1989 in the Rheingau

A nice evening with 1989 Bordeaux and a few other bottles.

• 1959 Domaine Huet Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Haut-Lieu 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray

  Nice bitterness, all elegance, quince, Seville orange. keeping incredibly well.

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• 1959 Bouillon-Rossin Clos d' Uza 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  I had never heard of this before ... Sweet grapefruit, quince, some honey, not at all bad and very youthful.

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• 1949 Château Bastor-Lamontagne 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Slightly medicinal nose, some honey. On the palate pear, bitter orange, zests, slightly off bitterness. Still full of life.

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• 1989 Pommery Champagne Cuvée Louise Brut 90 Points

  France, Champagne

  Nose of brioche, yeast, bread, dry extract.

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• 1989 Gaja Barbaresco 90 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco

  Quite tannic, dry. With some air nice cassis and silky tannins, but sure whether this will ever come round to display true greatness.

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• 1989 Antinori Solaia 93 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Sweet nose but with some greenness of bell pepper. On the palate silky and elegant, underwood, damp earth. Quite nice.

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• 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 94 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  Has mellowed considerably: underwood, damp earth but still some cassis left.

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• 1989 M. Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  Nose of tobacco, earth. Quite a bit thinner than the Beaucastel that preceded it, very elegant, some smoke.

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Haut-Brion proper reigns supreme.

• 1989 Château Larrivet-Haut-Brion 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Nice nose of scorched earth. On the palate slightly thinner, bell pepper, damp cloth.

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• 1989 Château La Tour Haut-Brion 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Hot nose of kirsch, prunes, raisins. On the palate slightly rough with tar, licorice, cassis.

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• 1989 Château La Mission Haut-Brion 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Nose of black tea, raisins, tobacco, tar. Still some cassis, truffles, more black tea.

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• 1989 Château Haut-Brion 100 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Initially lighter than the La Mission but appreciated considerably and surpassed it. Nose of dried plum, raisins, tobacco, dark chocolate. On the palate still some cassis, dark fruit, malt, creamy tannins, long. Spectacular.

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Clinet ultimately wearing off? Or an off-bottle? Pétrus the best.

• 1989 Château Ausone 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Nose of herbs, earth. On the palate fine with grainy tannins, nice acidity.

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• 1989 Château Cheval Blanc 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Nice nose of raisins showing all the 1989 summer heat. Tar, smoke, wood, silky tannins. Great.

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• 1989 Château Clinet 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  Nose of tobacco, dried plums. On the palate very sweet with cassis, truffles, underwood, pretty sweet and straightforward. Am I missing the greatness? Or has this aged faster than it should have?

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• 1989 Pétrus 100 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  A spectacular bottle of 1989. Nose of herbs, tar, malt. Creamy palate, densely textured, smoke, lots of fruit left. Unbelievably fine and elegant.

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• 2008 Chartogne-Taillet Champagne Brut Millésimé 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  A very nice champagne. Youthful, bubbling with energy. Apples, pear, yeast.

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• 1989 Château Margaux 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Slightly rough and dry, grainy tannins, some scorched earth, smoke. Good acidity and nicely fresh but lacking a bit of elegance.

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• 1989 Château Latour Grand Vin 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  A charming Latour, quite sappy and sweet yet with a good backbone. Sweet tannins, slightly overripe cassis. really nice.

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• 1989 Château Mouton Rothschild 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Bouquet of smoke, licorice, scorched earth, pencil shavings. On the palate fresh (green?), yet sweet. A nice showing.

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• 1989 Château Lafite Rothschild 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Nose of herbs, malt, mint. Very balanced on the palate, some port but all silky. Very persistent finish. A great great wine.

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This was also a spectacular flight and fully on par with the premiers if not surpassing them.

• 1989 Château Palmer 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  Very nice Palmer with truffles, leather, nicely structured and so elegant.

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• 1989 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Balanced, flashy, nice texture. Very long.

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• 1989 Château Montrose 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Nose of licorice, raisins and chocolate. On the palate earth, cassis, malt. Pretty nice.

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• 1989 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron Flawed

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Badly corked.

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• 1989 Château d'Yquem 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Nose of apricots, honey, caramel. On the palate honey, apricots, mango, honeycomb. Quite high in viscosity and sweetness but a great Yquem.

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• 1989 Château Suduiraut 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Sweet and rich. Acidity maybe not enough to balance this off long-term. Would drink this now.

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The tasting confirmed what everybody knows, i.e. that Pétrus and Haut-Brion are ahead of the pack in 1989.