1989 Château Haut-Brion
Community Tasting Note
cooberp Likes this wine:
Sunday, January 24, 2016 - Translucent crimson. Super-powerful nose that kicks off with pure, rich cassis and a light floral touch. After some aeration, it started to show cigar and graphite and--only after a decent wait--the classic Graves smoky-barbecue character. At its peak it complemented all of this with a tarry, bitter-herb note. The wine was also exceptional in the mouth, simultaneously lightweight and mouth-filling, with extremely well-integrated tannins that provided structure without creating any astringency. It meticulously hit every spot on the palate and delivered an almost unreal length--you couldn't get the taste out of your mouth even if you tried.
This is drinking absolutely great right now--it's wide-open, intense, and accessible. But I still think it's showing only a fraction of the complexity it's capable of: I've had plenty of older vintages of HB and LMHB that I've liked nearly as much as this one despite their lesser pedigree and stuffing, probably just because I seem to prefer my Pessac further along in its evolution. As hard as it is to resist drinking this now, I expect those who manage to be patient will be amply rewarded. My score reflects exclusively current-drinking pleasure--I presume this will reach towards the top of the scale after another 10-15 years in the cellar, but I'll need to taste it in 2030 or so to be sure. The wine did start to deteriorate after around 2.5 hours of air--I don't know how much of a cause for concern that should be.
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