1988 Château Haut-Brion

Community Tasting Note

wrote:

95 Points

Tuesday, February 9, 2016 - This wine was double decanted a few hours prior to dinner. It poured a dark ruby and did not have as much bricking as I would have expected for a wine that is 28 years old. The nose was shockingly primary. My first reaction was Luden's Cherry Cough Drops, which is strange because that is often associated with young California wines, almost in an insulting way (depending on who says it). To me, the description emphasizes how young this wine is drinking. Over the course of the evening, the cherry notes fell more into balance as some cedar, cigar, and leather notes emerged. However, given the age, the intensity of these notes was more subdued than expected. I really enjoyed this wine. Over the course of the evening it really came into balance and offered plenty of enjoyable primary and secondary characteristics. However, the wine puzzles me. Where will it go from here? Is it still young with a long life ahead of it? If so, how long? If not, why does it retain such a primary initial presentation? Those are questions for someone smarter than me. I am simply happy to sit back and enjoy.

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