Still a very dark color with amber brown edges. Nose if still charming, but really showing its age, with prune, raisin, tomato, black licorice, and forest floor. Over time, took on a bit of green bean aroma as well. Lacking a bit of body, but had a smooth mouthfeel. A bit maderized. Tannins resolved. A bit vinegary and acidic on the finish. Impressive that a wine from 1937 could be so drinkable but we probably just got lucky with this bottle.

Has seen better days, but still with some life left. A fragrant nose with lots of dark fruits, raisin, mushroom, truffle, earth, and leather. Good concentration and with an elegant mouthfeel. Still had a pretty solid tannic structure. Acidity started out in good balance, but elevated after two hours.

A light/medium ruby color, the lightest of all of the wines in this vertical tasting. A beautiful floral nose. Black currant, bacon, truffle, graphite, cigar tobacco, eucalyptus, and earth. Really enjoyed the elegant mouthfeel, but a bit weak in the mid-palate. Light on its feet. Tannins well-integrated. Lost a bit of steam throughout the evening, but it started out as one of the strongest wines tonight. A memorable finish with nice acidity.

Easily the surprise of the night. In fact, many in attendance picked this as their WOTN (over the 89!!). This was one of the those wines that showed incredibly well early in the evening, but clearly didn't have the momentum or evolving complexity of the 89 HB or LMHB. Still, this wine was outstanding on this evening, and much better than the last bottle I drank a year ago. Lots of pure fruit, with cassis, tobacco, smoke, flowers, and truffle. Good concentration. Really nice balance on the palate, and appeared seamless with nothing standing out. Tannins fully integrated. A long finish, with fresh acidity. At the end of the night, it had mellowed out a bit and had perhaps lost a bit of its shine.

On its own, this would have been a standout wine; but on this evening, it was just out-classed by the 1989. It did continue to open up nicely throughout the evening. A medium ruby color, with some lightening at the edges. A very fragrant nose of sweet cassis, lots of smoke, cedar, cigar, truffle, and anise. Quite linear and focused on the palate. A long, lingering finish with silky tannins and a good level of acidity. I would bet that this wine will only get better in the upcoming years.

Lived up to its pedigree. Started out appearing very young, and took some time to open up. Yet it didn't fully show itself on this evening. By the time the evening ended, this was starting to reach a mind-blowing stage. The color of a much younger wine. A very exotic nose of sweet cassis, tobacco, violets, cedar, and barbecue smoke. Outstanding balance; everything appeared to be in sync. Though there is a dense tannic structure, the tannins were soft, round, and unobtrusive. Dense and layered on the palate. A very long finish. Excellent freshness. Hard to find much fault, other than its initial shyness (leading it to be underrated by other attendees at the tasting).

Light/medium golden yellow color. Lots of citrus, tropical fruit, honey, and white flowers on the nose. A beautiful subtle sweetness. Elegant. Seamless finish with a nice acidic bite.

Quite different from the 89 Haut-Brion, and took a lot more time to open up. A brooding nose of black currant, sous bois, leather, smoke, anise, and Asian spices. A gorgeous mouthfeel, but still fairly tannic. Tannins softened up after two hours. Took even more time to open up than the 89 Haut-Brion. Did start out with a bit of heat on the finish but this blew off very quickly. This gained considerable weight in the glass, and I think we only got a small taste (literally) of what this will become.

Deep golden color. Orange marmalade, tropical fruit, honey, and caramel. A nice medium weight d'Yquem. Great balance of sweetness and acidity. Lovely.