I think this nose is a little more oxidative than it should be, although there is still good cream and citrus in here. Plate is also quite advanced with more toasted browning spice character to the fruit. Not bad, but not what this should be... Hard to say, there is a lot of redeeming flavor in here that seems to lighten up with time. 92 as is, which is saying something. 1985 and 1979 alongside are both spectacular.

Great nose. Check notes from last month, every bit as good and detailed. Fresh citrus, subtle smoke, light cream, mocha, coffee, slight toast. Spectacular again. The nose starts quite subtly but just grows and grows. Detailed. Palate is tremendous as well with a lot more verve and fruit than the nose lets on. Another great one. Monstrous palate.

This nose is pure café latte, light roast coffee and very creamy. Think coffee mate in the best possible way. Coffee Crisp, for any Canadian viewers. Cashew butter. Bruised yellow fruit. Mature but not tired, still fresh. Whiffs of vanilla. Only grows and lightens up with air. Still some citrus. On the palate this is warm and round and buttery. Peak maturity and development of flavors but still fresh and powerful. Red and yellow apple with a dash of fall spice. Still has citrus. Wonderful.

Badly oxidized.

Booming nose with huge smoky reduction and great vanilla spice. Soldering smoke, white rubber, and white flowers. Textbook Leflaive struck match and I love it. This palate is actually very similar to what the nose suggests but has a little more bright citrus in addition to the still very youthful yellow fruit. Leflaive takes it on the nose, but the d’Auvenay Chevy in the next glass takes it on the palate, handedly. Whereas the Leflaive is straightforwardly delicious, the d’Auvenay has such elegance and nuance to the flavors. This Leflaive is so fresh and bright and has lemon citrus. Wow, the energy here. 96-97. Outstanding example of what Leflaive is capable of.

Spectacular nose, a big bouquet of white lilies with pleasant smoky and reductive butteriness. This is a little more cerebral than the ‘96 Leflaive Chevy in the next glass, which is absolutely booming, if less floral. A unique cola spice in here, probably related to oak vanilla. Dried coconut. Palate is fresh and huge and round with dense yellow fruit and good acid. Whereas the Leflaive is straightforwardly delicious, the d’Auvenay has such elegance and nuance to the flavours. 96-97.

Interestingly this is the lightest in colour of the flight. The nose is a little quieter than either the ‘99 or spectacular ‘02 side by side. Quite bready with a nice toast. Also mineral. Requires some coaxing to get all the detail. A little more shy than I expected. Growing. Nice spice. On the palate this is vibrant and attacks upfront with citrus and candied fruit before the denser tropical fruit. Excellent but expected a bigger showing relative to the company.

This nose is dried coconut, soft vanilla spice, and white florals. Slightly darker than either the ‘02 or ‘96 side by side. Candied pineapple. Picked up a lot with more time. On the palate this has real weight behind the ripe yellow fruit flavour. Relatively dense. Delicious, not two ways around that.

Absolutely beautiful nose, elegant and understated which is a little surprising, all white flowers over pineapple fruit. Ethereal. Grows and grows gaining expression and projection. On the palate this has a bright attack of citrus followed by rich and ripe yellow fruit. Amazing staying power to the flavour and finish. Came back to this after three hours to try to freshen up and the vibrancy to the fruit is awesome. I've heard there were serious oxidization issues with the '02, the last one I had was brown, but this was a glorious example and took the wine of the flight.

Another excellent example. Check notes from the last bottle. Rustic and very spiced. Swirling brings out the damp forest floor, burning embers, and leathers. Dense, lush, humid, sexy. Palate is similarly lush and dense with massive opulent red and black fruit. Great texture. Again, lives up to the hype. Tows the line between hedonistic and intellectual, although ultimately comes down on the pleasurable side.

On the nose this is a thinner, lighter, softer iteration of the ‘89 Haut Brion, which is absolutely booming in the next glass. A little more dried red berry and scorched earth in this one with hints of iron. This is also quite chocolatey. Palate is a little lighter and a little sweeter than than on the straight Haut Brion.

This is the softest and most elegant of the flight. Comparatively light. Also the thinnest on the nose and my least favourite. On the palate this has chocolate covered cherry and dark red berry fruit. Mineral texture. Great but overshadowed in this very interesting ‘89, ‘82, Haut Brion, La Mission matrix.

Nose is comparable to that on the ‘89 Haut Brion bit slightly drier and with a more pronounced bouldery minerality. The similarity is impressive, totally comparable. I've always enjoyed the '82 HB and think that it can often give the '89 a run for its money. Neck and neck tonight again.

Great nose and bottle here too. Dry leather, dusty library, dark red cherry, and subtle smoky earth. Amazing but behind both the ‘45 Mouton and ‘47 Margaux Mag. Expressive but quite delicate and requires attention. On the palate this still has bright red berry fruit, tannin, and savory meaty flavors. Great as well. Coming back to these after an hour or so this is definitely the lightest.

Spectacular. The second time I have had this and the second time it has been absolutely terrific. The nose has so much ripe red and blue fruit up front along with the graphite and lead pencil. Red cedar and cigar. Mint chocolate. Very showy and expressive bouquet. The youth is baffling. On the palate both sweet and savory with rich red and blue fruit. Just keeps growing. Umami. I wish I could keep a glass of this forever. Thats about perfect. Exceeds the rarity and novelty, this is crushing a '45 Lafite and '47 Margaux magnum side by side, and both of those are excellent tonight.

[Magnum] Initially a little dark but swirling gets you a dense and rich perfume. Black current and black cherry still. This is blossoming and standing up to the sensational ‘45 Mouton. Smoky, chocolatey, savoury. The youth on the palate here is unbelievable as well as has dense and sweet black cherry, a lot of delicious ripeness. I really enjoyed this, sweet and savoury, a wine you can chew on.

Gloriois bouquet, elegant but with plenty of red and blue berry power, highly expressive, big perfume. Very beautiful. Integrated. Cool. On the nose this is subtler than the ‘93 Leroy Musigny. On the palate this is super bright and lively and has a wallop of red berry fruit. More punchy than I expected. Youthful and still a little primary. Outstanding, but the '93 Leroy Musigny in the next glass is absolutely incredible and on another level than even this very impressive wine. 96-97. 97 any other night.

This has a terrific bouquet as well that stands up to and then exceeds that on the Roumier. Vibrant, highly floral, and quite fruity. Ripe brambly blackberry. Perfumed. I’m generally a little tough on Leroy but this is excellent. On the palate this is delicate and soft but has real weight to the ripe and round berry fruit. Terrific. Outperforming the ‘96 Roumier Musigny on the palate. Red cherry cola note on the nose. Such big projection. Lush and dense. Humid and sexy. Incredible.

Put my nose in this and stopped. How this could be included in a flight alongside '93 Leroy and '96 Roumier Musigny is beyond me. Generous 90 at best.

This has that beautifully mature softness and elegance, roses, light red cherry, teas. So soft and pure but with a lot of power lurking in the background. Very expressive. This has a La Turque bacon fat, scorched earth, and white flower combination to it. On the palate this is light and zippy. Cherry strikes up front. About peak performance here and outstanding, even from the '80 and '90 La Tâche next in line.

This is an excellent nose that is very comparable to that on the ‘71 Riche but wth more blue fruit and weight. Stalky and stemmy with a striking floral perfume. On the nose this is outperforming the ‘90 LT tonight. On the palate this is near perfect right now with developed red and blue berry fruit, quite sweet, also textured and weighty. Excellent.

This is pretty and showy, but I think my bottle a couple months ago was a fresher and more vibrant example. Black cherry. Quiet perfume. This is still aromatically beautiful no matter what. Palate is quite dark tonight. Mossy even. No problems, just not as dazzling of a showing as this wine often is. See 03/30.18 notes.

Sweet, ripe, warm, woody. Check notes from last time. Nice but comparatively lacquered and polished black cherry. Palate strikes me as hot and even a little cooked. I have never had great luck with this wine and always prefer the '90.

Whereas the ‘89 is overripe and woody this has fresh and pretty florals over red and black fruit. Dark teas but not tired. Ripe and delicious red and black berry. This is very good, even in the context. There is a 1945 in this flight, which is absolutely incredible, and in the '45 you can make out the blueprint and similarities of this '90. Great.

This nose is bloody like a blue rare bit of steak. Iron mixing into the blue and blackberry fruit. Surprisingly fruity, especially compared to the ‘45 Mouton and Lafite two flights back. On the palate this is superb as well with meaty and chocolatey character to the red and black fruit. A unique metallic texture. You can kind of see the blueprint of the '90, served alongside, in this. Unique.

I guess cork doesn't age discriminate.

The unmistakable Yquem nose of apricot, brown sugar, and caramel. This has added layers of banana cream pie, molasses, and toffee pudding. To be honest this nose is really uniform and can be compared to a 1990 or later without too much imagination. Honeycomb. Palate is good as well, not as good as the nose, but deep and delicious. Quite amazing, but the 1900 is the one tonight.

While this is darker in colour than the 1890 in the next glass, the aromas are far lighter and fresher. Still unmistakably Yquem and notably similar to the sweetness on the 2001s. Apricot, banana toffee pudding, caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon apple pie. Whereas the palate on the 1890 does not match its great nose, the plate here is equally as sensational with all the same flavours. Texturally thinning out, i.e., not unctuous or viscous like younger Yquem, but this still has heaps of fruit. Excellent. I wish all the Yquem I drank was this old.

Black licorice, fennel, tomato leaf, oregano. Dry, dusty, leathery red fruit. Ketchup. This is actually quite nice, but in the context of the finial night of the greatest wines of all time weekend I just don’t understand. Plate is bright, high acid, cranberry fruit. Better than '82 and '71 in this flight. Context is probably a big part of the lower score.

Corked or just Italian? Fennel and oregano and a whole array of spice. I actually kind of like this nose. Hard to say. In the context of the finial night of the greatest wines of all time weekend I don't really understand.