Ordered off the list as none of us brought any starter whites, a nice way to get the evening rolling. Extremely effusive on the nose with a mélange of tropical fruit, lychee and citrus pith aromas with fragrant spicy floral notes. It's ripe and round on the palate, but there's enough acidity to keep it on the straight and narrow. Similar flavors as aromas with really nice fruit and spice. Finishes with a pleasant, lingering bitterness. Solid B+.

I've found this wine to be rather inconsistent over the years. More often than not, it fails to live up to the hype. Not tonight, however. What an absolutely thrilling showing! Just a powerhouse of a wine and I don't mean that in an over-the-top way as everything about this bottle was about balance. This bottle was a little cleaner than usual with a little less funk and more upfront black fruit, black olive and just a hint of bacon. It showed youth, but wonderful integration, density and power, but a velvety mouthfeel and silky tannins. Stunning wine and easily WOTN and tied with a '90 Chave for my wine of the year. Solid A+.

Always one of my favorite '89s, this showed in typical strong fashion. Wonderful depth and complexity here and while still showing youthfully, there's nice tertiary development. Dark cherry fruit dominates and melds with classic herb, cedar and earth elements. The acidity in the wine has always kept the wine fresh and, imo, makes it a slightly better balanced and more transparent wine than the '90. With air the wine did start to shut down a little. A long life ahead for this one as it's still on the young side of peak. A.

Far more times than not, I've had the '90 in the company of the '89 and the '90 is always beat down by its bruiser of a brother. On its own like tonight, however, it's able to shine and you can see that it's a stellar wine in its own right. This bottle has a wonderful softness and harmony to it. It's full of rich, black bruit, wonderful Graves earthy notes and tobacco that persist and linger on the palate as effortlessly and gracefully as a skater across the ice. Perhaps a touch low in acidity, but it's still a nicely balanced wine. It just comes across as more friendly. Drinking beautifully now, but there's no hurry here whatsoever. A.

Showing more open and plush than the last bottle I've had. It has wonderful aromatics of sweet black cherry, cigar box, tobacco ad graphite. Rich and maybe a touch plump on the palate with like flavors as aromas. There's a voluptuous mouthfeel to the wine and he tannins are sweet and integrated. Just a joy to drink. A.

Greg mentioned that he decanted this at 12:30 pm, but even by the end of the evening this was a hard, pugilist of a wine that was intent on giving as much pain as pleasure. Lots of tar on the nose with pomegranate molasses, roses and spice aromas. The tannins go a few rounds in the mouth before you can discern some fresh red cherry, tar, dark chocolate and cherry pit flavors. Certainly not as effusive and welcoming as the last bottle I had with Greg, but this is a beautiful wine, if a bit persnickety and in need of more time. A-/A.

Probably my favorite vintage of this wine after the '95, this shows continued development with a shift towards a more focused and less plump mouthfeel and the fruit more in the dried apricot and orange citrus range. Intensely sweet, but with the wonderful razor sharp acidity of '96. Pleasant early grey tea notes and honey on the lengthy finish. Love it and it has a long life ahead of it. A.

From a half bottle, it shows a little more youthfully on the nose than it does on the palate, with the aromas being dominated by cherry, plum and baker's spices. Flavor wise, the cherry, plum and spice are there, but more complex and mature fig and toffee notes also make an appearance. Typically sweet and nicely balanced with a warm, rich and lingering finish. The alcohol is nicely integrated and while starting to take on a more mature profile, the wine shows freshness. A/A-.