1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post Reply
User avatar
Carlos Delpin
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:44 pm
Location: Puerto Rico
Contact:

1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by Carlos Delpin »

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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Graves killed it in 1989. The trio of Haut Brion, Mission, and Bahans Haut Brion were spectacular and have tons left in the tank.

4. 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.
User avatar
DavidG
Posts: 8280
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 1:12 pm
Location: Maryland
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by DavidG »

Great update, Carlos. The 1989 Lynch Bages from my cellar is very closed. I've had bottles from others that have been more open.
User avatar
sdr
Posts: 541
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:20 pm
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by sdr »

Thanks for the notes, Carlos.

I'm a big fan of the '89s, especially in Pessac-Leognan (and Pauillac, too). Powerful, meaty, gritty in Bordeaux terms.

I am interested in opinions that some of the big boys are not yet ready yet.

Some of us were fortunately able to drink Chateau Margaux at the Chateau in 2005, which included the '89 - and the '61. Memories for a lifetime.

Stuart
User avatar
Comte Flaneur
Posts: 4863
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:05 pm
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by Comte Flaneur »

I am attending a Bordeaux-themed lunch in London on Monday, where three 1989s will be on the the slate on our illustrious table, including the one and only BWE legend Ch. Lynch Bages. This is the line up:

1996 Château Pape Clément Blanc
2002 Château Montrose
1989 Château Montrose
1989 Château Lynch-Bages
1989 Château Léoville Barton
1975 Château Haut-Marbuzet
1975 Château Haut-Brion
1970 Château Palmer
1938 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
1989 Château Rieussec

So will report back with my impressions
User avatar
Comte Flaneur
Posts: 4863
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:05 pm
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by Comte Flaneur »

I still have fond memories for the Bordeaux-themed dinners we did at Fabios in NYC in Octobers of 2008-11. The 1989 dinner in 2009 was the best, or the the most memorable, in my opinion.The quality of the wines was stunning.
User avatar
sdr
Posts: 541
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:20 pm
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by sdr »

Great lineup, Comte. I am eager to get your impressions.

As great as HB and LMHB are, at this point in time, my favorite of the 1989 vintage is Palmer.

The '70 Palmer as also in the top 5 of the 1970 vintage for me.. Still very lively yet austere in that 1970 way.

Stuart
User avatar
brodway
Posts: 416
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:34 am
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by brodway »

Stuart......if you like the 1989 Palmer, the 2000 Palmer is going to show you a more modern but as impressive style of Palmer. Probably one of the best wines in the 2000 vintage for my taste. That could change over time as many wines from 2000 are starting to develop secondary nuances, but from my 2 previous tastings the wine is something special. I'm hoping next time in in Florida, i can have the opportunity to share a bottle with you.
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by JimHow »

Comte is that a non-blind lunch?
User avatar
Comte Flaneur
Posts: 4863
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:05 pm
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Yes Jim.

It would be nice to have the three 89s served blind, but it is not the what these lunches operate.
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by JimHow »

Looking forward to the results, that 89 Montrose is a beauty.
User avatar
Comte Flaneur
Posts: 4863
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:05 pm
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Bordeaux lunch notes, At La Trompette, London, June 2014

Pape Clement Blanc 1996

Pale colour despite is age. Restrained, balanced and complex it has citrus and rich white fruit notes, overlaid with fennel, acacia, nettles and lanolin. It is oh so seamless, and light on its feet as it glides over the palate. This is a delightful, classy wine. 94

Flight one:

Montrose 2002

Opaque with notes of charcoal on the nose and a bit of burnt rubber, which eventually blows off. It is still youthful and quite tannic but it opens nicely over the lunch. It should continue to improve over the next five years. 90

Montrose 1989

A gorgeous and captivating entry, there is much more going on here. It is a delicious and exciting wine. It doesn't have the smoothness and density on the mid palate as some other wines with somewhat rasping notes, but this is in keeping with the wine's rumbustious personality. Hard not to love this. 94

Lynch-Bages 1989

The Lynch-Bages starts in more measured fashion, and is a more brooding and intense wine than the Montrose, especially in the mid-palate, where it is denser, richer, and more layered. This medium to full-bodied wine has everything and goes from strength to strength as the afternoon progresses. It has a wonderful chewy, grippy mouthfeel. It is marvellous now but still has its best years ahead of it. 95

Leoville-Barton 1989

An altogether more relaxed and more resolved wine, it is beautifully balanced, poised and resolved, even if it lacks the power and intensity of the Lynch or the visceral thrills of the Montrose. 92

*** I asked each person on the table to name their favourite 1989. Opinions were quite evenly divided: three preferred the Montrose, three preferred the Lynch and two preferred the Leoville-Barton***

Flight two:

Pichon Lalande 1938

Expectations were pretty low (as they were for England's chances of progressing from the group stages of the World Cup.) However, unlike England this wine really delivered the goods. It had a pale translucent hue, and upon inserting my hooter into the Riedel it was like walking into the dining room of an old Oxford college. Notes of polish, old leather armchair, mahogany and tea. This actually improved over the first 30 minutes, with spicey notes becoming more accentuated and then soy notes took over. A thrilling wine. It is difficult and somehow inappropriate to attach a numerical score. It was not the best wine of the lunch, nor of the flight; but neither was it embarrassed.

Haut-Marbuzet 1975

Notable for its high merlot content (all the great 75s have a considerable proportion of Merlot). This was opaque and cloudy, but was nicely rounded and did not display the stern austerity so typical of the vintage. A very pleasant mature claret, which will probably stick around for a few more years. 89

Haut-Brion 1975

A step up in class, it had an advanced mahogany colour, and while stern it had the trademark Haut-Brion attributes of tobacco, gravel, scorched earth and minerals. Medium-bodied, with a beautifully poised and refined mouthfeel. However surprisingly this began to fade a bit after an hour or two, and as it faded it became more angular. It was noted that Haut Brion significantly under performed its stablemate La Mission in the 1975 vintage, a wine I have never tried. Still in the first hour it was splendid, and based on that: 93

Palmer 1970

Opened earlier, this is fully resolved and tasty. There was nothing wrong with this but it lacked a bit of oomph, and the tension or nervosity that you would get in the 1978 or 1979. Still it was a lovely drop of mature Palmer. 90

Chateau Rieussec 1989

No detailed notes but it had a reassuring bright and quite pale colour and was poised

Note: scores make no claims for accuracy, consistency or fairness.
User avatar
JimHow
Posts: 20106
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:49 pm
Location: Lewiston, Maine, United States
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by JimHow »

Which Montrose do you prefer, Comte, the 89 or the 90?
Sounds like the 89 Leoville Barton and 89 Leoville Las Cases are coming around, two wines that I thought did not show much in their early years, especially against their 1990 counterparts.
User avatar
DavidG
Posts: 8280
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 1:12 pm
Location: Maryland
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by DavidG »

The 1990s were famous for early accessibility, while the 1989s needed time. Kind of like 2009 and 2010.

Outstanding though they are, I think both the 1989 and 1990 Montrose need more time to fully show their stuff. As do well-stored bottles of '89 Lynch Bages.
User avatar
Jay Winton
Posts: 1836
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:06 pm
Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE USA
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by Jay Winton »

Good notes Ian. We drank an 89 Leoville Barton recently with Chris and Marjorie and I concur with your assessment. The wine is in a nice place right now. speaking of 89s-Chris proposed a fall gathering of the Mid Atlantic group and guests for another review of this great vintage. Stay tuned!
User avatar
Comte Flaneur
Posts: 4863
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:05 pm
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Jim I think the 1990 Montrose is definitely the better wine, but I have only had it twice, whereas I have the 1989 several times. Having said that the 1989 is in a really good place right now, and it is hard not to love it. My only criticism of it is that it is not as smooth and dense on the mid-palate as other wines of similar repute, e.g., Lynch-Bages 1989. Last time I had the 1990 was in NYC in magnum, and it was very backward.

So of the three 1989s we tried, my vote went for the Lynch. I think I 'get' this wine now. It really has everything and it still needs more time in my opinion. It had an edginess/tension about it, which I like, whereas the Barton was very laid back and ready to go by comparison. I think the 1989 Lynch is definitely better than the 1990, which I find a bit low in acidity, and hence not as impeccably balanced.
User avatar
Nicklasss
Posts: 6384
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:25 pm
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by Nicklasss »

Personnally, I also preferred the 1989 LB to the 90. Never had 89 or 90 Montrose.

Nic
User avatar
Claret
Posts: 1143
Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:16 pm
Location: Reno, NV
Contact:

Re: 1989 Bordeaux Retrospective

Post by Claret »

I have been a long time fan of 89's.

I sold off my remaining 90 Montrose after a third side by side comparison with the glorious 89. While both wines are outstanding I felt the value of the 90 exceeded the pleasure it gave me.
Glenn
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot], JoelD and 10 guests