent/feeling of scorched earth or tobacco on the palate. Slightly drying on the finish, but at the age of 25, this is still drinking surprisingly well. My last bottle from a case purchased during the '89 futures campaign.

  • 1989 Château Branaire (Duluc-Ducru) - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien (7/26/2014)
    Similar in color to the Bahans Haut-Brion, and also a day 2 glass from a bottle opened for dinner last night.

“Cleaner” nose than the Bahans, and also less interesting unless you can’t abide some funkiness with your wine. Mostly blackberry fruit on the nose.

Really smooth on the palate, not a sharp edge to be found in this fully mature wine. Sweet-ripe black fruits; interestingly enough, this was the least interesting of the three reds we had last night, but it has really blossomed overnight.

Like the Bahans, my last bottle.

Posted from CellarTracker

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We recently had a bottle of the 1989 Bahans in the same flight with a 89 Haut Brion and a 89 Mission and it more than held its own. The tasting was blind and the Bahans came in second in the flight.