Seattle Tasting Group does 1989 Bordeaux

Jason and Tracy Goldberger hosted the monthly meeting of the STG with a much anticipated theme of 1989 Bordeaux. Needless to say, the wines did not disappoint.

While everyone arrived, Jason started us off with a blind white. Rich and oily, it was tricky for me to figure out. Roy was the one who nailed it.

• 1995 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain 94 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Wow, this was a lovely way to kick off the tasting, although this is no casual sipping wine with which to warm up your palate. Gorgeous golden color. The reticent nose gives off notes of honey, mineral and wafting hints of ripe melon. The palate is rich, oily, slightly sweet at first and then moving to a load of salty minerals on the mid-palate. Wowza, this is so rich, loaded with glycerin, huge mouthfeel and body, seemingly an easy 14% alcohol yet carrying every smidge of it with class. Jason and I had some debate about what this would match with, as it clearly begs for food. Our thinking was that Copper River salmon or some other similarly rich and oily food.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

This first flight was actually picked by Jason as the weaker wines, but the thing they had going for them was maturity. None of the 1989's after this flight were even close to maturity, but these were at a pretty solid point to drink. Jason stole the flight with a highly successful ringer as well...

• 1987 Columbia Winery Cabernet Sauvignon David Lake Signature Series Otis Vineyard 95 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

  Jason started us off with a ringer, and it was extremely impressive. The nose shows cassis, iron, powdered sugar, spicy notes, charcoal, and some cedar. It had me vaguely thinking of something from Margaux. On the palate this shows unreal poise, a delicate balance of mineral, structure, with ripe notes, absolutely elegant and classy. Fantastic poise. Once the bag was removed I was amazed, as I have never tasted a wine from Washington state with such clear secondary notes. Color me very impressed. We discussed if/when there was a change at Columbia, and people pointed at 1991 as the last classic vintage before production was raised and quality dropped. Group average 93.0 pts and WOTF.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1989 Château Trotte Vieille 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  The nose immediately struck me as right bank with mint, soy caramel and some vegetal elements. Some people thought there was a hint of TCA on this, but if anything I thought it was a little oxidized. The palate is smoky and exotic with roasted meat and sultry mouthfeel. This is perhaps a little thin and a little straightforward, but I found this to be extremely enjoyable nonetheless (I have been on a Right Bank kick lately). Group average 90.3 pts.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1989 Château Chasse-Spleen 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc

  This wine had everyone thinking of Pauillac or maybe St. Julien. Notes of iron, horse, flowers, and some cedar are also accompanied by a black, brooding personality. Great nose! The palate is big, muscular and dark, very closed and tight at first and seeming to be dominated by tannins without enough fruit. Nice acids. However, as the wine opens AND your palate gets used to it, this fleshes out very well. This is an impressive wine. Group average 92.7 points.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

This next flight was impressive but was also hard, hard work. All of these wines seemed to be a decade a way from even thinking abour softening. My initial impressions on the Montrose and Palmer were not very positive, as the wines were so tight, dominated by impressive acids and crushing tannins. However, with 30-45 minutes of very aggressive swirling, the wines and my palate slowly came around.

• 1989 Château Angélus 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Spicy, cedary, pine resin and tar. Oh my, this is exotic, nice acids, very ripe and exotic, damson, spicy black fruit, racy. I correctly guessed right bank on this sexy beast. Group average 91.7 points.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1989 Château Montrose 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  Wow, there is a LOT of horse on this wine, HUGE notes of brett. Behind the almost overwhelming barnyard, there are spicy, green notes that seem to clearly identify this as St. Estèphe. At first the palate is astringent and horsey, overwhelmed by the brett, not great, earthy but not very rich. I put this down for about 20 minutes, and when I came back it was a different wine. Muscular, tannic, rich, a hard wine, sturdily built, nowhere close to ready. Black, mean, muscular, massive. Holy Freaking Toledo, the tannins are HUGE. This ended up being my second favorite wine of the evening, and, based on the horsiness and similarity to the striking 1990, I successfuly guessed this was Montrose. Group average 94.9 points and WOTF.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1989 Château Palmer 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  What a terrific nose, gamey, leathery, exotic, smoky, with graphite and charcoal. The initial palate impression was highly acidic and very tight with lots of cranberry. The palate is loaded with silky tannins that dominate the wine at first, but with 20 minutes of wrist-breaking swirling this slowly comes around to show gorgeous, powdery layers of fruit, I don;t know the blend, but it seems like there is a pretty healthy dose of Merlot as well in this exotic and striking wine. Group average 94.4 points.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

This last flight offered a nice reprieve, three taut wines, showing elegant structure and packed to the gills with minerality. My head is also swollen, as I was able to correctly guess the identity of all of them without even benefit of a lineup in advance. Part of it was palate, part was familiarity with the wines (each of which I have had 4-6 times before), and part of it was deductive reasoning. Jason had mentioned that one of the flights would feature three wines from the same appellation. As we sat there in the last flight, I knew we had to have examples from Pauillac. I also knew that we had to have Lynch Bages in the lineup. The Pichon Lalande meanwhile did stand out for its style. Anyway, it was a gorgeous flight.

• 1989 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  I have always enjoyed this wine, but, having tasted it six times, I have seen a lot of variation. This bottle was on the weaker end of the spectrum, but it was still extremely enjoyable. The lightest color and texture of the flight, this didn't have the weight and power of the other two wines. Instead, this was a silky, sexy beast, loaded with initial notes of red fruit, fresh, perky and floral, almost grapey at first. However, with air it morphed into the wine I know, more black with hints of Pauillac tobacco, still lots of sappy, red fruit, sweet, lots of Merlot? I correctly guessed the identity of this wine. Group average 92.4 points.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1989 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 95 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  The 1989 Baron is always a stunning wine, and this was a fine example. Taut, elegant, loaded with mineral and cedar on this nose, this is simply awesome and pure. The palate continues in this vein with fresh acidity, cranberry, loads of liquefied minerals, very tight yet impeccably balanced, opening gorgeously. I successfully guessed Baron on this one. Group average 95.6 points.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 1989 Château Lynch-Bages 97 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Charcoal and tobacco scream from the glass. Holy s**t, what a palate, this is so vibrant, piercing, loaded with chery and intense minerality. Wow, this is so pure, stunning and tight. I successfully guessed this as the Lynch Bages. Group average 96.6, wine of the night!

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

We still had a leg of lamb to devour (it took much longer to cook than expected), so Jason broke this out to accompany it. It was a tough transition, but the wine was actually very, very nice.

• 2001 Mitolo Shiraz G.A.M. 92 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  It is somewhat obscene to follow a set of gorgeous 1989 Bordeaux with a wine like this, as it is just so jarring to the palate. However, with a load of rare, smoky, grilled leg of lamb and some time, this did round into form rather nicely. Jammy, candied, gingerbread and sweet on the nose, the palate is loaded with red fruit, quite vibrant and relatively light on its feet.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Finally we finished up with this wine which was just too over the top.

• 1998 Bodegas Olivares Jumilla Dulce Monastrell

  Spain, Murcia, Jumilla

  Cloyingly sweet, tough for me to appreciate after a big tasting of elegant wines.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Thanks for a great evening!