A great example. Tonight besting the famous ‘89 because it’s much more developed. Beautiful fruit, tannins and acidity - much more fruit than smoke or hickory. It won’t get better even from perfectly stored bottles.
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Just a hair's breadth away from the legendary 1989, this is one of those mesmerizing wines. The wine is concentrated, long, deep, complex, and expansive, with incredible, length, purity, volume, refinement, and a seamless finish that is close to the 60-second mark. Just entering its prime, it is only going to get better from here for at least 2-3 more decades. Drink from 2024-2045.
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Not decanted, blind. Ripe vintage but not as complex, not as smoky as expected when revealed perhaps due to the lack of decanting. Immense structure, first growth quality, very smooth tannins with graphite notes. LMHB 1990/5 or a weaker Margaux? 94+
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There is not much more that needs to be said other than sublime. I have given it this score as I don't know what else I can expect from a wine. Possibly a greater finish would have made it the perfect score.
Still a beautiful glowing red with a tinge of brown on the outer edge. Barnyard, cedar, red fruits and menthol dominate the bouquet. The body is supremely elegant, suave and struts with great style and freshness. A great blend of grace and power - impeccable. Lovely linear finish.
Drink now to 10+ years. I would be tempted only decant this wine for only 30 minutes before consumption and enjoy the ride.
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Delicious WOTN in a line up against Margaux and Mouton. Blackish ruby color, dense wine, decanted and aerated for an hour then drank over two hours. Medium to full bodied, lots of asphalt, black fruits from berries, currants to cherries and plums, spicy peppery cassis, some leather and masculine notes. Powerful on the palate, secondary notes of dark red and black fruits, superb balance, structure and acidity, finishes peppery long with dark chocolate notes. Fabulous.
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***If I was allowed to take 1 bottle with me for my last supper, I would probably take the 1990 (not the 89) Haut Brion. Very overlooked...This is ethereal and everything you could imagine and hope for from a First Class, First Growth wine. Its fully mature with a perfume of barnyard and loam and still packs a long, beautifully sweet finish. Drink or Hold...I think this is just fine.
(Cdv) Un nez assez extraordinaire … dans l’énergie , dans la complexité, comme un souffle intarissable … la première impression est wouahouh, le nez nous plonge dans l’âme des grands Bordeaux, et même dans l’âme des grands Pessac, un rien austère, classique, qui poivronne, sous-bois, avec cette dose de fumée caractéristique, mais avec un fruité indéniable (léger cassis, fruits noirs), du menthol. Par contre, je fus moins convaincu par la bouche, certes joliment structurée, équilibrée (maturité / fraîcheur / finesse) mais abasourdie par un boisé qui ne s’est jamais intégré, laissant avec l’oxygénation progressive un goût désagréable de fût asséchant … (sur cette bouteille ! Pas ressenti précédemment) Quoiqu’il en soit, le vin nous a semblé fort jeune ce soir, signe d’une belle longévité a venir…
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1 of 6 decanted at 4:30 served at 7:30. Youthful deep ruby color, nose filled with cassis and darker fruits, smoke and leather, less minerality than I expected. Palate showed dense layered fruit, spice and smoke. Fine tannins, good acidity give this an impressive texture, balanced with a long persistent finish. Still very young, consider longer decant next bottle
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This is a delightful and charming Haut-Brion. Gentle, fruity, silky and elegant. But since all the tannins have left the building it really lacks grip. Fortunately healthy acidity holds it together but it seems a lot more dilute than the towering ‘89 version. I wouldn’t try holding it for much longer.
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An Epic Summer Wine Weekend - Year 2; 6/30/2023-7/2/2023 (Muskoka, Ontario, Canada): Quite thrilling to come across this again. The wine pours medium ruby in the glass with no bricking. Just like the last time I had this a decade ago, the nose here is insane, totally wide open and massively complex. Aromas flow seamlessly in a melange of tobacco, wet clay, dark cherry, pomegranite, smoky woodsy spice, rich spicy leather, charcoal, concrete dust, light roast coffee, peony, and crushed rock. The palate is liquid silk with a lovely dark cherry core, turning to medium minus tannin that is masked by the gorgeous fruit and medium acid. The finish is monumental lingering for minutes on end replaying much of the nose. Bordeaux is comforting and often predicable, but its not so often you come across something like this that truly moves you. What an absolutely stunning bottle of wine and just like last time, in my view pure bottled perfection.
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I've had many of these and must say, this bottle was amongst the best. Oh how I love thee 90 HB!! )) When its on you're in for a meditative experience. A hair behind the 89 but majestic nonetheless.
Drank w Alena and Alex at Bear, Stanley Ranch Napa.
Took several hours in the decanter to open. Really hit its stride after 4 hrs and last glass the best after 6-7 hours. But at first pour you could tell this was special. Perfect cork, seepage only about half way, excellent bottle fill.
So elegant, refined and polished. Certainly at or near peak yet will remain here for eons. Total classic old school delicousness.
Cuban cigar, cedar, tobacco, leather, cassis, cream cassis, overlaying echo of sandalwood. Was an orchestra for sure, melted in my mouth. The nose was also off the charts and transmuted me into the hills of Bordeaux on bright shiny day surrounded by thyme, mountain savory, lavender and tarragon.
Kept calling you back for more. Drink as often as possible!
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(SYP) Small glass. PNP A fresh nose of spices, tobacco, tea leaves and earthy fruit. Less concentrated and smooth than the '82 but still very enjoyable. 93
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A celebration with friends (Home): Mid garnet. As with the LMHB alongside, gloriously rich on nose an plate straight from the off, such that I wondered whether opening in advance had been a mistake, but it happily copes with three hours in the decanter, kept suitably cool, and shows just as well as we start to drink it. A super bottle of this. Rich and truffly with tobacco and that sun on warm terracotta feel. Precise blackcurrant fruit too. Rich on the palate with more of a Graves character coming through. There's density and precision here. grandeur too. Long and satisfying, a wine that keeps drawing you back for the next sip, and the next. *****
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Drank at Champetre Saturday nite w/the Whites & Marks. Had an '02 side by side as well. Decanted for an hour+ at home, then perhaps another hour at the restaurant. I didn't realize until I saw this note, but I've had this wine only a few months ago in a similar scenario and (gasp!) this might have been my final bottle of this fantastic wine! My notes this eve are pretty much a carbon copy of the last tasting, tho the wine was even better on this occasion. Extremely generous nose of cigar box, lead pencil, tobacco, earth and black fruit. This wine demonstrates the ultimate combination of power, structure and elegance. There remains a copious amount of fruit--both black (blackberries) and red (currant) 33 years post-bottling. There's also tobacco leaf, spice, tar, herbs, gravelly earth and leather notes. Powerful, highly structured with intense concentration, yet extremely soft and elegant to the touch. And, of course, a long, luxurious and delicious finish. I've had many aged bordeaux during my journey thru the world of wine, and this beauty checks all the usual boxes - and then some! Its exquisite combination of all the elements that comprise a stellar, world class bordeaux are all here, and are bountiful. This is just a fabulous wine that while, certainly no longer in its infancy, as is noticeable from the wine's color, remains utterly youthful, vibrant and charming. Pretty much as close to perfection as one can get, this might have been the best wine I've ever tasted! Sublime is the most appropriate word that comes to mind.
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Bordal à Crans-Montana (Scavino, Haut-Brion,...); 5/26/2023-5/28/2023: Aveugle, ouvert et bu. Je n'avais encore jamais été déçu par ce vin, mais cette bouteille n'était sans doute pas la meilleure... A l'ouverture, un très joli nez de Graves, fumée, âtre froid, tabac blond, malheureusement les arômes ont vite viré vers le poivron vert. Au palais, on continuait à avoir cette verdeur peu en ligne avec ce millésime. Déception générale.
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Some Bordeaux (Chicago, IL): This was stunning from the beginning and didn't really let up either. My favourite of the three bottles of Haut-Brion tonight. Quite dark in complexion, showing the vintage's ripe fruit quite clearly, but without losing the Haut-Brion minerality. A slight touch of coffee on the midpalate as well.
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This wine can be variable but we ran into a perfect bottle this evening with great verve and freshness. Red-tinged fruit with great intensity and fabulously expressive flavors of smoky gravel, sweet tobacco and an amazing array of complex spices. The best bottle of '90 HB I've ever had from my cellar from a case purchased on release. Wow! At Commanderie Candidate's dinner at the University Club, NYC.
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Nose of smoke, leather, cigar box, cassis, dark plum, exotic spice, clove - sensational nose. On the palate, gorgeous velvety mouthfeel and superb soft tannin. As you move through the mid-palate, notes of sweet fruit come through, red licorice, & all complemented by the integrated tannin. Savoury & umami flavours of soy sauce come through on the long finish. This is far from a flamboyant powerhouse. On the contrary, it's rather delicate meaning at times you have to search for the brilliance in it. It is a great wine and my overall conclusion and score seem a little at odds with the details of the note, but this didn't wow me in the way that the 90 Latour did.
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Spring Break Mini-Mondo Tasting (Deerfield Beach, FL): Flight #2 - single blind next to the 1990 La Mission Haut Brion. I got the two flipped because label bias caused me to assume that the '90 HB would be the better of the two wines. I was wrong. In comparison, the Haut Brion was more evolved with dominant tertiary flavors of tobacco, cedar, tar, and smoke. It was a slightly 'tired' wine. Since I had the '90 HB back in November of last year, my summation is that this bottle tonight was not stored perfectly for its lifetime which is why it was on a rapid evolutionary tract. While this bottle was not the near perfect expression of this wine like the ones I've had before, it was still excellent.
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Drank side by side with 90’ Latour. I was expecting the 90’ HB to win, but tonight I had to give the nod to Latour. I don’t think this bottle was quite as special as I remember my last bottle of 90’ HB being, for whatever reason, or perhaps it was just me. Either way, this was still very delicious!
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Lighter-bodied now and fully mature, this showed gorgeous faded red fruits with incredibly perfumed notes of Cuban tobacco and red flowers. Ethereal in texture building to a crunchy, intense and very complex finish with notes of smoky minerals and red spices. Double-decanted for 4 hours and actually improved in the glass for an hour. Doesn't have the depth or power of the '89 but it's a refined and gorgeous vintage of HB that's peaking now but will hold.
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1990 Bordeaux plus X (Restaurant Brunnenstube, Beinstein): Tasted blind. Decanted for several hours. Clear, deep, youthful ruby-tawny color. Very fine, elegant and complex nose with some graphite, tobacco and fine red fruit. Complex. On the palate it is all about elegance, balance and finesse. Very fine blueberry and mulberry fruit, beautiful integrated acidity and tannin. Some barn notes, herbs, tobacco and salt. Beautiful silky texture, tension and pressure. Long, elegant finish. Still very young and will probably continue to evolve for another decade. The palate is close to perfection, but it did not really excite me. Very, very good, certainly great, but it lacks somehow the "wow" for me. Nevertheless 96-97
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Drank at Champetre Saturday nite. We had some pretty serious bottles on this evening in Pine Plains, NY, and this baby was clearly the WOTN without question. Decanted at home for 90 minutes, and then again at the restaurant. Extremely generous nose of tobacco, earth and black fruit. This wine demonstrates the ultimate combination of power, structure and elegance. There remains a ton of black (blackberries) and red fruit (currant) in this wine 32 years after bottling. There's also tobacco leaf, spice, tar, herbs, gravelly earth and leather notes. Powerful, highly structured, intense concentration, and a long, delicious finish. This is just a fabulous wine that while, perhaps not in its infancy, remains a very youthful concoction. I would have no problem holding this wine another 10 or more years (and I still have a few so who knows...). Just a great bottle of wine!
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(CDV) Non carafé, il a manqué d'oxygène pour s'exprimer pleinement ... A l'oeil, il est epais, sombre, comme tranquille, juste un bord fin laisse deviner son age, grenat tuilé, et à l'extrémité du disque, presque clair. Il est opaque au centre mais brille sur la paroi du verre. Le nez est immédiatement signé Pessac, fumé, aristocratique, épicé et sous-bois, le poivron est rôti à souhait. Pur, complexe, nuancé, il a cette élégance des Bordeaux "sérieux". Il est à point, sur son plateau, évolué et sans ride. En bouche, comment dire, il a tout, la finesse, la force, la fraicheur, la longueur, c'est une sorte de perfection froide (le boisé ne déborde pas, les tanins sont polis), un vin de sommelier qu'on ne saurait critiquer. Sur une heure, il a peu bougé, il semblait imperturbable, racé et immobile. Mais... Oui, un petit bémol comparé au 1989, magique et ensorcelant, ce 1990 -qui donc a tout intrinsèquement- ne m'a pas autant subjugué. Cette fois-ci en tout cas! 94/95
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Svart frukt, kirsebærhint i bakgrunnen, leken og elegant, men power i kjernen. Ytterst elegant, det er en pirrende energi i vinen. Fantastisk reinsdyrmatch.
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This is about as close to perfection as it gets. I've been lucky enough to have this wine three times and glad I still have one more in the cellar. This has the symmetry and harmony of the 1989 Haut Brion, but the punch you in the face nose of the 1990 vintage that I could smell all night long. For my palate, the '90 vintage in the left bank is better than '82 and '89. This '90 HB is rockin'!
Birthday @ Wonjo (Wonjo): Also delicious (this was a night of great wine). It's dark and more spice cabinet and a bit of black fruits and generally and enjoyable wine. Classy.
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Simply gorgeous with great depth of reddish fruits and a bit more opulent and playful than the ’89 drunk alongside in the style of the vintage. The finish is deeply satisfying with great complex flavors of smoky tobacco road and crunchy cedarwood. Just about fully mature but will hold for a long time at this level and perhaps the best wine for drinking now along with the '78. Double-decanted 4 hours. 96
Beautiful clear, ruby color. Eucalyptus and barnyard on the nose followed by strawberry, cranberry, red currant and lavender notes. Quite lovely and lively on the palate followed by some layers of cedar and elegance gracing the palate.
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54th Birthday dinner; 7/19/2022-7/21/2022 (Tschernihovsky 6 restaurant): Damn near perfect. Had it alongside its LMHB sibling, and it outclassed it. Opened three hours earlier, decanted for sediment, left in the decanter for 45 minutes then back in the bottle. The classic bacon, cedar, animal and blackcurrant notes, very fragrant. In the mouth just soooo elegant, with fine tannins and great length. Excellent structure but obviously powerful core of fruit, exhibiting restraint at every step. This is Bordeaux at its best, and I think it will hold at its peak for another decade.
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Owing to Jon's generosity, we were able to enjoy a bottle of the 1990 Haut Brion entirely free from any horsey character. Adding to the fun was the chance to work this out blind. The sliver-thin disc shows a bricky color hinting at maturity, but the robe is opaque. This has a hugely voluminous nose, at the outset with black cherry, clove, and star anise. With air, the aromatic profile cultivates a tobacco and subtle wildflower character. If I was shocked as to how youthfully this clean bottle was performing on the nose, I was equally shocked at what a tannic beast this remains. But what presence on the palate, and what a long, clear finish. At the beginning of a long, glorious life. 97-98 points depending on how this develops within the next decade.
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It's very hard not to recognise the objective greatness of this wine. It's now 32 years old and... we are looking at greatness. It would be reductive to talk about specific aromas. It's the sphericity of it - it is perfectly round and complete. It is hypnotic. It takes you to another place. It takes you out of all ordinary reality and into another one, one utterly suffused with lasting pleasure.
Maybe emotion is the thing missing for me - which is why I say these things about objective qualities, but stop just short of a personal epiphany, because I can't seem to have that with Bordeaux. But there is emotion in how this is made. There is love. For sure.
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Boy's Long Lunch with Greg (Otto Y Mezzo, Alexander House, Landmark, Central, Hong Kong): Two bottles opened for a couple of hours but not decanted (which I think is too little...I would decant for 3 hours minimum, personally). Almost totally transparent, brightly jewelled ruby in colour. Nose is very slight but distinct Swiss cow barn, fresh laundered white cotton nappy, very fresh-mown green hay, some light cedar shingles, wonderful light but incredibly pure blackberry...mind-expanding complexity. Totally mesmerising but still youthful.....gosh, I have forgotten to drink it yet because the nose is so entrancing. Palate is still quite closed and a bit tannic on entry but then an 'awesome wave' of blackcurrant, blackberry and cedar complexity completely overwhelms you. Massive inside your head mounting and sustained resonance and reverberance that is totally silence creating. A bit dry and tannic on the end of the palate. Needs 5-10 years for the palate to harmonise with the nose. 97 easy....which I think puts it in the top 2-3% of c3,000 wines I have ever written a note on.What an experience! Thanks, Greg!
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Served blind alongside 1990 Lagrange. Decanted 6 hours. I found the nose to have a typical bdx barnyard funk (which I love), others detected notes of stewed fruit. Once we drank it, all agreed it was fantastic. Most had the 2002 Krug as the WOTN, I thought this was. The fruit was singing, the balance was exceptional, the finish was long and elegant. In the zone.
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48x 1990 (37x Bdx, 6x Napa, 5x others): Haut Brion vs Mission HB vs La Tour HB. Winner and overall the best wine of the 1990 tasting as a whole was the spectacular Mission (98 pts) full of telltale Pessac tobacco and truffles. Layered, intense, sharp, creamy and vivid, long, superbly complete. The HB (95 pts) showed younger and less complex but my guess is that it should get to the level of the Mission with more air and/or age. The La Tour HB (91 pts) was good but with less in every category and it didn’t show enough finesse.
TN: A less expressive nose than the Mission with dark fruits dominating. With time more minerality which is good. Better on the palate with a brighter red fruits, dark fruits, some tobacco, herbs and lots of minerality. Not yet as much tertiary greatness compared to the Mission 1990 in the next glass but a beautiful bright sweetness carrying the wine from start to finish. A highlight is a minty note which lends additional freshness to the wine and carries on in the long finish (although not as intense, complex, long as the Mission). Overall this wine showed very good but did not exude greatness like the Mission with a bit less substance and complexity but this should gain further with more age (and a longer decant).
Decanting: Quick double decant two+ hours prior to the tasting to remove sediment. Could have used a proper two, three+ hours in the decanter (HB usually needs time to unfold).
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Power and elegance, with wave after wave of rich, supple, sensuous, tobacco-stained red fruits, cigar wrapper, ash, and spice. Intensely concentrated, perfectly balanced, deep, long and lingering, this is what great wine is all about. Just entering its prime-time window, it is going to deliver the good for at least another 2-3 decades with ease.
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Chris’s 1st Growth Series — Haut Brion (La Trompette, London): Ruby to mid garnet. Rich and trufflely on the nose. Quite flamboyant. More classical on the palate, but plenty of pizzaz. Good fruit and classical lines. This is a top bottle of 90. *****
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Much better than the previous bottle, tonight the ‘90 Haut-Brion was a contender for Wine of the Night. Rich and meaty, very close to the legendary ‘89. Mature. Delightful. Delicious. And very Graves.
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Ethereal perfumed nose that leaps from the glass. Fruit is gone but strong rose aromas and flavors are alluring. Very classy. Harmonious and elegant. Best bottle I have had; wished I had waited longer on the others. Decanted with 30mn of tasting.
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Chez G, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, consistent with bottles noted in August 15 and May 16, tobacco and road tar again dominant at expense of fruit flavours, but no doubt to the layering and class, upside, good for 20+ years. VF (18.5)......lovely wine (I always find HB special and under-appreciated by the market relative to the other firsts!) but not up to 89, 98 and 96.
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This bottle was popped (must have been reconditioned at some point because the cork and capsule were PERFECT) and into the decanter immediately. This was quickly downed by our group. The wine was served next to a 90 Margaux, and I thought the latter was a little more silky and seamless while this wine had a little more mass and weight, suggesting the need for more time in bottle. A very youthful bottle at that, you had some baked red fruits with hints of tar and leather. I doubt if I could get it blinded again but what a treat to taste!
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The classic haunting nose of HB is in full bloom here. A fresh bottle with perfect maturity of flavors with notes of dark red fruit, road tar, charred gravel and the finest tobacco. The finish is very complex with a bit of lingering mineral crunch. The slightest complaint would be a lack of a full middle palate but that's quibbling. Ready but plenty left in the tank.
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I was surprised how soft this Haut-Brion was. Not that Haut-Brion is ever a bruiser but other than the ‘85 this might be their most delicate example and very far from the immensely concentrated eighty-nine. As one taster noted, the beautiful perfume was more impressive than the mild flavor. Still, the elegance and purity are absolutely lovely, more blueberry than cassis. Minimal tannins, excellent acidity, just a hint of bricky smoke. To drink now.
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Very clear pale garnet Rich dark fruits with light damp mushroom, oak, leather, cherries. Medium acidity, medium body, balanced structure, fine smooth velvety texture, fine tannins Long after finish with smokey oak rich fruits
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1990 Champagne / Bordeaux / N Rhone (London): Bordeaux doesn't get (much) better. I have long been a fan of this wine and this showing again confirmed that it is a sensational Haut Brion and one of the top 1990s. Side by side LMHB 90 I had a preference for this as it was cleaner (the LMHB showed a bit of bret) and it felt more nuanced and precise. This would have been even better with extended aeration. But knowing this wine this was a very very good bottle. I would decant 3 hours if drinking today. But this is a wine that surely will hold for 2-3 decades.
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I am not sure how this wine could get any better. Just a hair behind the legendary 1989, every sniff and sip is packed with aged Cuban cigars, smoke, campfire embers and perfectly ripe, spicy red and black currants. Refined, elegant, silky, fresh, vibrant, seamless and long, this has become incredibly expensive over the past few years. But if you have the money and you want to experience greatness in wine, this is about as good as it gets!
A Multi Birthday Celebration (Tocco - Winnetka IL): Also more firm than I would prefer. Good concentration and depth, but not quite harmonious tonight. Maybe I'm being harsh given the great bottles we opened tonight, but previous bottles have been great.
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Jason Goes Nuts & Guys Ride Again (Jason's, St. Paul, MN): Very dark red color, 2mm clear margin. Decanted for a couple hours. Well the leather abides here, truly immense; very earthy with a little funk, scorched earth, creosote, minerals, tart black cherry, black currants, smoke, full bodied and deep. The word synergy comes to mind. Probably the the most youthful of the '90's wines over the last few years, and it's only going to get better from here. 95+ to 96pts.
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The Guys Ride Again (Jason and Mariellen's): Decanted at least 1 hour. Yeah, hard to beat this. Scorched earth, crazy complex and amazing how all the flavors come together. THere's a bit of blue fruit that seemed odd, and the wine has a smooth rich finish. It's almost too rich.
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The Return of Guys Night Out!: Decanted two hours prior to serving. Very nice wine! This is a wine that demands you stand up and take notice! I was initially worried when I removed the cork, which had a damp earthy scent but thankfully quickly blew off, leaving behind the aroma of earth, cigar smoke, with hints of blackberry and violets. The palate was rich and powerful with black fruit wrapped in plenty of tobacco, leather and earth. Later, notes of graphite and tar assault the palate with hints of cassis and blackberry peering through the veil. Nothing subtle about this wine. However, every sip has you marveling at its composition and calling you to take another, even before the long finish has subsided. This is what Bordeaux is all about! What a pleasure to drink! 97 to 97+ and that is being conservative! Open now or later...wine is not anywhere near dying....you will not be disappointed either way!
Enormous nose of cigar wrapper, wet tobacco, anise, strong cedar, smoke, hints of cassis and black fruit. At first the palate was highly effeminate and silky, but with time, the palate has revealed a solid structure with attractive acidity and tannins. The finish has grown from moderate to very long and after hour 6 approaches epic. The wine remains velvety, sensuous, and sweet.
This is an unbelievable wine, but I think relative to the top top vintages of HB this likely carries less weight. Still just awesome and in a great window.
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This is fantastic. Beautiful aromatics, fruit is dark, ripe and elegant. Drinking perfectly at this age with minimal air, but continued to improve in the glass. Really special wine.
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7th of case. Decanted 2.5hours, cellar temp. Superb with beef Wellington. Delicately beautiful menthol, smoky cedar and some leather. Still tannic and has a considerable life in front of it still. The fruit is vivid and powerful and this bottle at least felt as though it had another 20yrs, though note others from the case were more evolved. It was sensational and followed a sensational ‘78 la Chapelle brilliantly. Thought the former was unquestionably the star of the show. A memorable wine for a special occasion.
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A near perfect bottle, just a hint of brett, but that added to its appeal here., after a 20 minute decant. Power, grace, road tar, and floral perfume. Hauntingly beautiful, the nose even more so than the thrilling palate. I may trade whatever Lafite I have left for as much of this as I can procure. A simple carpaccio of wagyu, yak, or elk is all this needs. Let the wine shine, especially now as it seems to be at peak drinking.
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Oh my . . . what a great bottle of wine. Everything was there. Fruit, mineral, feral, leather, sweat. When this wine is on, it is incomparable. Drank next to a 1990 Chateau Margaux and the latter tasted muted in comparison (and I love Margaux).
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Drank for birthday and Mother’s Day celebration. Perfect cork, nose of tobacco, graphite and black fruits. Mature tannins, savory and earthy notes, persistent cherry fruit, and a lovely and long finish
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Holy hell. All dusty cherry, grilling herbs and forest floor notes. Tannins are mellow and this is just drinking at peak. Chocolate, vanilla, cedar and tobacco. Smitten. Will haunt my dreams. Perfect.
Pop and pour, which was the correct approach. Will last, but I'd drink up now
The nose on this bottle is overwhelmingly bretty, nearly to the point of a serious flaw. No signs of TCA just extreme farmy, horsey, manure sort of high notes. The wine underneath is a beautiful example of the ’90 that has the sweeter red fruit and red cedar spice detail, but the bret here requires you to know what to look for. Blows off later on and you can see the clean, moderately ripe red fruits with the spicy and smoky earth influence. The last glass, which was the cleanest, was almost reminiscent of the ’89, and I think that ’90 Haut Brion can be really excellent, this bottle was just a little annoying. Interesting comparison to the ’90 Petrus and ’90 Cheval Blanc, I liked this the least by far.
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Best of the best: Luftades i flaskan i 3h och sedan in i karaff. Doftar våta löv, stall (inte brett), läder, svartpeppar, cigarr och björnbär. Syran är hög men balanserad, det är pepprigt, kraftigt med en fantastisk kraft. Johan sa det bäst, det smakar verkligen dyr bordeaux. Vinet dricker fantastiskt nu men kommer hålla många år till. Vinet håller upp fantastiskt under 7h och ligger långt fram i loppet om WOTY. 96-97p
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Decanted for 1.5 hours before serving. Wow the nose is really pronounced with a lot of leather, cedar wood favour. The tannins are integreted on palate with silky month feel and very long finish. What an animal! This is the wildest among the 5 first growths of 1990 I had over the last year. I would rank it 2nd just slightly above lafite. 98.5pts
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Leather leather leather. one hour decant was not nearly enough. still a bit tightly wound, as compared to the HB '89 alongside. The '89 was much more approachable. However, after another 3 hours the '90 to softened and the hidden fruit seemed to emerge and its true elegance come forth. Truly outstanding stuff. I advise a 4 hour decant, and then enjoy over an evening. This wine will last decades further with proper cellaring.
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Robe avec des teintes violacée malgré son âge. Les reflets plus sombre trahissent son grand âge.un nez explosif des l'ouverture. Magnifique en bouche. Pureté. Mine de Crayon en fin de bouche. Légèrement fumé sur le côté couenne. Des épices dans la délicatesse d'un vin fondu. Cette finale est dans toute sa finesse. Une caractéristique d'un grand vin! Apres le repas des notes de truffes au chocolat.
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1.5 hour decant before drinking at restaurant. Early nose is heavy on cedar wood. Wine was not open and only started drinking properly after another 1.5h of decanting in the restaurant (total 3hours) - very surprising for a 1990!
Colour is still dark red. Supremely elegant wine with a velvety lengthy finish. Resolved tannins, lush, expressive - but the Cabernet fruit is distinctive, you’d know it’s aged Bordeaux as you swallow the wine. That said, it was pretty ordinary first 1-2 hours, so be patient and let it breathe!
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Great but not mind blowing. Lovely dark fruit, barnyard and smoke. Medium bodied with a fine silky texture. Some tannins still lingering on the tip of the tongue. I wouldn’t sit on this for too long but it may be that this bottle wasn’t perfect.
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as occasionally happens, got enthusiastic late in the Thxgiving evening drinking and popped this for the kids to try... didn't pay this bottle the right amount of attention
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WOW! Off the hook in every sense. The wine is rich, full, deep and intense. Concentrated, long, rich, balanced, elegant refined and harmonious, there is nothing out of place here. This is close in quality, but a bit less concentrated than the majestic 1989. Slightly less intense, but it sells for fraction of the price. Haut Brion lovers with deep pockets should be all over this gem!
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For the first 4 hours in the decanter, it was Strange, wird and faulty...I actually almost gave up the wine...but after +4 h it started to shine and everything came together.
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Color is still impenetrable with some ruby on the nail, no sagging. Nose the perfect mature Bordeaux with ripe dark cherry, noble leather, blonde tobacco, fireplace off, river pebbles. Mouth is big and deep but with great harmony, iron fist in a velvet glove, rich and layered, so close to perfection.
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The 90 HB is a super expressive and flamboyant wine with exploding aromatics of roasted herbs, hot coals, sweet tobacco and lava rocks. An opaque and impenetrable dark purple color in the glass confirms its concentrated and rich dark fruit core of sweet cassis and kirsch wrapped in a cloak of exotic spices and minerals. A sweeter, rounder style compared to the 89, but not far off in terms of its sheer complexity and ability to captivate. Tasted side-by-side with 90 LMHB. 98+
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Cleaning up inventory. Drank this at the end of August / beginning of September but didn’t write anything, even though it was really great. No ‘89 but great. Recall lots of spice and red cedar.
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Bordeaux 1990 horizontal tasting (Fribourg): 1990 Bordeaux horizontal hosted by a private collector. 30 years down the road, the vintage comes across as bold and muscular, youthful and in general not yet open for business or at times closed. Highlights included Figeac, Haut-Brion, Mouton, Calon Ségur – and to my surprise – Marquis de Terme. See tasting story for more take-aways and the complete line-up.
Tasting note A lot of depth and concentration, intense fruit emanating some heat, but all in manageable territory. Great nose of black truffles, mushrooms and lots of ink. Dark berries mostly as fruit. Palate still very wild but showing lots of leathery, aging notes whilst otherwise appearing young and untamed with a bitter touch. A great albeit still very young wine with a bold structure and built for very long term aging. One of my highlights and I'm sure a good marathon-decant would fast-forward you into even greater realms of pleasure.
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This was so Haut Brion in it's nose and flavor profile with incredible flavors of warm bricks, road tar, dark red fruits and smoky tobacco. Very complex on the finish but showing just a bit less depth than the other '90 first growths tonight. Not quite as good as the last bottle I've had of this but still very worthy of the terroir.
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This particular example of 90 HB was very horsey, marring the otherwise lovely character underneath with its cherry, mellow warm earth, leather, and tobacco character. Good presence on the palate and a nice finish... but only if there were less of that horsey character.
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Amber edge, light garnet and rust color. Oiled saddle leather, shaved cedar notes, raspberry resin, orange peel and strawberry. Bright, classic, Pinot-esk wine of the first growths.
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Wow. This was served blind after 2 bottles of very good Montrose 89 but this was at another level. Mid ruby, very sweet ripe fragrant nose at the outset (almost Margaux like!) as it only had about 1 hour in the decanter. I initially thought 95 or possible 90 given the quality of the fruit and it was in its drinking window. The nose eventually starting getting even more complex with a lot of tobacco coming through and what I though was the unmistakable hot stone when rained minerality which I always associate with a middle aged Haut Brion. We all thought this had to be a first growth (partly due to the generosity of our host which is legendary) but partly that it made the 89 Montrose look a bit pedestrian! It was so lush, ripe in a balance Bordeaux way that is rarely replicated in California and just so much balance, depth and complexity that very few wines on the planet can rival. You can have 3 bottle of this at the current price instead of a DRC RSV which arguably makes the Haut Brion “good value”!
The length was fantastic, regal like and humbled all around the table with a lot of oohs and aahs ! Yep, the real deal And I can understand why there were guess of Mouton and Margaux from my fellow table mates. It really was a complex and changing wine and show both power and fragrance like those other first growths but is there really a more consistent first growth than Haut Brion over the last 40 years? Fantastic and still with some upside!
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Single Blind 1990 Bordeaux (The Bristol - Chicago, IL): Another singing nose in this flight. Here the aromas have a core of pure, clean plum fruit with herbs, clay and spice adding complexity. The palate has a ton of power but still fine and elegant. Great length.
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1990 Bordeaux Dinner (The Bristol - Chicago IL): Single blind at 1990 Bordeaux dinner. Complex combination of mature/ripe black fruit, earth, leather and savory spice. Good+ depth and concentration with a good minerally finish. Just more fresh fruit would have helped. Not nearly as good as another bottle at a tasting last month.
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A treat for my birthday. Decanted for 1 hour. This was from a well kept bottle and surprisingly backward compared to prior experiences. Drank alongside a beautiful and perfectly open Cheval Blanc 83 the Haut Brion came across quite structured, mainly Cab Sauv dominated and had some Pauillac like traits like pencil shaving. It did have an alluring fine tea scent to it too. Remains a great wine but probably not a perfect experience as had before when the bottles were more advanced. Based on this bottle I would say this could have done with 3 hours decant or another 5-10 years in bottle.
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Tasted blind. This is almost perfection and everything I love about Bordeaux. Confirming again that the 1990 vintage for the left bank is still my favorite. This particular bottle had all of the pieces singing in perfect harmony. Fantastic! This won WOTN hands down.
Totally the real deal in every way, and this is from a BDX hater. Nose is savory with herbal, tobacco and sweet plummy fruit, some spice and stones. Super perfumed and silky. Scorched earth. The palate is really sweet silky and perfumed as well. Wonderful savory elements. Great balance. Long savory herbal finish that just goes on and is sweet and 'sappy' and all about the perfume. This is just so silky and elegant. Delicious and nothing out of place and all. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 6/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 18.5/20.
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Decanted for 3.5 hours before serving. Initially, it showed some funk on the nose but it quickly blew off in the glass. Cigarbox, graphite, earth, leather and black fruit on the nose. Palate was vibrant and deep. Very precise and showy. It kept releasing more power and substance throughout the dinner. The WOTN against 90 Montrose, 90 Latour, and 90 Lynch Bages.
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Some 1990 1st growths etc (Chez Herb Wollowick): The most stylish of the 1st growths tonight. For much of the time, it displayed too much oak for my taste - though I did relish the silky, lush texture it imparted. Later, it’s flavors became ashy as many maturing bottles can be. Others liked it more than me but very nice overall.
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Many thanks to the recent notes from fellow contributors . After reading I took a magnum to Caprice restaurant the night before our birthday dinner . The bottle was opened that evening and decanted the following morning . By the evening this was just wonderful - very different to the magnum last year which in hind sight we hadn't given long enough out of the bottle . This time the wine was like a strong perfume on the nose and a length and depth to die for . One of my most enjoyable evenings with a first growth .
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Dinner For Returning Friends (Our House, Hong Kong): I'm pleased I persuaded my mate to decant this for 3 hours before he brought it to dinner....which made all the difference. Very plush semi-opaque velvet red/purple colour. Nose is gosh!.....very precise, linear, deep, cedar forests with the earthiness that also implies....still extremely closed but has entered into its secondary phase with that earthiness. Palate is really deep, very rich, belly-filling and with jellied/compote black and red fruit that is so pure. Massively heady and rich... an absolute pleasure but still too young to do itself full justice. For me, it's still in its 'Californian' stage of early adolescence but some people will love that. I'd leave it another 10 years unless you are blessed with a half-dozen bottles or more. 93+
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From a perfect bottle coming from bonded storage. Having been disappointed 2 times in a row with corked bottles this all time favourite of mine was very good this time but unfortunately not able to reach the stratospheric heights I have seen it hit. Consumed after a DRC Richebourg 1999 and paired with cheeses it had a wonderful mature Bordeaux nose that showed slightly more barnyard than I personally have a preference for. Then again coming off the nose of the Richebourg was a tough act to follow. The plate showed a tad more tannic than other bottles I have had and it felt that possibly the fruit was not quite as sweet here with more cedar and leather and possibly the bottle would have benefited from some additional time in decanter to "relax". There was however no denying of this wines quality and it was enjoyed and consumed rather quickly around the table.
Tell-tale HB smokiness, cigar and cedar. Fruit still very alive with good underlying acidity. Very elegant. This felt a bit light and did not have quite the same length as previous bottles I've had.
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On a night of some truly magnificent wines. Other tasters with a lot of experience said that this bottle was not in top condition, which I think is realistical due to the high marks everywhere on this. It was still a very good wine, but I hope to meet it again some other time.
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A side by side of 1990 Haut Brion and 1990 La Mission Haut Brion. Both bottles in perfect shape. Both were showing more development than I've experienced to date, and at age 29 are finally starting to show their age. I preferred the Haut Brion, but both were outstanding, and the table was split.
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Rich, sweet nose, ripe dark fruits, smoke, cedar; intense flavors, mouth-filling, good firm acidity, but very smooth; dusty tannins; very long, rich, sweetish finish. A great, pleasing, delicious and intense bottle of wine, but somehow lacking a bit of complexity despite the tremendous raw material available.
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Sylvain a remplacé son Mouton 86 par Haut-Brion 90. Un nez similaire au Montrose mais en moins profond et plus discret. En bouche le vin n’est pas aussi complexe et profond que je m’attendais malgré que celui-ci a de belles saveurs de fruits, de graphite et de cuir. La texture est soyeuse et la longueur est moyenne. Le vin me semble un peu sur la retenue. J’imagine que lui aussi souffre de passer directement après Montrose.
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A perfect bottle and it showed magnificently. Stunning, authentic nose of warm bricks, smoky gravel and dark cherry tobacco.. Totally decadent on the palate with a crazy good velvet texture and incredible flavors of soft road tar, smoky gravel and dark burnt red fruits. Awesome on the finish with great complexity and notes of tobacco, all-spice and black cherry mineral crunch. All things came together tonight with a bbq’d grassfed ribeye. A very terroir-driven, exotic style but so representative of the vineyard.
The great outing (Aalborg, Denmark): Magnificent. A very complete wine with all the tell tale notes of tobacco still very much alive. The fruit is soft and mature, vbery rich, and while there is no need to wait for this, there is no hurry either.
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Dark ruby with blood orange. Nose of roses and red fruits, a bit of heat.
Slate sharp palate — Like eating figs and strawberries off a gleaming wood sailboat. The ripe fig and expensive wood more pronounced this bottle. Chef made some kind of mascarpone/fig bread with herbs after tasting...
Just phenomenal. Dark plums, some mint, sage, a bit of lead pencil, cedar. Also - yes- asphalt. Up all night after the 9/22 Greek Show helps perspectivize/filter the road tar. Which is secondary and fading with air as I tap out this thing now... Wow.
A Superb and unique wine. 98-99.
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It is interesting seeing other tasting notes on this wine: they are rather all over the place. My bottle definitely tended to the darker end of the spectrum: black fruit and some tar/asphalt, coupled with dried tobacco and strong spices. Not powerful, but palate-saturating and persistent, with a long, dry (almost too dry) finish. Restrained and not as open-knit or exuberant as I was expecting from this vintage. Very Bordeaux.
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Austin Offline; 8/24/2018-8/25/2018 (Kevin's House): Four hours in the open bottle. Very fresh and deep color. Faint barnyard but also cigar box, cherry, and exotic spice. Superb mouthfeel and balance. This surprised me by turning bretty with time in the glass, with a bandaid note coming forward aggressively. Flashes of brilliance, overall rather disappointing. Not scored.
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From Magnum: Deep fragrant bordeaux nose. Just entering a long plane of maturity, this beauty has years of life ahead. No sediment thrown. Impeccably well balanced palate with copious fruit front and center. Finish goes on and on.
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From a very pristine half bottle, cork not even wet half way and no signs of leakage. Still, this wine was passed peak which concerns me. Lots of smoke and BBQ, some tobacco, red fruit, and herbs. Haut Brion indeed, but a bit tired and old smelling. With air it did not improve and the tannins become more noticeable. It actually evolved to be a bit harsh to drink. I've had this wine from two full bottles this past year and it was better there but still not as great as I hoped. I have fond memories having a half bottle in 2009. I'd recommend drinking up in either format.
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I've had variable experiences with this wine but tonight it was singing with a very open-knit personality and lots of great HB flavors of tobacco, warm bricks, tar and a myriad of spices. The finish is so very complex with notes of mint, minerals and char. Much softer and more ready than the '89 with plenty of '90 sensuality and silkiness.
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Wine Dinner Extravaganza (Smyth and The Loyalist - Chicago IL): Single blind in 1990 left bank star flight. All open 3 hours before serving. This started out the most tannic of the flight with great aromatics of black currant, cassis and spice. Less forthcoming palate for quite a long time, but really started unfolding and opening up after an hour in glass, going from 91 points when poured to 94 when finished.
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3 bottles for my 70th birthday dinner. They showed some bottle variation, although that may have been because the two better bottles had been left in open jug-style decanters for 4 hours before being served, whereas the third was in a stoppered decanter, in case it was not needed on the night (it was, of course!). Exquisite blackberry colour, cool essence of Graves pebbles and graphite (I cannot agree with those who say that terroir does not impart minerality to a wine), and great with the beef. But not, to my mind, quite in the same class as the 1989.
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Small and simple dinner gathering with some special friends, no formal notes. Clearly a great start on tonights blind tasting when we switched to the reds after a great opening with a 1990 DP. Nose shows a semi mature Bdx., with cassis and & currants, gravel, stable tones, smoke and tobacco leaf’s. Smooth and silky, sweet ripe fruits in the mouth, black currant, cherries, touch of earth and wet soil. Fresh and very much alive. Great length and overall just delicious. (96 – 99+)
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This was a real bummer! After a somewhat mediocre 1995 we were looking forward to the 1990 - a wine which we had been fortunate enough to encounter a few perfect bottles before. This one had a slight TCA taint and was therefore not representative of what this wine is capable of. What a shame...
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Forum Reunion (@ WB): Extremely beautiful and complex bouquet with horse stable, leather and smoke. Same impressions on the palate, cedar, smoke and beautiful toast. Really beautiful and complex.
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Second bottle in 2017, and very consistant, in a periode with a lot of bad corks (1982-1998) in Bordeaux Haut Brion / La Mission seems to have avoid this issues. Still very young, needs more time but the quality and fruit/tannin are so good so you can jump on enjoy ! Drink 2018-2040
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One hour decant and drank over another three. A classic example of the 1990 vintage and the Château on the nose with opulent red berry fruit but layered with exotic spice and cigar box. Highly showy and expressive. Mild red cedar. Light gravelly minerality. Whereas the ‘89 required a two hour decant to blossom, this was an immediately forward and accessible bouquet off the pop. On the palate the fruit is still vibrant and juicy. Delicious drinking, really about as classic as it comes. If critical, there aren’t layers of complexity on the palate, and the finish isn’t sensationally lengthy in the same way as the ‘89. That said, this is a really good bottle of the ‘90 and is definitely providing as much drinking pleasure as the ‘89, if less immense and polished, which was actually actually positive.
Interestingly, this bottle had original foil but a modern label. On the back of the bottle there is a label that says «cette bouteille a été ré-étiquetée en 2014, elle n'a pas été dégustée ou rebouchée» or “this bottle has been relabeled in 2014, it has not been tasted or recorked” ... Overpaid for a few of these in Bordeaux in 2014, unfortunately not from the Château, but at least the provenance seems good.
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I am not sure whether I got a bad bottle but I found this to be somewhat inharmonious and whilst good enough, not as good as I was expecting in light of its reputation. Still gently tannic. Interesting long finish.
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The Judgement of Paris - reloaded: Easy to spot as the Bordeaux in this flight. Very classic Left bank nose with all the forest aromas mixed with dark fruit. Wonderfully complete and soft palate. A grand, mature Claret.
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Semiblind Haut Brion Tasting (Guido's Cellar): Sehr spannende semiblinde Haut Brion – Probe in sehr geselliger Runde mit tollem Gastgeber und einer sehr leckeren Forellen-Tarte. Alle Flaschen wurden zwischen 0,5-3 Stunden doppelt dekantiert. Was die Treffgenauigkeit der Jahrgänge betraf, ist noch deutlich Luft nach oben. Interessant war, dass die Differenz in den Bewertungen (6 Trinker) bei fast allen Weinen maximal im 2-Punkte-Bereich lagen. Es wurde eine Flasche nach der anderen getrunken. Keine Flights. Keine fehlerhaften Weine.
Nicht so stark wie vor drei Monaten. Salzig, noch viel reife Tannine, Pfeffertöne, Lakritze, Fruchtnoten im Hintergrund. Lag mit meinem 1995er Tip wieder mal daneben. Da wird in den nächsten 20-30 Jahren noch viel kommen. Für mich die Nummer 2 des Abends. 95+
For me and overall second place
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Another cracking bottle. Not quite as amazing as my last CT note, but still wonderfully aromatic - with saves of tobacco on the nose and ripe lush black fruit in the mouth. My favorite vintage of HB for drinking now. Super. Would have enjoyed more if this wasn’t consumed too quickly, and alongside lots of other wines.... 96+pts. Drink now-2030
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I bought a 12 bottle case and have now tried 9. Every bottle has had the same problem - severely brettanomyces effected. The wine critic Neil Martin noticed the same in May 2014 "This is not one of the best bottles of Haut Brion 1990 that I have encountered, since here the brettanomyces is more acute and rather subdues the fruit." So I got in touch with Clarence Dillon at HB who suggested it was a storage problem even though Brett is clearly a production fault!! I will accept an occasional corked bottle but not a whole case of Brett effected wine. I will not be buying HB again.
While still in its evolutionary trajectory, this is a sumptuous wine with lots of good sweetness and structure. Damp leather and sweet cedar envelop the ripe fruit creating a beautiful perfume and lively flavors. This is so good that it's hard not to imagine that it's at its peak, but it hasn't quite expressed all of its tertiary nuances. You can drink this now, but it has well over a decade before it starts to lose any steam.
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Well coloured; classic/text book Graves nose - warm brick, tobacco, a savoury earthiness, refined; beautifully integrated, weightless, floats across the palate, seductive 'sweet' fruit. Effortlessly, lingering. Glorious. No need to wait further.
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Around 10 or 12 years ago I had access to a small stash of this at a reasonable price and I remember the second of three bottles drunk around that time being the best red I've ever had. Roll forward to last night and it remains absolutely spectacular and as good as red wine gets for me. Sweet red fruits, olives and cigar ash on the nose, beautiful line and length on the palate, graceful and refined with a terrific finish. A real privilege to be able to drink this and to have one more bottle to enjoy.
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The bottle had perfect fill but the capsule was easy to twist off slowly and the cork was very dry and broke apart. I'm guessing it was standing for quite some time.
Incredibly thin, barely anything interesting for what should be a legendary wine
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drank blind vs. '89 Haut Brion with expectation that '89 would win hands down. That was wrong and all liked the '90 more. Maybe it was the extra decant time given the '90, maybe it was the more uncertain provenance of the '89. Both amazing bottles with great noses and cigar box tastes, but the '90 crushed it tonight. The 3rd "imposter" wine came in 3rd.
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Third time I had a bottle of this in the last year and third time I am rating it perfect. This is my wine. I just love everything about it. Brought this to Glasshouse in London - decanted for 1.5 hours prior which was ideal/needed (on pnp it was so shy and got me worried for a small moment it might not repeat the performance of the previous bottles). The sommelier thought that this is at the early peak, and should hold for ~7 years. Well glad I have 7 bottles left. I have not had the 89 Haut Brion (yet), I just can't/don't want to imagine it being better - not sure I will find out as the exercise of doing so would mean forgoing ~2.5-3 bottles of 1990 Haut Brion (given the current market prices of the wines) which I am not sure I am willing to "afford".
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As anticipated, this was a star. I've loved this wine from the first bottle I had in the late 90's, and it continues to be a reference standard Haut Brion.
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This is a wine I've enjoyed in the past - and more than many other vintages of Haut Brion, excluding the 89. This time it wasn't nearly as harmonious as previous bottles. Black fruited, licorice, coffee, with some oak still showing. The fruit is going strong but overall I found the components a bit disjointed.
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Ganz andere Kaliber die Haut Brion‘s 1990 und 1995. Der Erstgenannte ist ein Gigant. Blutjung strotzt er noch von wilder Schwarzer Johannisbeer-Frucht. Rasiermesserscharfe Säure, etwas Zigarrenkiste mit süßer saftiger Frucht ohne seine Eleganz zu verlieren. Der ist noch in seiner Jugendphase und hat mindestens 30 Jahre vor sich. Wäre interessant ihn gegen den berühmteren 1989er zu trinken. Momentan würde ich den 1990er aufgrund seiner Zugänglichkeit wohl vorziehen. 97-98. Die Maximalpunktzahl dürfte in den kommenden Jahren nicht utopisch sein. Danke Flo. Der 1995er zeigt sich etwas entwickelter mit mehr Sekundär-und Tertiäraromen wie Graphit und Würze. Beide Flaschen für 2 Stunden dekantiert. Während am Anfang beide Flaschen gleichauf liegen, zeigt sich im Laufe des Abends, welcher mehr Struktur und Potential besitzt. Die Frucht „verliert“ sich mit der Zeit und somit bleibt ein klassischer Bordeaux zurück, der sicher noch 10 Jahre braucht, um sich vollständig zu entwickeln. Wer mehr Opulenz wünscht, nimmt den ersten, wer mehr auf Zurückhaltung steht, wird mit dem Zweiten seine Freude haben. 94
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A very distinctive wine with great vineyard typicity now with delicious flavors of warm bricks, cassis, tobacco leaf and dried cedar along with complex notes of asphalt and gritty graphite. Comes off a bit rustic drunk next to the '90 La Miss but there's no doubting the unique complex finish. I'm one of the few that don't rank this as one of the top vintages from this great estate as the middle palate is somewhat lacking.
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Château La Mission Haut-Brion vertical tasting (Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): In this La Mission Haut-Brion vertical, ironically my WOTN was the 1990 Haut-Brion. It's stunning in every way. Like the 1990 La Mission, it's exotic, but in a much earthier, brooding way. Lots of blackberry, black cherry, sous bois, leather, and roasted meat on the nose. Both powerful and elegant on the palate. The fruit is incredibly rich and ripe. An impressive wine from start to finish. This is a wine that never seems to disappoint.
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La Mission Haut-Brion Vertical (Wine Watch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): The lone Haut-Brion in the vertical of La Mission Haut-Brion. With the label showing, the difference was apparent in that this Haut-Brion was softer, more complex and distinctly more elegant than the rough textured LMHBs. It is more mature than the '89 or '90 LMHB as well and probably has peaked. Only slightly excessive acidity keeps it from scoring even higher.
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Just like walking into a Cuban tobacco store with all its smoky, leaf, cassis, cedar, forest floor and campfire aromatics. Full bodied, deep, powerful, rich, mouth filling, and with intensity and character, this is a stunner to drink today and for the next few decades. I am also thinking this is just about ready for a score upgrade as this really grabs and holds you right where you need to be grabbed and held.
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1990 Bordeaux Blind: Highlights: Gorgeous nose projecting out of the glass. Dense and damp earth, ripe but dense red and black berry fruits, gravel, and mild spice. Rich, round, opulent. Big but very pretty. Ripe palate with solid structure, totally balanced tannin. The concentration and expression of the nose immediately suggested first growth calibre, and the spices and gravel suggested Haut-Brion. Only correct blind call out of the line up, and decidedly the best wine of the evening, towering over both Margaux and Latour, which were less than stellar examples.
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Complex nose with black fruit, tar, coal dust, dark soil, and dark savory spices. Intriguing overtones of dried flowers. Complex palate with nice zip and long finish. Required 30 minutes to even begin to open. 45 minute decant, consumed over one hour. Lots of upside. 96-97
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My second bottle of this (last was one year ago and since would rank this as my best wine experience rating it 100 points then). So I was obviously looking forward to re-tasting this a lot! Opened and decanted, good fill, cork was in good condition only slightly soaked (~1/4 or less). This bottle seemed more developed the the last as it was showing noticeable bricking, certainly looked like a ~30 year old wine. Started tasting about 45 minutes after decant and initially there was a bit of (not unpleasant) barnyard on the nose, not what I remembered from the previous bottle. It already drank very well, albeit not like a perfect wine. Decided to give it another half hour of air. And then, knew it was on again! Barnyard nose had blown off entirely - now there was a beautiful melange of scorched earth, cigar box, forest floor; on the palate this was pure silk, the tannins so soft and fully mellowed/integrated with this gorgeous sweet 90 fruit coming through and leading to a never-ending finish. This is so subtle, think cruising with a 12 cylinder 6 liter engine 600bhp biturbo car at 1400 revs at 60 miles per hour in the sixth gear. I love this wine. It just continued to get better and better of the following 2 hours and we both sniffed the decanted after the last sip was poured for one last intoxicating whiff. BTW - you don't actually need to drink this. Just smelling it suffices to grasp its greatness.
For me, this is a perfect wine. There may be different wines, but not clearly better. Looking forward to my remaining 9 bottles. Planning to have these now-2020 (I don't think there is any merit in further aging). Drink NOW.
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First growth dinner (Cafe Maxx, Pompano Beach, Florida): Incredible every time. So balanced. Perfect acidity. The sweet earthiness envelops the core of dark fruit perfectly. The nose is unmistakable. Animalistic and raw. Round on the palate. Powerful. A long memorable finish.
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You need to get past brett on the nose otherwise this would score close to zero (or technically 50 on the rating scale). This was initially presented to me blind and I almost didn't taste it as the brett was so overpowering.
The score above ignores that. Once you get past the nose, the wine is velvety and very well integrated. Some smooth red fruits ran across the palate. The finish is medium length.
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Deep garnet red with bricking on the edges. Lots of brett on the nose but that does not make us shy away. Notes of smoke, leather, bell peppers and animal. Moderate tannins (7/10) and medium plus bodied. Well integrated and so smooth, its almost silky. A bit of fruit and earthy notes on the palate. Long finish. Drink till 2020.
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Consistent with prior bottles, this displayed a spicy nose with darker undertones of tar and coal dust, and a light greenness initially with white pepper highlights. 96-97+
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Holiday dinner organized by Ken Brown with many great wines! (Ripple Restaurant in Washington D.C.): Depending on your tolerance for brett... I really liked this wine, but it was likely the least pure expression of the bunch. But who cares in this case? I don't. At first very menthol and mint, a bit too much. With time in glass, the wine turned out full bodied and opulent while maintaining an elegant poise. Many in our grouped picked it as their favorite. My hand went up, too, but I understand that it was not as pure as the 1996 - for example. Still a mid 90s score makes eminent sense.
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Always amazing and first bottle in 3 years. This wine is progressing at a glacial pace. Lots of cassis, black currant, tar and asphalt, dark ruby red, hardly any signs of aging. After two hours in the decanter, the wine opened up and transitioned from a very masculin full bodied wine to a very complex and hedonistic a la LMHB style with a superb mid palate structure, sweet black fruits and a long coffee tinged finish with tannins almost fully resolved. As good as it comes by my book.
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Much better than the last bottle. I did not keep notes but I recall it had no brett. Obviously, the last bottle I had must have been an off bottle. No hurry on drinking this wine.
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Nose: roasted plum, slight raisins, sweet cappuccino beans, woodsmoke and vanilla . Palate: heat damaged? Not conclusively, but much more roasted than i expected. Full dense palate feel with power but lacking the nuanced verve and acidity of the la mission. Finish: polished roasty black fruit, good length and penetating chocolate/espresso.
Overshadowed by 82 HB tonight, and im not convinced this was a repesentative bottle.
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Drank at Toca restaurant together with several other Bordeaux reds and 1990 Dominus. Wine of the night for most participants. Complex nose of black fruit, barnyard and leather supported by mineral undertones on the palate and ripe and fine tannins; great mid palate and long finish. Still getting better.
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Ready now but it really needs 60-90 minutes in the decanter to show its stuff. Lovely (Blind. my bottle, WOTN for everyone else, I preferred the '95 LLC). One fo the great all-time bordeauxs
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Château Haut-Brion Vertical (Bouley): Beautiful bouquet of red cedar, cigar box, Indian spice, soily mushroom, and rustic underbrush. Ripe and opulent. Very expressive, very indicative of 1990. Overripe strawberry too. Palate still has youth and packs a punch of ripe red berry fruit. Developing nicely.
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This never fails to provide an extraordinary, tasting experience. With elegant, silky textures, ripe, sweet, smoky, tobacco laden, dark red berries and more smoke, earth, tobacco leaf, cigar box, black cherry, earth, blackberry, cassis and thyme on the nose, to say it is a knock out, does not say enough. Prices have been climbing for this beauty lately. Even though it is quite pricey, when compared with current, top vintages, or the 1989, it's sill reasonable. If you have the money, it is worth considering.
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Just about as good as it gets. I've had this wine a number of times, and it's always consistently rocking. It's great to compare this to the 1990 LMHB, which is more structured and linear. This 1990 Haut-Brion is exotic, full of earthiness and Asian spices, and charm beyond belief. Complete and balanced. Drinking perfectly now, but with decades to go. This is a wine that is a continual buy for me, and as Jeff Leve correctly states, a good relative value compared to the 1989.
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Wow. What a wine. Tasted alongside Cheval Blanc 1990, which I initially favoured due to its more sexy luxurious nature, the Haut Brion however kept on getting better and better. Fresh, vibrant, perfectly balanced, beautiful aromatics, superb mouthfeel, coats the mouth with sweet dark fruits and touches of spice. an incredibly long finish. New notes and aromas hit you well after the last drop in your glass has gone. Sensational experience, this is what it's all about. It's in a perfect place right now but as previous posters have elaborated, it's got plenty of life left!
I love 1990 Bordeaux, and this might now sit atop a quite wonderful tree.
This is what bordeaux is all about! Wow describes it the best. This wine is fully mature, yet extremely youthful and lively and coats the mouth and throat with earth, and sweet antiqued fruit. The mount of tannins and acid are in perfect harmony and create a long throbbing effect of after pleasure. The wine is in a PERFECT drinking window. It comes across extremely fresh, which is another reason why it deserves 100 points. This wine is not at the risk of getting tired anytime soon, its just warming up. This is one of the best Bordeaux wines that I will EVER drink and can only get better. When you swallow this wine, and you are teased by the 2 minute long finish, you become enlightened (or reminded) as to what makes a true Grand Cru wine and why it costs so much and so hard to find. DRINK or HOLD
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Silky, elegant, complex, refined and ready for prime time drinking. There is that beautiful smoky, tobacco, cigar box character that is made even better by the sweet, delicate, polished dark red fruits and cherry pipe tobacco that permeates the wine. Drink this beauty now, or lay it down for 10-20 years, if you are young enough, and have that much patience.
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Let's cut straight through the chase: Wow, OMG, wonderful, perfection in a glass for me. Had a perfect bottle of this in mint condition label, fill and cork. At Chez Bruce restaurant for lunch alongside a Gruaud Larose 1982 which also showed admirable. But the Haut Brion was in a league of its own. I love the 1990 Bordeaux in general and had high hopes for this based on reviews here on CT that this might just be a perfect wine for me and it was. i did not take formal notes as I was just busy savouring this for 2 hours. Decanted for 1.5 hours prior to consumption. Immediately a point but showing no sign of decline over the next hours. This is so singing and ready to go. If you are lucky to have a bottle pull the cork. Sure it will keep but I just love it so much the way it was with the fruit still dominating and carrying on and on.
Bordal chez Albert (Chancy): Carafé, servi en dernier dans la série. Reconnu au 1er nez, un côté âtre froid que j'adore, beaucoup de finesse en bouche, la classe quoi.
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This bottle was in perfect condition and after ~ 2 hours in the glass truly sang. Breathtaking nose of smoke, tobacco and meats with a silky smooth, long finish.
Drank the night before my wedding with my groomsmen as I presented them with their keepsake personalized knives.
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deep dark purple wine, very broad in the mouth and really makes you pay attn, this is not a sit back and relax wine, this is sit up, payattn to me wine as not many get as balance, as long or as big, still improving, great mag
Opened in the Jackson Room at the Hong Kong Club. Decanted and enjoyed over dinner.
Wonderful wine, absolutely gorgeous aromatics with black fruit and that signature Haut-Brion smokiness coming through. Tannins beautifully integrated, structure holding up very well and it had a long finish that just kept on lingering in the mouth.
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Decanted an hour, perfect cork and level - essentially as last August's note, third out of HB 89 and La Mission 90 as showed excessive ink and tar which appeared to be blowing off into something more harmonious by the final glass 2 hours later.....the 89 was in a class of its own and outstanding! VF+ (19).
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Drank at 67 Pall Mall We decided to drink a 1990 Haut Brion and a 1990 Lafite side by side. This was a wonderfully opportunity to see which one we preferred. Both are amazing with incredible complexity and depth. The Lafite is slightly more polished and refined like a city gent. The Haut Brion is more mature with some slight rough edges like a country squire. Both changed through the course of the evening offering us many different notes and tastes. We all preferred the Haut Brion to the Lafite but only by one point because it was more interesting. Both are incredible wines.
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Rich, round, ready, ripe this kept getting better in the glass so it may have merited a higher score. Many preferred this as WOTN but I thought the La Miss eclipsed it.
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well done with a fineness to the fruit, but not a powerhouse by any stretch and a little lacking in the midpalate.
definitely carries that 1990 roasted quality but maintains a sense of elegance as you'd expect from Haut Brion. i don't think it's in any danger of fading but i doubt it gets better from here
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Certainly the best bottle of this wine that I have had. On the margin, one notch too ripe for my palate even by the standards of the vintage, but this is not a major detractor as there is a wide range of savory and earthy flavors to more than balance. Smooth and velvety, but certainly still at a point where it will benefit from additional bottle age.
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Still a deep, solid color. There is a green tobacco note on the nose along with hot asphalt and dark spices. Decanted for 2 hours, it kept improving but is drinking younger than I expected. Strong notes of green tobacco, graphite and black fruits lead to a complex finish with very fine-grained tannins and lovely smoky notes. There is a mean greenie in this bottle which turned me off some and this wine continues to under-perform in the last couple of years. A dumb phase perhaps? 91?
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1989 vs. 1990 Bordeaux (Vaucluse): 89 vs 90 tasting. At first I gave the slight edge to the 90 but as the wines opened up more in the glass I reversed scores (95 vs 96) but in the end we're splitting hairs here. Both wines are gorgeous. Earthy smokey dark fruit flavors with incredible depth. An amazingly long finish. The 90 as usual was rounder than the 89.
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I really loved the aromatics here of crushed gravel, green pepper and earthy dark red aromas. The palate while quite good was a bit leaner than aromas indicated. Because it was popped and poured from magnum, grabbed a second Poe about an hour later and really opened. This should have been decanted. My bad. Probably unrated this bottle in hindsight.
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Holiday Champagne Dinner (Chez Kailin - Northbrook IL): Great aromatic start with dark cherry, liqueur, espresso and dark chocolate, with hints of earth. Slightly less exciting flavors, slightly more evolved, with a good minerally texture.
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This is a stunner. With its smoke fuled, cigar box, caramel, cassis, florest floor and blackberry nose to get you going, things are just getting started. The luscious, perfectly ripe fruits with layers of hedonistic fruits just doesn't quit from start to finish. This is drinking now and it's still young! You can pop a cork today or in 10-15 or 20 years. It's up to you.
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The WOTN exceptionally dense and complex wine with extreme depth of flavors and aroma. Aroma of blackberry blackcurrant and cherries with a mouthful of dense fruit on the palate, almost chewy-like. Many years ahead for this wine. Absolutely amazing
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1982, '89 and '90 Left-Bank Bordeaux Dinner (Imperial Treasure Shanghai, Ngee Ann City, Singapore): An excellent wine, but this was somehow less enjoyable than both a 1982 Palmer and a 1989 Pichon-Lalande in the same flight. Strangely, the Haut-Brion, which is usually quite the crowd-pleaser, just felt a little more modern and less effortlessly charming than the two Medocs. Nevertheless, this was still a very good wine in its own right. It had a beautiful nose, very lifted, with wafts of fragrant tobacco and cedar wood, sweet cassis and plums, then a little sous bois, a touch of vanilla bean and just that little floral hint, all coming together in a bouquet that had a wonderful clarity to it. At first, there were just a few drifts of volatile acidity in there somewhere, but these parted quickly enough. The palate carried on where the nose left off in lovely fashion. It felt really clean and fresh, with wonderful lifted acidity racing through very compact, but nicely pure flavours of cassis and black cherries seasoned with tobacco and earthy sous bois notes. It felt nicely rounded on the attack and midepalate, but there was still a little bite of fine tannins towards the long tobacco-infused finish, which then saw little notes of mint and menthol and a pat of funky earthiness emerge with time. This was perhaps less ready than other two wines on its flight, so that it came across less nuanced and multidimensional, with the fruit more strident and primary, but I really did love the effortless clarity and juicy energy it had along with the very linear precision and focus that the very best 1990s all share. Excellent stuff for sure, but I would actually have left this aside for another 4-5 years at least - I think it will be just lovely when it hits its stride.
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Magnifique bouteille achetée en primeur, into neck. Bouchon légèrement friable mais sorti d'une seule pièce. Moitié carafée durant 1 heure et bouteille finalement bue en 3 heures. Grenat moyen avec bords plus clairs. À l'ouverture, nez sur les arômes de fruits noirs puis se refermant. Ensuite, notes de mûres, cassis et framboises qu'on retrouvera en bouche. Notes florales aussi, un peu de fumée. Pour moi, la bouche est distinctive de ce grand vin, avec une belle attaque, aucun creux, beaucoup de variété de goûts, de l'ampleur, de la longueur, aucune lourdeur, de la classe et de la distinction et, surtout, cette magnifique trame acide qui sous-tend le vin et accompagne si bien une très longue finale. Selon moi, grâce à cette fine acidité, le 1990 est supérieur au 1989 pour la race qu'elle lui procure... (De toute manière, je préfère les bordeaux 90 aux 89...)
Decanted for 2+ hours Dark red color with some brown at the edges Aromas with nuance of violets and mature berries Big, balanced wine with intense flavors of currants and mature berries Long finish, just an amazing wine experience...
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Keith's Blind Challenge 2015 (The Medlar, London): Blind. Lovely, bretty, slightly smokey nose. A sweetness too. Quite broad. Really surprised to discover what it is — not nearly as focused and together as a previous bottle. Presumably the Brett. Had guessed 85/78 LMHB. Still lovely, but a shade below previous experience. ****
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Chez G, decanted an hour - deepish dusty garnet, little rim development; classy HB nose with tobacco, iodine, graphite, trace violet and road tar particularly noteworthy; fullish, very long and persistent, lovely energy and grip to fruit, but graceful and relaxed as befits wine of this quality, beautiful balance and structure, much more life here, thank you Stephen, needs matching with 89 and 90 La Mission! Very fine plus (19/20).
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2nd of the case. The first bottle of the case wasn't right but the second was sensational. Fully mature, endless finish and what a wonderful wine. I'm praying the remaining 10 follow this one. This wine epitomises what claret should be and is why its my favourite! Perfection.
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rich ripe full thrilling long . Slightly overshadowed by 53 Lafitte at p mills courtesy of r m but... Was amazingly good proud mineral dark elegant powerful poise
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Open and ready, but long life ahead. Truffle and earthy tones, some fine acidity. Long. Typical HB nose. Alongside 1982 - the latter with hints of cigar box which I did not get in 1990. Otherwise clearly siblings.
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Bordeaux in Bern (Bern, Switzerland): Mmm, my favorite wine of the tasting. Classically roasted, ripe and smokey, earthy with a hint of truffle. This is a wine of utter pleasure, and it was firing on all cylinders.
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Not sure about this, the cork looked new which can't be right? Case bought from reputable merchant 2 yrs ago so don't know. The wine was massive, amazing concentration and a wine that we really enjoyed with roast rib of beef but only after it had breathed for over an hour, with my father who is an old school Bordeaux fan. Thing is I've had this before at the end of the 90s at the haut broom tasting at the ritz )sorry to name drop) and it was stunning. I'm not sure this is the same wine or maybe it's just closed down a bit Sorry this note isn't much use. I'd love to hear from others who have wines with good provenance to compare.
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Haut-Brion dinner: A very classic example of both the wine and the vintage; it is smooth, almost creamy, a little warm in the style, vanilla interferes with the tobacco notes, a hint of the south here. Hard to resist, and I doubt it will become any better than this.
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Consumed at The Little Door with HJ. Tastes like liquid smoke, smooth tannins, very long and lingering finish. Very one of a kind wine, but I don't know if I like the overpowering smokey flavor. I wouldn't pay $650 for it.
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This bottle seemed in perfect condition but this wine seems to have closed up recently and hopefully will emerge again. This bottle showed classic flavors of Haut Brion with notes of scorched earth, tobacco and smoky leather but the acidity was stubbornly high and affected the finish which was high-toned but showed a lovely spice-driven complexity. 91?
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Dinner with Charles M - 96 DP Oeno, 96 Dom Rose, 90 Margaux, 90 Mouline, 93 Ponsot Chambertin & etc. (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): Expressive nose displaying ripe black fruits, blackberries, cassis, strong presence of ash and smoke, lead pencil, wet tobacco, cedar and earth. Excellent concentration, sweet dark fruit driven palate impression, quite silky and seamless, bright acidity, nicely integrated tannins and lovely long finish. This particular bottle seems to resemble La Mission Haut Brion with the ash and wet tobacco. With air, it became fresher and more polished. This is a really youthful example.
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Medium body pale garnet hue with a slight tinge of brick on the fringe. Powerful nose of smoke, cassis and piled Saddle leather. Still Youthful at 25 years, but the mood this wine evoked was brooding. Lengthy finish. Delicious and probably has another ten as acidity was still vibrant. Highly recommended.
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New Year's Eve 2014 (My house): From half bottle with a fill just below base neck. Nose had an odd note, but it seemed to be just a touched reduced. Palate on the other hand had a weird medicinal note and finished harsh and acidic. Went back a couple hours later and only become worse. Too bad.
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Gorgeous. My best ever bdx with the possible exception of the 96 Latour. Quintessence of smooth. I've had a few experiences lately where I felt like I rushed and my last sip was the best, so I really wanted to be patient with this bottle (in terms of decanting) but I'm afraid I was too patient. I drank half a glass pop n pour and it was powerful and at it's best. I then waited 2.5 hours but by then It was fading, though still perfectly balanced and smooth as a mountain spring. To fellow winos I would advise pop n pour. Great wine.
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End of the year means busting open some treasures, and from the notes here, I figured this wine might be ready to play ball. Two hours in the decanter, and the huge nose gained steam, with slightly roasted dark fruit, hot stones, coffee grounds, and cigar smoke. I feel like the warm vintage may have obscured some of the Gravesian character, but the aromatics were still deep and very compelling. Rich, borderline-overripe fruit on the palate and surprisingly soft, almost buttery tannin considering its relative youth. But this buttery quality made it just so silky and delicious going down. A regal wine for sure, but not quite reaching the heights I'd hoped for, perhaps held back by this vintage's particular character.
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A great dinner at Capella in DC (Washington DC): I love where this is. So much more open and giving than the 1989. It's not as profound a wine and clearly much more a product of the vintage. Ripe, roasted, horsey. Chicory coffee. Roasted earth. A warm, voluptuous wine. Haut Brion always makes me happy!
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Whereas the '89 HB is still backward and brooding, the '90 is completely developed and mature. The color is almost garnet, the rim is orange. The bouquet of woodsmoke, coffee and raisin is obvious and compelling if you favor the Graves typicity. Medium body, flavorful, consistent, beautifully balanced.
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Bought this bottle a few years back, and saved it for a tasting, that never happened, and then did not happen again... So I decided to finaly pull the cork today, because I felt I was worth it. Goddamn! This is how a great Left bank Bdx. should behave & taste. Semi mature nose, showing great depth and complexity. Stable tones, with great strikes of expensive tobacco, coffee, spicy dry herbs, cassis, currants, minerals, gravel, graphite and pencil lead. Talk about trade mark nose! And the palate does not disappoint. Smooth and silky, but with energy and punch enough to go for many, many years. Earth, fine ripe velvety deep dark fruit… Such a complex palate! First stage of maturity I would say. Structure enough to live for at least my life time. Very clean and complex, with an incredible length. Lively and fresh fruit present, no signs of being 25 years of age, and starting to fade. Many years of joy left, but in a great window now. Great, great, great HB! Best 1990 I’ve had perhaps (together with the 1990 Cheval Blanc and the 1990 Ch. Margaux): Just what I needed. (97 – 100)
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More evolution in colour here. On the nose sweeter, very ripe fruit, complex with notes of graphite, undergrowth, spices, tobacco and hints of minerality. On the palate rich and powerful, but retaining wonderful elegance. Smooth and silky, great balancing freshness, lovely texture, wonderful finish - very very long and persistent with a lovely mineral touch at the end. Absolutely stunning. 97-99
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5 Decades of Haut Brion, with James Handford MW (Handford Wines, London): Quite a dark wine, from colour, to nose to the ripe core of fruit on the palate. Beautiful, open nose, rich fruit, complex, light cocoa. Good depth and structure. Still on the young side and less ready than the 1989 (Papies 98) but this is a very complete wine with lots of life ahead of it. Has a persistence that is admirable. 97-98 and lots of life ahead of it and another masterpiece from the 1990 vintage. Second only to the 1989 on the day for the group.
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Paris Tasting in Zwolle (again... at last) (De Librije - Zwolle): Kleur: Robijnrood, rand gaat richting oranjebruin, iets verkleuring Aroma / bouquet: Mooi en klassiek bouquet, snuffelwijn, herfsbos, aards - champignons en een vleugje truffel, wat gedroogd fruit, vooral pruimen, heerlijk Smaak / Afdronk: Geweldig mooie, complexe wijn, veel boterzachte tannines, prachtige balans, zacht zuur, geweldig mooi en klassiek glas. Algemeen / potentieel: Wijn ontwikkelt zich nog in het glas, kan nog zeker 5-7 jaar mee. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 96/100
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Color: Ruby, edge goes towards orange brown, slightly fading Aroma / bouquet: Beautiful classic bouquet, sniff wine, autumn forest, earthy - mushrooms and a hint of truffle, some dried fruit, especially plums, delicious. Sophisticated and classic flavor of a great wine. Taste / Finish: Very beautiful, complex wine, lots of butter soft tannins, great balance, soft acidity, wonderful beautiful and classic glass General / potential.: Wine is still under development in the glass has certainly 5-7 years of reserve potential. 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Taste / Finish: 18 + General / potential: 9 = 96/100
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A Great French Dinner (Indianapolis, IN): Pronounced leather, tar/rubber (not in a bad way) and slight gamey notes on the nose. It took aggressive swirling and for the fruit to make its presence known. A big and complete wine. Still needs time.
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Haut Brion Tasting 1918-1999 (Oslo): A clean, linear and crisp wine, much more structured than 1989. Although there is plenty of body and intensity, this suffered from coming after the 89, and did of course not have the enormous fruit of that legend. Structured, and with a tough and tannic finish. In my view, at least 10 years too young. My best 90 HB so far.
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Chateau Haut-Brion Vertical (Litteraturhuset, Oslo): This shows more cool fruits, and a clearer mineral note. Plenty of tobacco and just a touch of paprika. Smooth and silky, and extremely elegant. Awesome length of flavor. A beautiful wine. I really liked this one, perhaps even better than the '89.
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Regal and elegant and still rather upright at the moment - very polished and superb nose of lavendar, violets, wet stone, black fruits. Should have decanted as an hour later the wine really started to unfurl and let those tertiary characteristics start to peek out. Will be better in 10, even more amazing in 20. Right now I'd say this is still about latent potential.
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Now we're talking. Edging close to its 25th birthday, the wine is clearly expressive. Smokey, tar, cigar box, forest floor, cassis and blackberry, with hints of dried cherry make up the nose. Sweet, soft and velvety, the wine personifies grace and elegance.
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1990 Dinner at University Club (Chicago): Much more open than the Margaux. More earth, asphalt, some smoke and sweet dark fruit on the nose. Wonderful harmony on the palate. More dark fruit and tobacco. Interesting mix of spice. Love the balance and long finish.
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I have had this wine several times but I don't remember this much brett. I'm sure some would find the amount of brett acceptable but it was a little too much for me.
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Beautiful HB nose of scorched earth and warm asphalt. Medium-bodied and gorgeous on the palate tasting just about fully mature. Simply delicious flavors of dark red fruits, sweet smoky earth, cedarwood and tobacco. The finish floats over the tongue with mind-boggling complexity with an incredible array of spices and minerals. Perhaps a touch rustic compared to say the '89 but this is a fabulous, deeply satisfying and terroir-driven vintage for Haut Brion.
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A healthy dose of brett which made the initial taste a little off-putting. With a flavourfull meat dish it was quite nice but not what I was expecting.
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Classic Bordeaux but not for the simple palates. This is structured and nuanced with many subtleties. Feminine palates might reject this for its earthy and rustic notes, but there is a lot going on here. It has the expected nose of graphite and aged cheese, but the cassis, blueberry and boisenberry shine. The finish is dominated by char roasted wild boar tenderloin that makes you salivate.
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Drank at Davy's Nose of cedar, earth, tar, tobacco, red berries and spice. Rich complex deep palate. Long length. This is wonderful stuff that has legs to last a lot longer. The only problem is the price.
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(Blind) Klar, dyp rød med mild kant. Floral, parfymert nese med mørke, røde bær, brente toner og tobakk. Bløt, innsmigrende og energisk frukt med flott konsentrasjon og dybde. Fokusert og presis med frisk, spisset syre. Finkornede, lett tørrende tanniner. Mørk, lettbrent frukt og toner av røk i utgang. Nydelig lengde. Veldig Pessac. Kan ligge lenge
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1990 Bordeaux Horizontal: Blind. Tobacco, big fruit; It boasters a warm, earthy, and complex tastes. Still, very fresh, even some minerals, good tannins, structured, very good length. Not exactly a charmer, but a very good and food friendly wine.
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1990 Bordeaux Dinner (Noisette, Portland, OR): DEEP blackberry scents explode from the glass, backed by a hint of molasses and a bowl of dark fruit. Hibiscus scents give a floral note, and cinnamon and nutmeg give some spice character. This is a gorgeous nose! Blackberries, dust, and a touch of candy hit the palate right away, with the candy flavors lingering long. There's a touch of green in the center accompanied by some light acid. Gentle tannins sit on the palate for a long time, while blackberries linger through to a late finish along with nutmeg and cinnamon.
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BORDEAUX 1990 ALLA CIECA (ENOTECA ROSSORUBINO TORINO): WOTN. Lo intitolerei: "La trilogia del dollaro". Naso chiuso e compresso: per la prima oretta nessuno l' ha considerato... poi si è fatto vivo e ha spiegato di che stoffa é fatto! Una stoffa che arriva dal west, aranciato terroso, cose da indiani, pipa che sbuffa in un saloon, polvere e colpi in canna. Naso morbido, suadente, cuoio fortissimo, fondina e cinturone, dollari accartocciati, polvere da sparo. Clint Eastwood ne "Il buono, il brutto e il cattivo" In bocca migliora a ogni sorso... non ti molla più: liquirizia, pelle e polvere. Pronto da bere oggi e seta della migliore fattura. Meraviglia.
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Excellent nose dominated by leather, gravel, cigar tobacco and spice. With time in the decanter the fruit emerges to intermingle with the leather, tobacco and gravel. Velvety entry on the palate, full bodied mid palate and well integrated tannins for a long deliberate finish. Not as good as the first bottle I've had but just as enjoyable.
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Fabulous Haut Brion. Peak of maturity. Classical smoke and mineral profile. Delicate, fragrant, almost sweet. Medium body only, but very harmonious. Lovely.
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So what's a 100 point nose? Open up a good bottle of this vintage of Haut Brion and you'll find out. Overwhelming smells of sweet tobacco, fireplace hearth, cedar, smoky gravel and deep dark spices just keep coming through. The palate is lush with flavors that echo the nose and a persistent smokiness that is just gorgeous. The finish is smooth, silky and complex with a hint of tannin left with just lovely notes of gravel and scorched earth. Impossible to stop smelling and drinking this and the only negative is this vintage is just not as deep and delineated as the best vintages of HB but what a superb showing for this hedonistic style.
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Outstanding wine one of the best 1990s I've had. Crimson color with bricking throughout the body of the wine clearly reflecting the wine's age. This is clearly in its drinking window but has a long life ahead. Decanted and drank over an hour or so. Complex nose of black currant, raspberries, tar, old leather, hints of black olives, jasmin and spice cake. Very dense and complex wine, enters the palate with pure silky fruit, coats the mid palate with multiple layers of black and dark red fruits, but the leather and tar still present which is why this will always be one of my favorite wines. Very dense mid palate, just the right amount of acidity, this wine is dark, full bodied, dense, pure and elegant, and finishes very long. A little less delineation on the wine and a little less purity of fruit say versus the Margaux and Montrose of the same vintage which has me rating the nose closer to 100 points but a slightly lower rating on the palate. Nonetheless an outstanding wine, to be savored on a special occasion.
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A little bit of air or decanting would have added more to the experience. Still, even popped and poured, it was easy to find the smoke, black raspberry, Asian spice, leather, cigar box and plum filled aromatics. On the palate, the wine was rich, silky and alive leaving with a beautiful sense of purity of fruit in the long, graceful finish.
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Casual dinner. Decanted and drunk immediately although returned to bottle after 90mins (45-60mins would have been perfect). From a pristine bottle from cellar. What a nose. Initial charcoal and fresh tobacco becomes new saddle leather and smokey earth, then chestnuts and leather before the extra cedar emerges. Such a wonderful evolution, although with extra air the (for me) typical 1990 Bordeaux sweetness and fading kicks in. I really think this is at peak for the next 5 years.
Initially quite acidic, the terroir really shines after 60-90mins when in the mouth the wine has an supreme breadth and length combined with an aromatic but masculine complexity. In that window there is a perfect balance and complexity that matches any wine I have ever experienced. Unfortunately, it is still a 1990 and it doesn't last (like the 1989...)
97pts on average, but 99pts for the 30-60mins when the wine was in the perfect drinking window.
Still completely outclassed the 2004 Starderi Spinetta served before. Followed afterwards with a lovely 2010 Domaine Chevalier with cheese - which I can highly recommend.
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A dark garnet color. The nose hints at classic bordeaux; tobacco, spice, cedar. The palate was surprisingly youthful for a near quarter century wine. The tannins are still present complemented with an acidity that belies its age. Notes of earth, tobacco, dark fruit, spice. No question, this is a classic wine that is not only drinking beautifully now, it has the ability to last many more years in the cellar. Gorgeous.
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HDH '90 vs '00 BDX Comparative Tasting (Chicago, IL - Spiaggia): Nose was a little less expressive and complex than the La Mission, but the finish would not leave the palate. Utterly sensational finish that lasted minutes. Compared to the La Mission, this was a little more stately, where the La Mission was more lush and forward. Among the best Bdx I’ve ever tasted. Sadly, this was gone before a re-taste. A++
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- Ruby color and aromas of hay/straw - Unlike any wine I can recall. Full of aromas, vegetal and other that I would need to sit down with my 'le nez du vin' aroma kit to figure out. Fascinating. Quite frankly it tastes just ok.
First use of my new Coravin. The pouring worked great. We shall see how well it preserves at a later pour.
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Bonham's and Butterfield Pre-auction tasting (San Francisco, CA): Powerful, youthful nose with cedar, graphite, very complex; palate is full bodied, balanced, integrated tannins. A superb wine with great balance and classic bordeaux character, lacking only a bit of uniqueness to take it into the stratosphere. Excellent now, likely a life ahead of it. 96
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Keith P @ Trompette (La Trompette, London): Classic Graves nose. Tobacco, cedar. Sweet fruit. Classic. Must be Haut Brion. 85? No, so maybe 82? Turns out to be the 90. Rich, rounded, some depth here. Sweet-fruited, long, plenty of complexity here. Complete. *****
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Excellent showing for this just mature wine, destined always to live in the giant shadow of the '89. At home, I allowed my tasting sample to warm up for hours in a glass and it took that long for the classical warm brick, woodsmoke character to arrive. We drank it over a 2+ hour period at the restaurant but while it was clear this was a finely crafted Bordeaux, it didn't really shout "Haut Brion." I may need to change my strategy.
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Clear brick all the way to the edge, looks aged, but from a great vintage due to no change in meniscus; nose of menthol, cigar, tobacco, gravel, blue cheese, earth, and blowing Graves; good richness and fat, not a ton of fruit but it makes it up with sweet tannin. Showed 1000% better than a bottle a week ago because this was a pop and pour rather than being decanted for several hours. Would not suggest decanting. Oh, called blind.
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Super Bowl 2013 (Cumming, GA): Translucent color; cedar, sandy, red fruit, red flowers, ash; tobacco is long on the finish, tannin lingers but not tannic, tails off on the finish. Palate lackes, but the nose is great. Thought it was '88 La Mission Haut Brion. Everyone was shocked when it was revealed. Another disappointing showing for a historically great bottle after the '90 Montrose. Bummer.
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Worth the praise, attractive marmalade on the nose, layers after layers of refined minerality, subtlety and beauty, will last for decades and get even better.
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This is the second time I had the privilege to drink this wine. Again from a cellar where the bottle was kept from release (restaurant De Leuf**) - so extremely important to know how the bottle was kept!! It was simply divine. When this hits the glass, it is hard to image wine is "just" the fermented juice from grapes. This wine seduces, thrills, amazes, etc. Perfect balance. It has a velvety feel in the mouth, but the sheer power shines through clearly. As one very high-regarded taster remarked in reaction to my note: "I regard this as the perfect wine. I simply cannot imagine a better wine, not even in the mind." Though I can imagine other candidates, I surely agree with the sentiment.... we need a new scale when a good example of this wine does NOT get the perfect score...!!
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Whimsical performance of this famous wine. Drank together with the Mission Haut Brion 1990, which performed far more stable. Hardly any nose at all when opened, then double decanted to open it up; hardly showing any age on the rim, but in the nose at first full of brett and very secondary (leather, underwood, mushrooms, truffle), even giving the impression of being in its aftermath. This stage nor more than 90 pts. Very slowly this wine got its act together; color deepened and some fruit emerged, but not convincingly so. After 3-4 hours the true quality and style of this wine could be noticed. Started more like a Pauillac than a Graves wine. In the end broad spectrum with juicy meat, bacon, tobacco and a very attractive silky tannines and freshness on the palate. 96 points. So still, the MHB90 beat its neighbour today... P.S. 24hrs later (33 hrs after opening!) the wine shows its full class: no hint of oxidation, strong notes of kirsch, eucalyptus, liquorice, anise (I never encountered anise before in any wine), cedar wood/cigar box, tobacco and the typical dusty, gravelly Graves perfume. The old lady kept us waiting but at last, there she is: utterly elegant and extremely well balanced.
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1990 Haut Brion opens with licorice, tobacco leaf, cassis, smoke, fresh herbs and stone. Soft, round, plush and sexy, this hedonistic wine pleases the palate and senses. 97 Pts
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Super Tasting 1 of 6 - Andrew does 1989 Bordeaux (Langdon Hall, Blair, Ontario): Very pretty nose of leather, minerals cedar and currants. It is immediately evident that this is from a different vintage as the fruit seems riper. The palate shows smoke, minerals, cherry, black currants, and cedar. This is lacking just a touch of definition in comparison to the 1989 Haut Brion as well. But as my friend says. "now you are picking peanuts from poop" Agreed….this wine is awesome….the finish never ending.
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Super Tasting 1 of 6 - Andrew (Langdon Hall, Cambridge, ON): This is the best red wine I've ever had. I love being the contrarian and in a flight with the '89 LMHB, '89HB, '90LMHB I had a preference for this wine. This was probably the most open of the flight. Also undoubtedly the most aromatically complex in this lineup, which always gets me. Just ads a touch of funk to set it apart. Leather, sweat, earth, coffee, meaty. Palate lingers nicely, and is very long. Absolutely love this wine!
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Tasting Group Dinner Series (1 of 6) / Andrew's 28th Birthday (Red Room, Langdon Hall, Cambridge, Ontario): Popped and poured, followed for the course of the evening. In the glass, deep garnet with mild brick. A soaring nose, that was slightly more complex than the 1990 La Mission Haut Brion, showing notes of blackberries, plums, dried fig, iodine, smoke, brine, crushed rocks, cedar, leather, dried tobacco, pyrazine, and some brettanomyces adding a nice funk that contributes to the overall complexity. This is one of those wines that you could sit there a keep picking out different scents and aromas that waft out of the glass. On the palate, again, quite lush, with an ample amount of glycerin, with flavours of dark fruits; blackberry, blackcurrant; leather, dried tobacco and mineral, paving the way to a nice long finish. As with the 1990 La Mission Haut Brion, I prefer the style of the 1989s a little more, which show more focus, are a touch less ripe, and have better purity of fruit.
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After decanting was dominated by earthy notes (would recommend at least 2 hours decanting before drinking) but gradually the classic scorched earth, cassis, floral, mineral notes of Haut Brion began wafting up like lazy smoke. The palate is extremely multi-dimensional with silky fine tannins and an endless finish. A very great wine that is just hitting its stride but in no way is starting to fade. If you have this in your cellar please don't hurry, it's surely going to get even better!
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Drank at dinner with Heinz and the gang. I had this wine about a year ago and was expecting a velvety intense wine. This one exploded from the glass with dark red fruit, mostly blackberry, menthol, funky barnyard notes and cigars leaves. The palate provides intense fruit flavours, mineral notes and low acidity. Tannins are soft and finish very very long. More what I would expect from Haut Brion.
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A near perfect bottle of wine. I don't know if I could ever give a wine a perfect score of 100, but if I ever did, this one would be close! This bottle still has a lot of ageing left. Too bad I only had one. A splendid fully bodied Bordeaux that is perfectly balanced and just the right amount of acidity and tannins. I tasted a bit of earthiness, smoke and a touch of oak. I felt like royalty drinking this wine!
Antique Wine Company dinner (Hong Kong Club): Ruby with pale rim. Very smokey on the nose with blackcurrant, black truffle and black raspberries. Also some tobacco - black tobacco?? Great feel in the mouth. Long with a sweetness from the fruit on the finish. This was complex and got better and better in the glass. Seems to be drinking at its prime.
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Gorgeous aromas of road tar, black fruits, warm gravel and charred oak. This is a beautiful and elegant Haut Brion that's medium-to-full bodied and very transparent to the terroir with wonderful flavors of scorched earth, hot gravel, warm bricks and asian spices. Finishes with a lovely complexity with notes of char and tobacco. Still in need of a few more years to reach its peak. More open-knit and silky than the '89 but lacking that wines incredible depth and density. 96+
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89/90 Bordeaux Retrospective with Hart Davis Hart: The nose here is more expressive than the '89 - the difference is that this one has come to a beautiful, comfortable maturity. Red, brick-inflected Graves fruit with some great baked apple, horsey notes. Not exactly lithe, but not quite the meat on its bones that some of the Medocs show. This is a style I really enjoy.
Altogether less smokey, less brooding than the '89. Ready to go and while I don't think it will improve, I think this will last beautifully. I loved this.
5-
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Bu sans prise de notes. Un vin d'une finesse et au touché incroyable. Nez sur des notes fumées, bois noble type sental, et bien plus encore. La bouche est extrèmement souple et d'un équilibre incroyable. La noblesse des arômes inspire un grand respect. Le cuir et des notes boisées d'une grande finesse accompagne un fruit mûr encore bien présent. Une très grande bouteille, d'une buvabilité extrême malgré l'opulence des fragrances dégagées. 97
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This HB has finally lost it's baby fat and that streak of acidity/tannin that existed has finally integrated into the wine. The result is an amazing vintage of HB that's a little exotic but still terroir-driven. Full-bodied for a '90 with beautiful flavors of dark berries, warm bricks and smoky tar that lead to a fabulously complex, smoky finish with hints of roasted nuts and minerals. This is fast becoming one of my favorite HB's of all time. 96+
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WOW! This knock out perfume pops with smoke, tar, creme de cassis, leather, earth, tobacco, hot stone, cigar ash, blackberry and spicy aromas. If this does not get you going, Haut Brion is not your thing. Intense, powerful, concentrated and rich, with textures of sillky and velvet, there is not a hard edge to be found. The long, pure, clean, opulent, fresh, pure, spicy finish remains in your mouth for close to sixty seconds. This is not that far off the legendary 1989 Haut Brion. As this sells for half the price, this is the wine to buy.
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Haut Brion Dinner with Jean-Philippe Delmas.: At Wine Society Haut Brion Dinner with Jean-Philippe Delmas. Final grand vin in the line-up and still incredible, smoke, fruit, gravel, dark chocolate, truffle, earth.
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Earthy nose that didn't blow off. Strong secondary flavors with some red cherry in the background. Tobacco and graphite with the cherry on the drawn out finish.
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Darker in its flavour profile and more powerful and brawny than the '85 poured earlier; this starts out with a similar scent of pipe tobacco, cedar, leather and dark fruited flavours, but it's much richer and more primary in the mouth with the fruit very concentrated and forward and plenty of tannin beneath. There's impeccable balance and tremendous length - spectacular now, and I imagine this will only get better with age.
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I brought this with us to dinner at the French Laundry; the sommelier opened and decanted for us about an hour before service. The fill was into the neck and the cork was prisitne; this bottle was in perfect condition. A purple-ruby core, turning to blood red at the rim; looked a bit younger than a bottle tasted two years prior. A heavenly bouquet, offering up notes of ripe dark fruits, tree bark, tobacco, black truffle and earth. Medium-bodied, with a velvety texture, soft tannins, great balance, impressive delineation, and a stunning finish.
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Decanted one hour. Surprisingly no sediment at all. Bottle and label immaculate, level perfect, cork tight and in pristine condition. Colour deep, no lightening or bricking. First two glasses -- little nose, wine slightly unknit, some tannin; cedar, tobacco, pebbles and rosemary, not very expressive and an impression more of minerals than of fruit; fine but seems slightly unnatural, unyielding, incomplete. Third & fourth glasses -- the components have now melded together; a glorious expression of fruit, stones, cedar and herbs; no longer tannic, very long, a wine to be sipped and savoured for a whole evening. Lovely. Should have been decanted for at least 3 hours. A special bottle of wine, and the last before my traditional annual abstinence from 2 February to Good Friday, nearly 12 weeks this year because Easter falls very late. Oh dear -- will I hold out that long? [I didn't, but I did do 6 weeks.]
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Dinner with the WOFW folks (London): Wow this was strong showing for this wine, the cleanest example if 1990 HB I have ever tasted. Crazy smoke and roast moving to gravel and cherry, this screams of Graves. Such amazing concentration, nobility and poise.
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Beautiful bouquet with luxurious oak, cigars and surprisingly good cherries, which imo is not usual in Bordeaux wines. Nevertheless it adds to the complexity. On the palate the same impressions as well as chocolate, a lot of sweetness and acidity and a good dose of alcohol. Soft tannin. Elegant and powerful at the same time. A great wine!
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Utterly, stupidly sexy. There is a beautiful charred note on the nose, like smouldering chacoal, which really gives it a lift. Surprisingly sweet fruit in here, much more evolved than the 1990 Latour. A real palate-coater with luxurious velvety concentration and immense depth. I've not had the legendary 1989 but without doubt the finest Haut-Brion I have tried so far, a step up even from the sublime 1995. Will keep, and may improve marginally in bottle but if you have these you really need to try one. I preferred this to the Latour, although both are absolutely classic expressions. Glorious stuff.
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1990 Haut Brion is the real deal! Cigar box, smoke, earth, truffle, roasted dark berries, plums and tobaccos aromas make up the perfume. In the mouth, this plush, round, opulent, sexy wine coats your palate. The intense, rich, pure finish is loaded with sweet cassis, chocolate covered blackberry and dark cherries. 98 Pts
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Fabulous wine that reminds me of the equally fabulous '90 Margaux. So deep, so dark, so delicious. Seems dominated by cab sauv now which typically makes up 75% of the blend. Blackberry and cassis. Lovely sweet fruit. Just beginning to enter its plateau of maturity. The tannins and structure are there and surely the wine will become more complex and mulifaceted with more time.
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Wine brought to dinner by friend. Colour was brownish-red with orange rims, wine looks older than 20 years old and I initially thought it could be from the 80s. Good strong nose of dark fruits, tobacco, minerals and earth. The texture was medium with round tannins and a long finish. Tasted this before but this bottle seems to be a little bit different. Maybe there is something wrong with the storage? Very good wine overall.
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Served blind at Chateau La Mission Haut Brion over dinner - This aromatic delight opens with jammy dark berries, smoke tobacco, hot stones, licorice, cigar box and baked cherries. Sensuous opulence could be the name of a porn star, or the right descriptor for this silky wine which ends with a rich bath of cassis and black cherries.
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Superb Haut Brion approacing it's apogee but with lots of energy and thrust. Slightly subdued bouquet, more about bright dark berries than smoke and earth. Blind, I would have guessed a fine Medoc, such as Margaux. Very full for HB and the endless waves of blackberry and black cherry are delightful. Tannins are rounded, acidity is fine. In a few more years additional complexity may develop and push the score even higher.
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1990 Left Bank Bordeaux Horizontal: Broad, herbal & complex. Soft, minty/menthol with a long herbal finish. Goes on forever and expands on the finish. There is so much going on with this wine. My WOTN. A
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1st Gro(w)th Nite at PRIMAs (PRIMA, Walnut Creek): nose - dark tea, blackberry mouth - rich, dark fruit, coffee, with complex 2ndary flavors (mushrooms). Long tannic finish with considerble life ahead of it. Consensus WOTN.
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drank this last night at Baker and Banker in SF- along with white: 2006 Judge, 2006 Aubert Lauren, and 1997 Chapoutier Oree; and the reds: 1990 Chateaux Margaux and 2002 Shafer HSS. What fantastic wines. this is the fifth time i've had this wine and by far the best (last time was 2 yrs. ago). entering its perfect drinking window, this was full bodied, massive wine that is still light on its feet- scorched earth? you bet! great minerality? boat loads! super mid palate and an awesome finish? the best! the good news? 4 out of 5 of the other wines were perfect tonight too. this haut brion is easily my wine of the year so far (and I have been fortunate to have had some great wines this year).
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great nose. in the mouth it was big but the terroir is so dominant with earthy and mineral flavors i felt like i was chewing on coffee beans. for me it partially obscured the fruit. i never thought there could be too much Graves characteristic in a wine, but here it is. The 89 is clearly better
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Stunningly complex nose of spice, cedar and leather with a strong note of cigar box infused cassis and minerals. Some licorice and vegetal evolution. Lifted, complex and vibrant; Fantastic on the palate, elegant with good body. Super concentrated and flavoursome. Earthy, dark smoky fruits. Powerful and profound - a truly great Haut Brion.
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Ran's 40th Birthday Extravaganza (Israel): Dark and brooding, this fragrant beauty showed notes of barnyard, star-anise, saddle leather, figs and thyme. Hugely complex, with lots of cigar tobacco, ripe blackcurrant, plums and a velvety texture on the palate. A long, sweet finish leaves you wanting more. Flirting with perfection.
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One of the best Haut Brion's we have had yet. Better then the 79 or 82 (so far). The nose is incredibly complex and smacks you in the face with leather, spices, dark fruits and other earthy, smoky ingredients. in the mouth it is full bodied, rich, luxurio
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From a new lot - bottles were pristine. Anise, charcoal, coffee and some cherry on palate with white lily on nose, great balance. This bottle drank young. I have noticed that some of the big Haut Brion and La Miss vintages ('89/'90) and also '86 Mouton drink better now from less than pristine bottles. Seems as if the well kept bottles are aging slowly and still not ready for consumption. Will drink the 'ugly' bottles first.
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Gorgeous wine, young but showing. Blacker fruits, classi HB nose of warm bricks and char. Big, velvety texture with good thickness and solid underlying acidity. Quite delicious but this should attain rarified status with another 5 years or more. 95+
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I would have thought this wine was 5 years old. This was still massive and the color was silly for being 19 years old. Tobacco, cedar and graphite dominate the mid palate on this wine. Very floral nose that carries over nicely to the mouth with a sweet fruit character to this. I had three great bordeaux's this evening, and all were great but for so many different ways
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Dinner with the Lees and Zimmers (Columbus, OH): Streamlined, elegant nose with earth, tobacco, and red fruits. Medium bodied but great balance, with softened fine tannins. Classy styling. Really good.
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My 40th at Daniel (Daniel NYC): Had this at Daniel next to a 1994 Mouline, and it was not a let down. What a sensational wine. It had the initial Haut Brion assault on all 5 senses. A beautiful rich red velvet appearance. The nose had so much going on it is hard to fathom. There was typical Graves like tobacco box, white flowers, sweet subdued spices, cassis liquor, earth. The mouthfeel was rich and voluminous, with beautiful taste of dark cassis and dry dusty Graves mineral, and a finish that lasted for minute. The oohs! and ahhs! from my wife and father would account for the 5th sense. Sorry here to leave out a little nuance description, but these notes are from memory as well. I believe this wine will improve from longer cellaring.
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Brought to Acker auction at Cru. Opened the bottle at 3pm and as soon as I took a whiff from the decanter, I knew this was something special. My first taste confirmed that. I decided to decant for only an hour because I knew I would have lots of time at the auction to let it open and I did not want this to fade before I drank it. This was much bigger than the last bottle I had and the fruit decided to come out and play this time. The mouthfeel was luxurious and the acidity kept it fresh. The nose had a little mushroom and some cedar and cherry. The palate started with a little black fruit, which belied the bright cherry color of the wine. The finish was fresh with cherry tones that faded into wet stones, charcoal and leather. As great as the food is at Cru, I wanted to drink this wine by itself.
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The wine sported a very, dark ruby tint. Smoke, truffles, herbs, cassis and black fruits galore made their way to your nose. This wine is very intense. Stunning levels of concentration coupled with multiple layers of flavor make this a treat for your senses. Layer after layer of flavor fill your mouth with joy. Very classy and elegant as well as rich.
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Perfect fill; we brought this to our 10th anniversary dinner at Per Se. The sommelier decanted approximatley 1 hour prior to our first taste. An elegant ruby appearance, with no amber at the edge. A heavenly bouquet, offering up intoxicating scent of ripe dark fruits, flower (lilly), and white truffle, with hints of smoke and aged tobacco. Very flavorful in the mouth (but absolutely no sense of heaviness) with a lush texture, incredible concentration, and an hauntingly complex (and never-ending!) finish. To this day, the '90 Haut-Brion remains the finest Bordeaux wine that I have ever experienced!
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Decanted for 3 hours, drank over next 3 hours. Deep cherry red color. Cherry infused limestone palate upon opening that progressed to an herbal, minty toothpaste palate. The fruit on this bottle never really evolved.
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Cigar box, leather and oak. From a magnum but didn't show as well as expected. Perhaps it was wrongly matched with the food. Also the hype that it's close to the 1989 is just wrong.
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Lovers of Haut Brion cannot have enough of this wine in their cellar. This is almost at the level of the legendary 89. But, the 90 is much more fun and open to taste today. This is so packed and stacked with smoky fruit, it's almost unreal. The intoxicating perfume offers black fruit, forest floor, smoke, tobacco and spice notes that roar from the glass! Great concentration. Layer after layer of rich, deep, polished, rich, ripe roasted fruit take over every nook and cranny of your palate. The long finish is seamless and lasts close to a minute. The corpulent texture is pure silk and velvet. This is sublime. Still young, this will improve for decades. I hope the 98, 00 & 05 are this good!
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Bordeaux in Verbier: A quartet of Haut Brion. 90, 82, 70, and 61. Started with the 90 and a very good place to start. For me, this wine never fails to impress. It screams class, and its fruit profile is stunning. Really good juice.
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4th Testing...This bottle seems to be more ready to drink. The 1st nose is medical scent then becomes to be the beautiful cassis, elegance nose of white truffle, chocolate, herbs, mineral, wonderful deep and clean. Very seductive...I hardly take my nose away from the glass.
Full-bodied in a very round and very smooth, very fine tannin, fruit-bomb but not too sweet. Fresk & Delicious.
The Aftertaste that takes my breath away so far, strong affect to my heart actually as same as last three times.
This is the most love-affair wine in my life.
Latour 1961 is a little bit better but can not be replaced into my tender-heart.
and Haut-Brion 1989 should be tested soon because it's the only one left that I hope it can be...more impressed !!!
Now I'm losing my mind...
Oops...I already said these things in my other testing-note...
Drink it now - 2030
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Commanderie de Bordeaux Dinner; LaCroix. The finest wine I have ever experienced. Quite pretty to look at, with a brilliant purple-ruby core, turning ruby-garnet at the rim. An incredibly impressive bouquet, offering up wonderfully complex scents of ripe red and black fruits, tapenade and white truffle; upon further airing, picked up notes of lilly, leather and tobacco. Absolutely sublime in the mouth, with a round, generous character, full mid-palate, and a long finish; perfect balance and delineation.
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Tasted double blind. Garnet core, bricking toward the rim. Earthy tar and leather notes with dark fruit tones underneath. Sweet red fruit on the palate with a bit of tar coming in on the long finish. 94-95+. Thanks Rich & Dana!
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But this time, This bottle, it takes 4.5 hours of testing. ( opened 1.30 hours before drinking )
Very beautiful dark ruby, deep and clear in colour. Loads of aroma and bouquet intermixed in elegance style. Double dual-layered, multi-dimensions. Smell is so clean and deep...very very deep. A little bit too young, shows scent of wood but..lovely, flowery, berry, cedarwood, earth from the vineyard, wet stone and herbs. Very dramatic and high class...very smooth scent of lavenderand white/yellow flowers....Sorry for using a lot of word '' VERY ''
In the mouth, this full-bodied contains perfect ABC...Acidity, Balance and Complex. A little bit sweet, soft and very smooth, still tannic, firm tannin but nice...more than nice. Round and delicious. I wonder...how can it be...unbelievable !! This must be one of the best half-dozen wines in my life.
Aftertaste : WOW....fullfilled my heart !! It goes down very deep and stay there for a moment then slowly return on the same way up into my mouth...Long..Long and..Long...it keeps one part in my heart like never gonna leave me anymore. The most beautiful woman has true love and takes her nice time with me....
Recommend : Drink slowly. It may takes your heart away...so far...I'm losing my mind...still.... Drink it now - 2030
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Haut-Brion Vertical (Craft): It's odd how evolved this is, tasting ten years older than both the '89 and '85 beside it. Here the fruit profile is redder but showing more minerals and iron. It's the equal of the '89 in terms of roundness and finesse but its array of flavors is much wilder. There's a strong sense of umami, meatiness with a little salinity.
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Offline with Jonathan Dinh (Seattle, WA): Ripe, very roasted, bloody, horsey, chicory. Now THIS is Haut Brion! This is a wine of pure indulgence, riper than ripe, yet featuring beautiful grip. Some notes of incense and sandalwood start to peek out of the glass with more time. Lovely!
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Light brick on the rim with dark core. This nose is knock out; I am picking up aromas of wet stone, tobacco coffee. In the mouth: now this is wine excellent sweet fruit excellent balance and above all a legendary finish that lasts it way back to Bordeaux. This still has a very long life so don’t rush. This is the best Haut Brion I have had to date but I think the 2000 will be better in time. A 5 star legend.
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SOBER haut Brion Tasting (CB's house): Nose of tobacco and earth. Gorgeous wine. Lovely, elegant, beautifully balanced, open and harmonious. Just wonderful.
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Very complex and very open,you can smell tobacco,black fruit,smoke,earthy and a banana-like boutique.After decant about 1hr without decanter ,it taste smooth ,fullbody,a little sweet, low acidity.when i open this wine about 3hrs, it close down.i thought gameover but i was wrong. after half hour,it reopened again and become more better.i was surprised and i think i should drink this wine slowly.Finally,i drink this wine from pm 7:00 to am 2:00. 1990 haut brion is a great wine, it last 7hrs from open to close down at that night.
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Spanish Inquisition at Brad England's House: Deep rich inviting red color. On the nose this gives red fruit, tobacco, earth, smoke, and cedar. Good intensity. I smelled this without tasting it for about 30 minutes (Brad was adamant that we needed to wait). On the palate thiis much more tight and compact than the other wines served. Good fresh red cherry fruit complimented by tobacco, earth, smoke and mineral. The finish fell off a little quicker than expected. This is still an extremely youthful wine, and should unpack more with additional time in the bottle. A great experience.
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Weekday Pizza Night at Brad's (Brad's House, Minneapolis): Beautiful rich tarry/smoky nose. Kirsch and crushed smoky black fruits on the palate. The nose on this wine was killer, but I thought the palate was a touch green and short. This was very tannic, and may have been closed down. Still, an excellent bottle and one that steadily improved with air time.
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Consumed along with a '90 Lafite and '90 Margaux at the Gotham Bar and Grill. Now we're talking. This is just great juice. Great nose of tobacco, cedar, fruit. That great Haut Brion taste of fruit and tobacco. Awesome balance, integrated tannins, almost sweet in a way. Just delicious, layered flavors. Great length. This wine is a winner.
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Most dinner guests loved this wine and deeply appreciated the rare opportunity to try it. Some who claimed extensive Bordeaux experience labeled the wine as flat and perhaps past its prime. To those of us with less experience with Haut Brion, this wine impressed us with an enormous nose and signature Bordeaux characteristics of earthiness and selected floral notes. The wine did not linger on the palate as long as one might expect. Considering the age of this wine, we believe it is best to decant, but do not allow the wine contact with air for more than an hour or two. It is clearly ready to drink now.
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This wine had a wonderful nose -- sweet bordeaux perfume, which lingered in my collective memory for weeks. I thought the wine had a wonderful signature bordeaux taste, with hints of earthiness, and cassis. Crisp and very distinct. Not as complex as some other Bordeauxs I've had, but the wine had a nice, sterile, refined finish. One of my buddies who enjoyed this wine with us who has been drinking a lot of 2000 bordeaux lately noted a slight brown to the color, and a little bitterness at the finish. I didn't see it. To be generous, there is a chance the wine may have been a little off from other bottles, perhaps due to irregular storage prior to purchase or the fact that we may have decanted it a bit too long. Or it might be that my friend's palate has recently been exposed to more young wines, and the aged quality was different than his recent tastes. Or my friend may simply not recognize coffee grounds, cigar box, the earth and cedar when its presented with a wonderful nose. By and large, a very enjoyable bottle of wine. Not an over the top blockbuster or a mortgage-the-farm wine, but very enjoyable. The perfume of the nose was its defining characteristic -- that and its classic bordeaux taste and finish. Lingered in my mind long after the wine had disappeared.
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Dark red to rim, great complex nose, gravel, lead pencil, hints of tar, elegant (in a good, not a thin, diluted way), voluptuous in the mouth with ripe fruit, perfect balance, and a smooth finish, this is drinking beautifully right now and should continue
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Older Bordeaux - First Growth and Others (onesixty blue - Chicago IL): Nose starts with black cherry, cocoa and some cherry liqueur. Ripe and powerful fruit, bold and brawny with lots of tannins and acidity. Great minerality comes through from middle to end. Needs another decade to evolve further, and I think this become increasingly interesting.
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Simply a beautiful wine. Incredibly expressive, silky, and ripe. Plenty of fruit backed up by notes of smoke. The finish is tannic, but long and graceful. Drinking well now, but will age well for another 10. A pleasure to drink. 95+
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I popped the cork of this wine in the morning and it got 14 hours of slow oxygenation before consumption. Oh my! The perfect nose for me: white pepper, cedar, forest floor, a little bit of horse... it was all there. The palate was lovely as well, showing classic Graves minerality, dusty tannins, ample fruit, excellent balance and length. For many, this is perhaps still a bit young, for me, it was perfect.
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Do you know any better way to celebrate the coming home from the long trip? I don't. So we popped the cork of this beauty and as soon as the cork was popped the aromas filled the room. Unmistakenly Bordeaux, sweet tannins coating the mouth, balance and sweetness all in one, no orgasms, but pure elegance and refinement. Sexy wine 4/11/2006
The bottle we've had today was even better and came alive with 2 hours of air time. Still not "mortgage your house" wine.
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Deep ruby color with only the smallest hint of rust on the edges. Lovely nose of leather, tea leaves, white flowers. Ripe, decadent with a nice grip and impressive finish, an overpowering wine where the balance should improve with more time. Drinking beautifully now with decanting but sense it will see better years ahead. Great representation for Haut Brion and the vintage.
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Dinner at Lampreia (Seattle, WA): This was right on form. Horse, roasted earth, some white flowers, wow. On the palate this was gamey, powerful, a sweet core, yet leathery and gorgoeus. What a simply lovely bottle, ripe, yet pure Graves, roasted and earthy. Mmm, I really enjoyed this a great deal!
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Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' #3 (Sammamish, WA): Horsey, smokey, with some tobacco and roast. For some reason I was heading off to Pauillac, although reading the descriptors makes me think "Duh, dude, it's Graves!" Roasted, ripe and beautiful, this is really wonderful and hedonistic wine.
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2nd Annual Cellar Treasures Tasting (Long) (Asti Trattoria): Another amazing wine. The nose was to die for. Expressive, earthy, and cigar box. On the palate, it has an open-knit, loamy, truffle quality. I can't help but think that with more age, this should be close to a phenomenal Burgundy with respect to its texture and aromatic profile.
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Light red in color with definite orange coloring at the edges - surprising for this wine. Aromatically this wine beautiful with lots of cola, coffee, older olives and mocha. The tannins were very soft and mature. Nice spicy length. I would defifntiely drink this wine again, but I think I would've preferred it two years ago.
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Bottle of Angst, Volume I (Older Bordeaux and More) (Chateau Guerette): [Decanted 2+ hours]. Medium ruby-purple in color, with hints of brick at the edges, this was a beautiful expression of Graves perfume and body. A slight spritiness put a point on the nose, but it blew off to reveal notes of cassis, white roses, damp earth, and roasted thyme. Exquisitely rich and powerful flavor profile, with a solid mid-palate and long, long finish. Clearly more to offer than the Mouton this evening, with many years of life ahead.
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Full coffee red garnet. Huge aroma of barnyard, spciy red current, and a hint of chocolate. Rich mature red fruit and coffee with a slight herbal note. Very nice and drinking fine now. Held up nicely in glass - very nice. 10/05
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Dinner at Cru (New York, NY): Wowza! When first tasted this showed horse, horse and more horse (Mr. Ed country here) along with with leather, white flowers, tobacco, earth, and roasted coffee; oyyy what a nose! The palate put that to shame however, ripe, unbelievably rich and full in the mouth, so sweet and forward and slutty in comparison to prior tastes of the more serious and dimensional 89 HB, this wine was definitely flaunting its considerable endowment tonight. What a pleasure! It is hard to put words to just how wonderful this was, a poster-child both for the vintage (ripe, sultry and forward) as well as the appellation (roasted, earthy, leathery, and indescribably complex). Wow!!!
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Oh these bottles have been staring me evein the face for a long time. As I approach 40, I think of when I bought this wine (3 cases) in 1993 at age 27, and drank 6 of them of them in a ignorant bliss of the time-in a week!. Needless to say ,the wine was much too young then, but the imprint of its DNA is etched upon my tongue and mind. I can still taste the wine we sampled with some REALLYstemware (imagine the worst ever scenerio) The wine still has a youthful appearance, with some lightening at the rim. As I write this, the 90 Haut Brion is opening incrementally, so its full impact may yet be shown.With 30 minutes in glass it shows captivating scents of damp forst floor, sweet tobacco, minerals, some roasted character- a la 90 vintage. The wine has a velvety rounded appearance in the mouth, but at the same time its finish shows plenty of mouth drying tannins. Dense, chewy, concentrated, but my no means mature, by mature I will always think of mature as the way the ethedral 61 feels on the palate-The 61 Haut Brion remains my all time favorite wine, ethedral soft nectar, liquid velvet defined . I try to imagine the 89 or perhaps this wine(but as good as this it doesn't have the glycerin) in 20 more years to get this again, or source a perfect bottle of 61 again.Yielding seemingly more with every sip, I have corked and refrigerated the remaining 2/3 bottle for inspection tomorrow. It will be a nice lunch! I have a busy day, but no way am I leaving this to possibly lose an edge, perhaps a glass at lunch and one at dinner. Day 2. Not much more to comment on, the wine speaks for itself.
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After Sunday dinner with the family at Four Seasons. Consumed with truffle salami.
Good nose of cassis and cigar box. A trifle sweet on the palate, but otherwise great balance and mouthfeel. Great wine. Pity the wife didn't like the sweetness - she prefers her wine really dry. Her loss.
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Great bottle of wine. Balanced fruit and tannin with good secondary flavors. Long finish. Will open the next bottle in five years. I think it will be even better then.
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Classic Haut Brion! Decanted for 1 1/2 hours and it continued to open up as the evening wore on. Developed the classic Haut Brion flavor and nose. Very elegant, with fine tannins. Didn’t seem to have quite the depth of the ’82, but perhaps in time. Oddly, the next evening it had lost most of its depth and was not that special. So yo may want to drink future bottles in one evening.
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Wow, Wow what a wine...now I know why I love Haut Brion....Great fruit, a great nose and wonderful length. Drank over dinner at Pomme restaurant in Clayton, MO....as good as the food was the wine was the highlight of the night.
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Haut Brion verticle with the West Michigan Offliners. Dark purple. Sweet nose of cassis and plums. Full bodied, currants, sweet tannins and a lush finnins. Decanted for 3 hours and drank over the following 1&1/2 hours. Still a baby and currently drinking better than '89 and the '89 LMHB, but don't I think this will develop more or last as long as the other two.
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Tastes at the Bonham's and Butterfields 82 vs. 90. vs. 2000 Bordeaux Tasting Yum! This wine had a beautiful nose of dark fruits, tabacco/cigar box, earth and perhaps a hint of leather. Drinking great, but with some years ahead of it, it had a subtle thing going for it compared with some of the other wines, that I enjoyed. Not as foward and flashy it was like the underdog in this tasting that comes from behind to win you over. Its funny I wrote this before looking at the other notes on Cellartracker but they are all indenticle down to points even, weird.
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Pretty amazing. Insane trademark nose from the first second the cork was pulled. Took about 30 minutes to settle down. Everything you look for in a Haut Brion -- complex nose, tobacco, shoe leather, dark fruit and a hint of lead with a finish that goes on and on. Drinking well now, but it's got another 5+ year until it's anywhere near its peak.
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Dark red to rim, WOW what a magnificent complex nose, gravel, lead pencil, hints of tar, more elegant (in a good, not a thin, diluted way) than the big young 96 Lafite, voluptuous in the mouth with ripe fruit, perfect balance, and a smooth finish, this is
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This wine is truly compelling! From all aspects I am amazed: appearance, structure, taste, mouthfeel, finish, and nuance. Deep dark red velvet color. Layers of typical Graves-like characteristics that include, tobacco, cigar box, saddle leather, iron, cassis. There is such a velvety smoothness to this wine. The length and breadth of this wine are amazing... what a finish! I will say that this wine is still in disguise, and will reveal itself in 10 or so years. It might be nearly perfect by then!
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Amazingly good. Smooth and well integrated, a rich, complex nose of shoe leather, tobacco and woodsiness. Trademark palette with long spicy full finish.
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CT Group does Bordeaux vs Cal Cabs @ Jeff S: Minerals, earth, and dried fruits. Seemed quite closed at first. Seemed to have opened up a bit later in the night as some sweeter fruit and tobacco poked its head out. One for terroir fans. Even a bit of characteristic gravel.
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Personal Note: A nose by any other name... My first H.B.is an assault on all 5 senses. Musty cigar box,leather,earthy nose. An explosion of super ripe fruit, grip and strong long finish. Wait 6 years.
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Retailer tasting; just short notes. (@ vdV): No words for it. Complete and complex. TOP! TOP! TOP! At 5 years of age this is already so smooth and great and also still so silky powerful. Hope to taste this again in the future. 97+
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Tasted at blind horizontal 1990 Bordeaux tasting at Vintage Wines, Ltd. Deep ruby with red rim. Nose of intense currants, blackberries and cedar. Palate shows medium body, with massive hard tannins. Long, hot finish. Needs time. Personal ranking 5, group ranking 6 out of 8 top growths.
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4/17/2024 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Both bottles were marked by too much brett. Fruit flavours were sweet and slightly roasty. It had some boot polish volatility and gravelly tannins.
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4/14/2024 - sdr Likes this wine: 95 Points
A great example. Tonight besting the famous ‘89 because it’s much more developed. Beautiful fruit, tannins and acidity - much more fruit than smoke or hickory. It won’t get better even from perfectly stored bottles.
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2/4/2024 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
Just a hair's breadth away from the legendary 1989, this is one of those mesmerizing wines. The wine is concentrated, long, deep, complex, and expansive, with incredible, length, purity, volume, refinement, and a seamless finish that is close to the 60-second mark. Just entering its prime, it is only going to get better from here for at least 2-3 more decades. Drink from 2024-2045.
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1/12/2024 - hprphf wrote: 94 Points
Not decanted, blind. Ripe vintage but not as complex, not as smoky as expected when revealed perhaps due to the lack of decanting. Immense structure, first growth quality, very smooth tannins with graphite notes. LMHB 1990/5 or a weaker Margaux? 94+
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12/26/2023 - tanduybui Likes this wine: 98 Points
There is not much more that needs to be said other than sublime. I have given it this score as I don't know what else I can expect from a wine. Possibly a greater finish would have made it the perfect score.
Still a beautiful glowing red with a tinge of brown on the outer edge. Barnyard, cedar, red fruits and menthol dominate the bouquet. The body is supremely elegant, suave and struts with great style and freshness. A great blend of grace and power - impeccable. Lovely linear finish.
Drink now to 10+ years. I would be tempted only decant this wine for only 30 minutes before consumption and enjoy the ride.
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11/18/2023 - the player Likes this wine: 98 Points
Delicious WOTN in a line up against Margaux and Mouton. Blackish ruby color, dense wine, decanted and aerated for an hour then drank over two hours. Medium to full bodied, lots of asphalt, black fruits from berries, currants to cherries and plums, spicy peppery cassis, some leather and masculine notes. Powerful on the palate, secondary notes of dark red and black fruits, superb balance, structure and acidity, finishes peppery long with dark chocolate notes. Fabulous.
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11/4/2023 - cch1966 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Deep ruby with signs of age. Dark berries, leather and pepper. Medium acidity and soft tannins. Long silky finish.
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10/23/2023 - DAN BAILEY Likes this wine:
Deep amber, almost red colour. 2nd to the 78 double mag on the night.
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10/23/2023 - Purple Tooth wrote: 99 Points
***If I was allowed to take 1 bottle with me for my last supper, I would probably take the 1990 (not the 89) Haut Brion. Very overlooked...This is ethereal and everything you could imagine and hope for from a First Class, First Growth wine. Its fully mature with a perfume of barnyard and loam and still packs a long, beautifully sweet finish. Drink or Hold...I think this is just fine.
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10/19/2023 - Raage Likes this wine: 92 Points
(Cdv)
Un nez assez extraordinaire … dans l’énergie , dans la complexité, comme un souffle intarissable … la première impression est wouahouh, le nez nous plonge dans l’âme des grands Bordeaux, et même dans l’âme des grands Pessac, un rien austère, classique, qui poivronne, sous-bois, avec cette dose de fumée caractéristique, mais avec un fruité indéniable (léger cassis, fruits noirs), du menthol.
Par contre, je fus moins convaincu par la bouche, certes joliment structurée, équilibrée (maturité / fraîcheur / finesse) mais abasourdie par un boisé qui ne s’est jamais intégré, laissant avec l’oxygénation progressive un goût désagréable de fût asséchant … (sur cette bouteille ! Pas ressenti précédemment)
Quoiqu’il en soit, le vin nous a semblé fort jeune ce soir, signe d’une belle longévité a venir…
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9/8/2023 - paul195 wrote: 96 Points
1 of 6 decanted at 4:30 served at 7:30. Youthful deep ruby color, nose filled with cassis and darker fruits, smoke and leather, less minerality than I expected. Palate showed dense layered fruit, spice and smoke. Fine tannins, good acidity give this an impressive texture, balanced with a long persistent finish. Still very young, consider longer decant next bottle
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8/26/2023 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is a delightful and charming Haut-Brion. Gentle, fruity, silky and elegant. But since all the tannins have left the building it really lacks grip. Fortunately healthy acidity holds it together but it seems a lot more dilute than the towering ‘89 version. I wouldn’t try holding it for much longer.
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8/13/2023 - Dave Canada wrote: 100 Points
Perfection....what a bottle
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8/11/2023 - ubercuvee wrote:
Needed 60 minutes of air to really show its stuff
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7/1/2023 - Wine Canuck wrote: 100 Points
An Epic Summer Wine Weekend - Year 2; 6/30/2023-7/2/2023 (Muskoka, Ontario, Canada): Quite thrilling to come across this again. The wine pours medium ruby in the glass with no bricking. Just like the last time I had this a decade ago, the nose here is insane, totally wide open and massively complex. Aromas flow seamlessly in a melange of tobacco, wet clay, dark cherry, pomegranite, smoky woodsy spice, rich spicy leather, charcoal, concrete dust, light roast coffee, peony, and crushed rock. The palate is liquid silk with a lovely dark cherry core, turning to medium minus tannin that is masked by the gorgeous fruit and medium acid. The finish is monumental lingering for minutes on end replaying much of the nose. Bordeaux is comforting and often predicable, but its not so often you come across something like this that truly moves you. What an absolutely stunning bottle of wine and just like last time, in my view pure bottled perfection.
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6/25/2023 - essenceofreal wrote: 98 Points
I've had many of these and must say, this bottle was amongst the best. Oh how I love thee 90 HB!! )) When its on you're in for a meditative experience. A hair behind the 89 but majestic nonetheless.
Drank w Alena and Alex at Bear, Stanley Ranch Napa.
Took several hours in the decanter to open. Really hit its stride after 4 hrs and last glass the best after 6-7 hours. But at first pour you could tell this was special. Perfect cork, seepage only about half way, excellent bottle fill.
So elegant, refined and polished. Certainly at or near peak yet will remain here for eons. Total classic old school delicousness.
Cuban cigar, cedar, tobacco, leather, cassis, cream cassis, overlaying echo of sandalwood. Was an orchestra for sure, melted in my mouth. The nose was also off the charts and transmuted me into the hills of Bordeaux on bright shiny day surrounded by thyme, mountain savory, lavender and tarragon.
Kept calling you back for more. Drink as often as possible!
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6/19/2023 - LTTC Likes this wine:
(SYP) Small glass. PNP
A fresh nose of spices, tobacco, tea leaves and earthy fruit.
Less concentrated and smooth than the '82 but still very enjoyable. 93
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6/17/2023 - SimonG wrote: 95 Points
A celebration with friends (Home): Mid garnet. As with the LMHB alongside, gloriously rich on nose an plate straight from the off, such that I wondered whether opening in advance had been a mistake, but it happily copes with three hours in the decanter, kept suitably cool, and shows just as well as we start to drink it. A super bottle of this. Rich and truffly with tobacco and that sun on warm terracotta feel. Precise blackcurrant fruit too. Rich on the palate with more of a Graves character coming through. There's density and precision here. grandeur too. Long and satisfying, a wine that keeps drawing you back for the next sip, and the next. *****
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6/10/2023 - cephomer Likes this wine: 98 Points
Drank at Champetre Saturday nite w/the Whites & Marks. Had an '02 side by side as well. Decanted for an hour+ at home, then perhaps another hour at the restaurant. I didn't realize until I saw this note, but I've had this wine only a few months ago in a similar scenario and (gasp!) this might have been my final bottle of this fantastic wine! My notes this eve are pretty much a carbon copy of the last tasting, tho the wine was even better on this occasion. Extremely generous nose of cigar box, lead pencil, tobacco, earth and black fruit. This wine demonstrates the ultimate combination of power, structure and elegance. There remains a copious amount of fruit--both black (blackberries) and red (currant) 33 years post-bottling. There's also tobacco leaf, spice, tar, herbs, gravelly earth and leather notes. Powerful, highly structured with intense concentration, yet extremely soft and elegant to the touch. And, of course, a long, luxurious and delicious finish. I've had many aged bordeaux during my journey thru the world of wine, and this beauty checks all the usual boxes - and then some! Its exquisite combination of all the elements that comprise a stellar, world class bordeaux are all here, and are bountiful. This is just a fabulous wine that while, certainly no longer in its infancy, as is noticeable from the wine's color, remains utterly youthful, vibrant and charming. Pretty much as close to perfection as one can get, this might have been the best wine I've ever tasted! Sublime is the most appropriate word that comes to mind.
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5/26/2023 - Ericsson wrote:
Bordal à Crans-Montana (Scavino, Haut-Brion,...); 5/26/2023-5/28/2023: Aveugle, ouvert et bu.
Je n'avais encore jamais été déçu par ce vin, mais cette bouteille n'était sans doute pas la meilleure...
A l'ouverture, un très joli nez de Graves, fumée, âtre froid, tabac blond, malheureusement les arômes ont vite viré vers le poivron vert.
Au palais, on continuait à avoir cette verdeur peu en ligne avec ce millésime.
Déception générale.
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5/18/2023 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
Top Mid-Aged Bordeaux ("Chateau La Grange" - La Grange IL): In 89/90 flight. Lots here, but this is that rare 1990 that hasn't resolved itself. I appreciate the intensity, but there is still too much tannins for the level of fruit.
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5/18/2023 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
Some Bordeaux (Chicago, IL): This was stunning from the beginning and didn't really let up either. My favourite of the three bottles of Haut-Brion tonight. Quite dark in complexion, showing the vintage's ripe fruit quite clearly, but without losing the Haut-Brion minerality. A slight touch of coffee on the midpalate as well.
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5/16/2023 - dream Likes this wine: 97 Points
This wine can be variable but we ran into a perfect bottle this evening with great verve and freshness. Red-tinged fruit with great intensity and fabulously expressive flavors of smoky gravel, sweet tobacco and an amazing array of complex spices. The best bottle of '90 HB I've ever had from my cellar from a case purchased on release. Wow! At Commanderie Candidate's dinner at the University Club, NYC.
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5/15/2023 - OmiyaDrinker wrote: 94 Points
Nose of smoke, leather, cigar box, cassis, dark plum, exotic spice, clove - sensational nose. On the palate, gorgeous velvety mouthfeel and superb soft tannin. As you move through the mid-palate, notes of sweet fruit come through, red licorice, & all complemented by the integrated tannin. Savoury & umami flavours of soy sauce come through on the long finish. This is far from a flamboyant powerhouse. On the contrary, it's rather delicate meaning at times you have to search for the brilliance in it. It is a great wine and my overall conclusion and score seem a little at odds with the details of the note, but this didn't wow me in the way that the 90 Latour did.
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4/5/2023 - Francophile1 Likes this wine:
Spring Break Mini-Mondo Tasting (Deerfield Beach, FL): Flight #2 - single blind next to the 1990 La Mission Haut Brion. I got the two flipped because label bias caused me to assume that the '90 HB would be the better of the two wines. I was wrong. In comparison, the Haut Brion was more evolved with dominant tertiary flavors of tobacco, cedar, tar, and smoke. It was a slightly 'tired' wine. Since I had the '90 HB back in November of last year, my summation is that this bottle tonight was not stored perfectly for its lifetime which is why it was on a rapid evolutionary tract. While this bottle was not the near perfect expression of this wine like the ones I've had before, it was still excellent.
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4/4/2023 - joshabramson Likes this wine:
Drank side by side with 90’ Latour. I was expecting the 90’ HB to win, but tonight I had to give the nod to Latour. I don’t think this bottle was quite as special as I remember my last bottle of 90’ HB being, for whatever reason, or perhaps it was just me. Either way, this was still very delicious!
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3/9/2023 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
Lighter-bodied now and fully mature, this showed gorgeous faded red fruits with incredibly perfumed notes of Cuban tobacco and red flowers. Ethereal in texture building to a crunchy, intense and very complex finish with notes of smoky minerals and red spices. Double-decanted for 4 hours and actually improved in the glass for an hour. Doesn't have the depth or power of the '89 but it's a refined and gorgeous vintage of HB that's peaking now but will hold.
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2/3/2023 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 97 Points
1990 Bordeaux plus X (Restaurant Brunnenstube, Beinstein): Tasted blind. Decanted for several hours. Clear, deep, youthful ruby-tawny color. Very fine, elegant and complex nose with some graphite, tobacco and fine red fruit. Complex.
On the palate it is all about elegance, balance and finesse. Very fine blueberry and mulberry fruit, beautiful integrated acidity and tannin. Some barn notes, herbs, tobacco and salt. Beautiful silky texture, tension and pressure. Long, elegant finish. Still very young and will probably continue to evolve for another decade.
The palate is close to perfection, but it did not really excite me. Very, very good, certainly great, but it lacks somehow the "wow" for me. Nevertheless 96-97
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1/16/2023 - cephomer Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank at Champetre Saturday nite. We had some pretty serious bottles on this evening in Pine Plains, NY, and this baby was clearly the WOTN without question. Decanted at home for 90 minutes, and then again at the restaurant. Extremely generous nose of tobacco, earth and black fruit. This wine demonstrates the ultimate combination of power, structure and elegance. There remains a ton of black (blackberries) and red fruit (currant) in this wine 32 years after bottling. There's also tobacco leaf, spice, tar, herbs, gravelly earth and leather notes. Powerful, highly structured, intense concentration, and a long, delicious finish. This is just a fabulous wine that while, perhaps not in its infancy, remains a very youthful concoction. I would have no problem holding this wine another 10 or more years (and I still have a few so who knows...). Just a great bottle of wine!
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12/21/2022 - ubercuvee wrote:
Exceptional again. A real treat.
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11/16/2022 - Raage Likes this wine: 94 Points
(CDV)
Non carafé, il a manqué d'oxygène pour s'exprimer pleinement ...
A l'oeil, il est epais, sombre, comme tranquille, juste un bord fin laisse deviner son age, grenat tuilé, et à l'extrémité du disque, presque clair. Il est opaque au centre mais brille sur la paroi du verre.
Le nez est immédiatement signé Pessac, fumé, aristocratique, épicé et sous-bois, le poivron est rôti à souhait. Pur, complexe, nuancé, il a cette élégance des Bordeaux "sérieux". Il est à point, sur son plateau, évolué et sans ride.
En bouche, comment dire, il a tout, la finesse, la force, la fraicheur, la longueur, c'est une sorte de perfection froide (le boisé ne déborde pas, les tanins sont polis), un vin de sommelier qu'on ne saurait critiquer. Sur une heure, il a peu bougé, il semblait imperturbable, racé et immobile. Mais...
Oui, un petit bémol comparé au 1989, magique et ensorcelant, ce 1990 -qui donc a tout intrinsèquement- ne m'a pas autant subjugué. Cette fois-ci en tout cas!
94/95
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11/7/2022 - Krokfjord Likes this wine: 95 Points
Svart frukt, kirsebærhint i bakgrunnen, leken og elegant, men power i kjernen. Ytterst elegant, det er en pirrende energi i vinen. Fantastisk reinsdyrmatch.
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11/4/2022 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 98 Points
This is about as close to perfection as it gets. I've been lucky enough to have this wine three times and glad I still have one more in the cellar. This has the symmetry and harmony of the 1989 Haut Brion, but the punch you in the face nose of the 1990 vintage that I could smell all night long. For my palate, the '90 vintage in the left bank is better than '82 and '89. This '90 HB is rockin'!
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10/6/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Birthday @ Wonjo (Wonjo): Also delicious (this was a night of great wine). It's dark and more spice cabinet and a bit of black fruits and generally and enjoyable wine. Classy.
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9/22/2022 - dream Likes this wine: 96 Points
Simply gorgeous with great depth of reddish fruits and a bit more opulent and playful than the ’89 drunk alongside in the style of the vintage. The finish is deeply satisfying with great complex flavors of smoky tobacco road and crunchy cedarwood. Just about fully mature but will hold for a long time at this level and perhaps the best wine for drinking now along with the '78. Double-decanted 4 hours. 96
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9/10/2022 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
Countryside Relaxation with a finish in Paris; 9/9/2022-9/11/2022 (Mâcon region, France): Deeply smoky, roasted coffee, earth, cherry. Exotic, warm, so very Haut Brion, although this had a tough act to follow. Some bitterness on the finish by comparison.
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9/9/2022 - ubercuvee wrote:
Exceptional - at Apogee. Give it 1-2 hours of air in the bottle and then enjoy. Has it all for Bordeaux
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8/26/2022 - dkentaustin Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful clear, ruby color. Eucalyptus and barnyard on the nose followed by strawberry, cranberry, red currant and lavender notes. Quite lovely and lively on the palate followed by some layers of cedar and elegance gracing the palate.
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7/20/2022 - Rani Likes this wine: 98 Points
54th Birthday dinner; 7/19/2022-7/21/2022 (Tschernihovsky 6 restaurant): Damn near perfect. Had it alongside its LMHB sibling, and it outclassed it. Opened three hours earlier, decanted for sediment, left in the decanter for 45 minutes then back in the bottle. The classic bacon, cedar, animal and blackcurrant notes, very fragrant. In the mouth just soooo elegant, with fine tannins and great length. Excellent structure but obviously powerful core of fruit, exhibiting restraint at every step. This is Bordeaux at its best, and I think it will hold at its peak for another decade.
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7/16/2022 - englishman's claret wrote: 98 Points
Owing to Jon's generosity, we were able to enjoy a bottle of the 1990 Haut Brion entirely free from any horsey character. Adding to the fun was the chance to work this out blind. The sliver-thin disc shows a bricky color hinting at maturity, but the robe is opaque. This has a hugely voluminous nose, at the outset with black cherry, clove, and star anise. With air, the aromatic profile cultivates a tobacco and subtle wildflower character. If I was shocked as to how youthfully this clean bottle was performing on the nose, I was equally shocked at what a tannic beast this remains. But what presence on the palate, and what a long, clear finish. At the beginning of a long, glorious life. 97-98 points depending on how this develops within the next decade.
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6/29/2022 - ricard Likes this wine: 98 Points
It's very hard not to recognise the objective greatness of this wine. It's now 32 years old and... we are looking at greatness. It would be reductive to talk about specific aromas. It's the sphericity of it - it is perfectly round and complete. It is hypnotic. It takes you to another place. It takes you out of all ordinary reality and into another one, one utterly suffused with lasting pleasure.
Maybe emotion is the thing missing for me - which is why I say these things about objective qualities, but stop just short of a personal epiphany, because I can't seem to have that with Bordeaux. But there is emotion in how this is made. There is love. For sure.
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6/9/2022 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 97 Points
Boy's Long Lunch with Greg (Otto Y Mezzo, Alexander House, Landmark, Central, Hong Kong): Two bottles opened for a couple of hours but not decanted (which I think is too little...I would decant for 3 hours minimum, personally). Almost totally transparent, brightly jewelled ruby in colour. Nose is very slight but distinct Swiss cow barn, fresh laundered white cotton nappy, very fresh-mown green hay, some light cedar shingles, wonderful light but incredibly pure blackberry...mind-expanding complexity. Totally mesmerising but still youthful.....gosh, I have forgotten to drink it yet because the nose is so entrancing. Palate is still quite closed and a bit tannic on entry but then an 'awesome wave' of blackcurrant, blackberry and cedar complexity completely overwhelms you. Massive inside your head mounting and sustained resonance and reverberance that is totally silence creating. A bit dry and tannic on the end of the palate. Needs 5-10 years for the palate to harmonise with the nose. 97 easy....which I think puts it in the top 2-3% of c3,000 wines I have ever written a note on.What an experience! Thanks, Greg!
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5/14/2022 - MuddyBear Likes this wine: 99 Points
Served blind alongside 1990 Lagrange. Decanted 6 hours. I found the nose to have a typical bdx barnyard funk (which I love), others detected notes of stewed fruit. Once we drank it, all agreed it was fantastic. Most had the 2002 Krug as the WOTN, I thought this was. The fruit was singing, the balance was exceptional, the finish was long and elegant. In the zone.
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4/24/2022 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
48x 1990 (37x Bdx, 6x Napa, 5x others): Haut Brion vs Mission HB vs La Tour HB. Winner and overall the best wine of the 1990 tasting as a whole was the spectacular Mission (98 pts) full of telltale Pessac tobacco and truffles. Layered, intense, sharp, creamy and vivid, long, superbly complete. The HB (95 pts) showed younger and less complex but my guess is that it should get to the level of the Mission with more air and/or age. The La Tour HB (91 pts) was good but with less in every category and it didn’t show enough finesse.
TN: A less expressive nose than the Mission with dark fruits dominating. With time more minerality which is good. Better on the palate with a brighter red fruits, dark fruits, some tobacco, herbs and lots of minerality. Not yet as much tertiary greatness compared to the Mission 1990 in the next glass but a beautiful bright sweetness carrying the wine from start to finish. A highlight is a minty note which lends additional freshness to the wine and carries on in the long finish (although not as intense, complex, long as the Mission). Overall this wine showed very good but did not exude greatness like the Mission with a bit less substance and complexity but this should gain further with more age (and a longer decant).
Decanting: Quick double decant two+ hours prior to the tasting to remove sediment. Could have used a proper two, three+ hours in the decanter (HB usually needs time to unfold).
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4/5/2022 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Power and elegance, with wave after wave of rich, supple, sensuous, tobacco-stained red fruits, cigar wrapper, ash, and spice. Intensely concentrated, perfectly balanced, deep, long and lingering, this is what great wine is all about. Just entering its prime-time window, it is going to deliver the good for at least another 2-3 decades with ease.
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3/17/2022 - SimonG wrote: 95 Points
Chris’s 1st Growth Series — Haut Brion (La Trompette, London): Ruby to mid garnet. Rich and trufflely on the nose. Quite flamboyant. More classical on the palate, but plenty of pizzaz. Good fruit and classical lines. This is a top bottle of 90. *****
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3/12/2022 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Much better than the previous bottle, tonight the ‘90 Haut-Brion was a contender for Wine of the Night. Rich and meaty, very close to the legendary ‘89. Mature. Delightful. Delicious. And very Graves.
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2/19/2022 - Fruitsrouges Likes this wine: 94 Points
Ethereal perfumed nose that leaps from the glass. Fruit is gone but strong rose aromas and flavors are alluring. Very classy. Harmonious and elegant. Best bottle I have had; wished I had waited longer on the others. Decanted with 30mn of tasting.
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2/5/2022 - liber Likes this wine: 96 Points
Chez G, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, consistent with bottles noted in August 15 and May 16, tobacco and road tar again dominant at expense of fruit flavours, but no doubt to the layering and class, upside, good for 20+ years. VF (18.5)......lovely wine (I always find HB special and under-appreciated by the market relative to the other firsts!) but not up to 89, 98 and 96.
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12/12/2021 - jviz wrote: 98 Points
This bottle was popped (must have been reconditioned at some point because the cork and capsule were PERFECT) and into the decanter immediately. This was quickly downed by our group. The wine was served next to a 90 Margaux, and I thought the latter was a little more silky and seamless while this wine had a little more mass and weight, suggesting the need for more time in bottle. A very youthful bottle at that, you had some baked red fruits with hints of tar and leather. I doubt if I could get it blinded again but what a treat to taste!
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11/21/2021 - mam1966 wrote:
100 points
Double decanted 4 hrs before
Awesome
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11/19/2021 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
The classic haunting nose of HB is in full bloom here. A fresh bottle with perfect maturity of flavors with notes of dark red fruit, road tar, charred gravel and the finest tobacco. The finish is very complex with a bit of lingering mineral crunch. The slightest complaint would be a lack of a full middle palate but that's quibbling. Ready but plenty left in the tank.
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11/10/2021 - wineguy75 Likes this wine: 96 Points
90 min decant. Not as epic as my last tasting, but classic HB experience.
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10/31/2021 - sdr Likes this wine: 92 Points
I was surprised how soft this Haut-Brion was. Not that Haut-Brion is ever a bruiser but other than the ‘85 this might be their most delicate example and very far from the immensely concentrated eighty-nine. As one taster noted, the beautiful perfume was more impressive than the mild flavor. Still, the elegance and purity are absolutely lovely, more blueberry than cassis. Minimal tannins, excellent acidity, just a hint of bricky smoke. To drink now.
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9/9/2021 - alistiar Likes this wine: 96 Points
Very clear pale garnet
Rich dark fruits with light damp mushroom, oak, leather, cherries.
Medium acidity, medium body, balanced structure, fine smooth velvety texture, fine tannins
Long after finish with smokey oak rich fruits
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9/3/2021 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 99 Points
1990 Champagne / Bordeaux / N Rhone (London): Bordeaux doesn't get (much) better. I have long been a fan of this wine and this showing again confirmed that it is a sensational Haut Brion and one of the top 1990s. Side by side LMHB 90 I had a preference for this as it was cleaner (the LMHB showed a bit of bret) and it felt more nuanced and precise. This would have been even better with extended aeration. But knowing this wine this was a very very good bottle. I would decant 3 hours if drinking today. But this is a wine that surely will hold for 2-3 decades.
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8/21/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
I am not sure how this wine could get any better. Just a hair behind the legendary 1989, every sniff and sip is packed with aged Cuban cigars, smoke, campfire embers and perfectly ripe, spicy red and black currants. Refined, elegant, silky, fresh, vibrant, seamless and long, this has become incredibly expensive over the past few years. But if you have the money and you want to experience greatness in wine, this is about as good as it gets!
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6/30/2021 - Burgundy Al wrote:
A Multi Birthday Celebration (Tocco - Winnetka IL): Also more firm than I would prefer. Good concentration and depth, but not quite harmonious tonight. Maybe I'm being harsh given the great bottles we opened tonight, but previous bottles have been great.
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6/24/2021 - rocknroller wrote: 96 Points
Jason Goes Nuts & Guys Ride Again (Jason's, St. Paul, MN): Very dark red color, 2mm clear margin. Decanted for a couple hours. Well the leather abides here, truly immense; very earthy with a little funk, scorched earth, creosote, minerals, tart black cherry, black currants, smoke, full bodied and deep. The word synergy comes to mind. Probably the the most youthful of the '90's wines over the last few years, and it's only going to get better from here. 95+ to 96pts.
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6/24/2021 - galewskj wrote: 97 Points
The Guys Ride Again (Jason and Mariellen's): Decanted at least 1 hour. Yeah, hard to beat this. Scorched earth, crazy complex and amazing how all the flavors come together. THere's a bit of blue fruit that seemed odd, and the wine has a smooth rich finish. It's almost too rich.
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6/24/2021 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 97 Points
The Return of Guys Night Out!: Decanted two hours prior to serving. Very nice wine! This is a wine that demands you stand up and take notice! I was initially worried when I removed the cork, which had a damp earthy scent but thankfully quickly blew off, leaving behind the aroma of earth, cigar smoke, with hints of blackberry and violets. The palate was rich and powerful with black fruit wrapped in plenty of tobacco, leather and earth. Later, notes of graphite and tar assault the palate with hints of cassis and blackberry peering through the veil. Nothing subtle about this wine. However, every sip has you marveling at its composition and calling you to take another, even before the long finish has subsided. This is what Bordeaux is all about! What a pleasure to drink! 97 to 97+ and that is being conservative! Open now or later...wine is not anywhere near dying....you will not be disappointed either way!
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6/23/2021 - mchern02 wrote: 97 Points
Decanted for 4 hours but tracked the entire time.
Enormous nose of cigar wrapper, wet tobacco, anise, strong cedar, smoke, hints of cassis and black fruit. At first the palate was highly effeminate and silky, but with time, the palate has revealed a solid structure with attractive acidity and tannins. The finish has grown from moderate to very long and after hour 6 approaches epic. The wine remains velvety, sensuous, and sweet.
This is an unbelievable wine, but I think relative to the top top vintages of HB this likely carries less weight. Still just awesome and in a great window.
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6/23/2021 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 99 Points
This is fantastic. Beautiful aromatics, fruit is dark, ripe and elegant. Drinking perfectly at this age with minimal air, but continued to improve in the glass. Really special wine.
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6/20/2021 - the godfather wrote:
Quite good, seemingly lots of life, highly enjoyable
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6/19/2021 - cakie Likes this wine: 99 Points
7th of case. Decanted 2.5hours, cellar temp. Superb with beef Wellington. Delicately beautiful menthol, smoky cedar and some leather. Still tannic and has a considerable life in front of it still. The fruit is vivid and powerful and this bottle at least felt as though it had another 20yrs, though note others from the case were more evolved. It was sensational and followed a sensational ‘78 la Chapelle brilliantly. Thought the former was unquestionably the star of the show. A memorable wine for a special occasion.
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6/17/2021 - OenoEd Likes this wine: 97 Points
A near perfect bottle, just a hint of brett, but that added to its appeal here., after a 20 minute decant. Power, grace, road tar, and floral perfume. Hauntingly beautiful, the nose even more so than the thrilling palate. I may trade whatever Lafite I have left for as much of this as I can procure. A simple carpaccio of wagyu, yak, or elk is all this needs. Let the wine shine, especially now as it seems to be at peak drinking.
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6/2/2021 - Brolawa Likes this wine: 100 Points
Oh my . . . what a great bottle of wine. Everything was there. Fruit, mineral, feral, leather, sweat. When this wine is on, it is incomparable. Drank next to a 1990 Chateau Margaux and the latter tasted muted in comparison (and I love Margaux).
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6/2/2021 - lepetitchateau wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful earthy wine - open and sultry, a delicious wine. It has very tasty stemmy red berry fruit and lovely length.
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6/2/2021 - Eric wrote:
M&PD Tasting: France (Mount Baker, Seattle, WA): OMG, just perfect, Sexy, smoky, coffee and cherry. Soooooo good!
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5/30/2021 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank for birthday and Mother’s Day celebration. Perfect cork, nose of tobacco, graphite and black fruits. Mature tannins, savory and earthy notes, persistent cherry fruit, and a lovely and long finish
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5/30/2021 - andrewdodd86 Likes this wine: 100 Points
Holy hell. All dusty cherry, grilling herbs and forest floor notes. Tannins are mellow and this is just drinking at peak. Chocolate, vanilla, cedar and tobacco. Smitten. Will haunt my dreams. Perfect.
Pop and pour, which was the correct approach. Will last, but I'd drink up now
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4/28/2021 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 93 Points
The nose on this bottle is overwhelmingly bretty, nearly to the point of a serious flaw. No signs of TCA just extreme farmy, horsey, manure sort of high notes. The wine underneath is a beautiful example of the ’90 that has the sweeter red fruit and red cedar spice detail, but the bret here requires you to know what to look for. Blows off later on and you can see the clean, moderately ripe red fruits with the spicy and smoky earth influence. The last glass, which was the cleanest, was almost reminiscent of the ’89, and I think that ’90 Haut Brion can be really excellent, this bottle was just a little annoying. Interesting comparison to the ’90 Petrus and ’90 Cheval Blanc, I liked this the least by far.
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4/10/2021 - Oscaro Likes this wine: 96 Points
Best of the best: Luftades i flaskan i 3h och sedan in i karaff. Doftar våta löv, stall (inte brett), läder, svartpeppar, cigarr och björnbär.
Syran är hög men balanserad, det är pepprigt, kraftigt med en fantastisk kraft. Johan sa det bäst, det smakar verkligen dyr bordeaux. Vinet dricker fantastiskt nu men kommer hålla många år till.
Vinet håller upp fantastiskt under 7h och ligger långt fram i loppet om WOTY. 96-97p
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3/7/2021 - bill00 wrote: 93 Points
Intense cedar. Smoky. Great smooth texture. A bit one-note, but still quite good.
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3/6/2021 - Bullethead Likes this wine: 98 Points
Decanted for 1.5 hours before serving. Wow the nose is really pronounced with a lot of leather, cedar wood favour. The tannins are integreted on palate with silky month feel and very long finish. What an animal! This is the wildest among the 5 first growths of 1990 I had over the last year. I would rank it 2nd just slightly above lafite. 98.5pts
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3/3/2021 - bookert wrote: 93 Points
Classic top left bank. Cedar, plum, dark fruits, long finish. Very open with good concentration and length.
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2/20/2021 - Mchiarot Likes this wine: 97 Points
Leather leather leather. one hour decant was not nearly enough. still a bit tightly wound, as compared to the HB '89 alongside. The '89 was much more approachable. However, after another 3 hours the '90 to softened and the hidden fruit seemed to emerge and its true elegance come forth. Truly outstanding stuff. I advise a 4 hour decant, and then enjoy over an evening. This wine will last decades further with proper cellaring.
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1/15/2021 - Antoine G Likes this wine: 99 Points
Robe avec des teintes violacée malgré son âge. Les reflets plus sombre trahissent son grand âge.un nez explosif des l'ouverture. Magnifique en bouche. Pureté. Mine de Crayon en fin de bouche. Légèrement fumé sur le côté couenne. Des épices dans la délicatesse d'un vin fondu. Cette finale est dans toute sa finesse. Une caractéristique d'un grand vin! Apres le repas des notes de truffes au chocolat.
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1/8/2021 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dark, ripe and slippery. Last glass was the best, after being left in a closed bottle for 18 hours. 95+
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1/2/2021 - limpehdrinks Likes this wine: 97 Points
1.5 hour decant before drinking at restaurant. Early nose is heavy on cedar wood. Wine was not open and only started drinking properly after another 1.5h of decanting in the restaurant (total 3hours) - very surprising for a 1990!
Colour is still dark red. Supremely elegant wine with a velvety lengthy finish. Resolved tannins, lush, expressive - but the Cabernet fruit is distinctive, you’d know it’s aged Bordeaux as you swallow the wine. That said, it was pretty ordinary first 1-2 hours, so be patient and let it breathe!
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12/23/2020 - Euoinos wrote: 94 Points
Great but not mind blowing. Lovely dark fruit, barnyard and smoke. Medium bodied with a fine silky texture. Some tannins still lingering on the tip of the tongue. I wouldn’t sit on this for too long but it may be that this bottle wasn’t perfect.
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11/27/2020 - WoodieBayArea wrote:
as occasionally happens, got enthusiastic late in the Thxgiving evening drinking and popped this for the kids to try... didn't pay this bottle the right amount of attention
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10/20/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 99 Points
WOW! Off the hook in every sense. The wine is rich, full, deep and intense. Concentrated, long, rich, balanced, elegant refined and harmonious, there is nothing out of place here. This is close in quality, but a bit less concentrated than the majestic 1989. Slightly less intense, but it sells for fraction of the price. Haut Brion lovers with deep pockets should be all over this gem!
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10/16/2020 - rnyrny79 Likes this wine: 100 Points
Second wine to give 100 points!
For the first 4 hours in the decanter, it was Strange, wird and faulty...I actually almost gave up the wine...but after +4 h it started to shine and everything came together.
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9/29/2020 - AleLenzi wrote: 99 Points
Color is still impenetrable with some ruby on the nail, no sagging.
Nose the perfect mature Bordeaux with ripe dark cherry, noble leather, blonde tobacco, fireplace off, river pebbles.
Mouth is big and deep but with great harmony, iron fist in a velvet glove, rich and layered, so close to perfection.
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9/28/2020 - La Flama Blanca Likes this wine: 98 Points
The 90 HB is a super expressive and flamboyant wine with exploding aromatics of roasted herbs, hot coals, sweet tobacco and lava rocks. An opaque and impenetrable dark purple color in the glass confirms its concentrated and rich dark fruit core of sweet cassis and kirsch wrapped in a cloak of exotic spices and minerals. A sweeter, rounder style compared to the 89, but not far off in terms of its sheer complexity and ability to captivate. Tasted side-by-side with 90 LMHB. 98+
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9/12/2020 - G_H wrote: 97 Points
Leather, ripe cherries, classic bordeaux, beautifully opulent, ripe, dense and sweet.
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9/2/2020 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 95 Points
Cleaning up inventory. Drank this at the end of August / beginning of September but didn’t write anything, even though it was really great. No ‘89 but great. Recall lots of spice and red cedar.
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8/24/2020 - sirpat00 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Bordeaux 1990 horizontal tasting (Fribourg): 1990 Bordeaux horizontal hosted by a private collector. 30 years down the road, the vintage comes across as bold and muscular, youthful and in general not yet open for business or at times closed. Highlights included Figeac, Haut-Brion, Mouton, Calon Ségur – and to my surprise – Marquis de Terme. See tasting story for more take-aways and the complete line-up.
Tasting note
A lot of depth and concentration, intense fruit emanating some heat, but all in manageable territory. Great nose of black truffles, mushrooms and lots of ink. Dark berries mostly as fruit. Palate still very wild but showing lots of leathery, aging notes whilst otherwise appearing young and untamed with a bitter touch. A great albeit still very young wine with a bold structure and built for very long term aging. One of my highlights and I'm sure a good marathon-decant would fast-forward you into even greater realms of pleasure.
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8/21/2020 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
This was so Haut Brion in it's nose and flavor profile with incredible flavors of warm bricks, road tar, dark red fruits and smoky tobacco. Very complex on the finish but showing just a bit less depth than the other '90 first growths tonight. Not quite as good as the last bottle I've had of this but still very worthy of the terroir.
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7/30/2020 - runch30 Likes this wine: 100 Points
WOW. So tight. So complex. And the after taste...!! 🤩
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7/15/2020 - englishman's claret wrote:
This particular example of 90 HB was very horsey, marring the otherwise lovely character underneath with its cherry, mellow warm earth, leather, and tobacco character. Good presence on the palate and a nice finish... but only if there were less of that horsey character.
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6/14/2020 - dkentaustin Likes this wine: 93 Points
Amber edge, light garnet and rust color. Oiled saddle leather, shaved cedar notes, raspberry resin, orange peel and strawberry. Bright, classic, Pinot-esk wine of the first growths.
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5/31/2020 - NathalieKodiak Likes this wine: 98 Points
Stunning. Leather, spices and super long finish. A bit bigger fruit than I was expecting. 2 hr decant. Perfect with a ribeye
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5/3/2020 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 95 Points
Ripe dark fruit, sharp high note savories. Silky and glossy palate. Delicious and barely middle age.
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4/3/2020 - dchain Likes this wine: 97 Points
Wow. This was served blind after 2 bottles of very good Montrose 89 but this was at another level. Mid ruby, very sweet ripe fragrant nose at the outset (almost Margaux like!) as it only had about 1 hour in the decanter. I initially thought 95 or possible 90 given the quality of the fruit and it was in its drinking window. The nose eventually starting getting even more complex with a lot of tobacco coming through and what I though was the unmistakable hot stone when rained minerality which I always associate with a middle aged Haut Brion. We all thought this had to be a first growth (partly due to the generosity of our host which is legendary) but partly that it made the 89 Montrose look a bit pedestrian! It was so lush, ripe in a balance Bordeaux way that is rarely replicated in California and just so much balance, depth and complexity that very few wines on the planet can rival. You can have 3 bottle of this at the current price instead of a DRC RSV which arguably makes the Haut Brion “good value”!
The length was fantastic, regal like and humbled all around the table with a lot of oohs and aahs ! Yep, the real deal And I can understand why there were guess of Mouton and Margaux from my fellow table mates. It really was a complex and changing wine and show both power and fragrance like those other first growths but is there really a more consistent first growth than Haut Brion over the last 40 years? Fantastic and still with some upside!
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3/11/2020 - Nanda wrote: 94 Points
Single Blind 1990 Bordeaux (The Bristol - Chicago, IL): Another singing nose in this flight. Here the aromas have a core of pure, clean plum fruit with herbs, clay and spice adding complexity. The palate has a ton of power but still fine and elegant. Great length.
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3/11/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
1990 Bordeaux Dinner (The Bristol - Chicago IL): Single blind at 1990 Bordeaux dinner. Complex combination of mature/ripe black fruit, earth, leather and savory spice. Good+ depth and concentration with a good minerally finish. Just more fresh fruit would have helped. Not nearly as good as another bottle at a tasting last month.
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3/8/2020 - Wine by Bok wrote: 100 Points
“Awesome when a good btl is hit. Unfortunately btl variation is high
more tasting note in finewines.com.sg
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2/7/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Wines for the Acker Merrall Bicentennial Auction (The Pool - New York NY): Walk around tasting. Plenty of black cherry, cassis, earth and tobacco. Evolving gracefully with impressive weight and length. The only bad thing to say is that it isn't the 1989.
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2/7/2020 - hprphf wrote: 96 Points
Acker 2020/02: Earthy, composed, super slush towards completeness. 96
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1/3/2020 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 97 Points
A treat for my birthday. Decanted for 1 hour. This was from a well kept bottle and surprisingly backward compared to prior experiences. Drank alongside a beautiful and perfectly open Cheval Blanc 83 the Haut Brion came across quite structured, mainly Cab Sauv dominated and had some Pauillac like traits like pencil shaving. It did have an alluring fine tea scent to it too. Remains a great wine but probably not a perfect experience as had before when the bottles were more advanced. Based on this bottle I would say this could have done with 3 hours decant or another 5-10 years in bottle.
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12/25/2019 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
love it, give it more time in bottle, popped and poured and still delicious
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10/27/2019 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Tasted blind. This is almost perfection and everything I love about Bordeaux. Confirming again that the 1990 vintage for the left bank is still my favorite. This particular bottle had all of the pieces singing in perfect harmony. Fantastic! This won WOTN hands down.
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9/13/2019 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 97 Points
Totally the real deal in every way, and this is from a BDX hater. Nose is savory with herbal, tobacco and sweet plummy fruit, some spice and stones. Super perfumed and silky. Scorched earth. The palate is really sweet silky and perfumed as well. Wonderful savory elements. Great balance. Long savory herbal finish that just goes on and is sweet and 'sappy' and all about the perfume. This is just so silky and elegant. Delicious and nothing out of place and all. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 5.5/6, Finish - 6/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 18.5/20.
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8/8/2019 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 95 Points
not blind
It started a bit slow and tired but after 1 hour it Shows his generosity and power. Great wine. At least 20 more years. 95
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8/8/2019 - DrZett wrote: 92 Points
Needed a few hours in the decanter to open up. Unfortunately not as good as my last bottle.
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8/4/2019 - lifebreath wrote: 95 Points
Very lovey nose and complex Bordeaux. Definitely needs a decant. At least an hour and 2-3 would be better. Excellent wine.
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7/10/2019 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted for 3.5 hours before serving. Initially, it showed some funk on the nose but it quickly blew off in the glass. Cigarbox, graphite, earth, leather and black fruit on the nose. Palate was vibrant and deep. Very precise and showy. It kept releasing more power and substance throughout the dinner. The WOTN against 90 Montrose, 90 Latour, and 90 Lynch Bages.
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6/16/2019 - VDLT Wine Likes this wine:
Some 1990 1st growths etc (Chez Herb Wollowick): The most stylish of the 1st growths tonight. For much of the time, it displayed too much oak for my taste - though I did relish the silky, lush texture it imparted. Later, it’s flavors became ashy as many maturing bottles can be. Others liked it more than me but very nice overall.
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6/14/2019 - sphBacchus wrote:
Many thanks to the recent notes from fellow contributors . After reading I took a magnum to Caprice restaurant the night before our birthday dinner . The bottle was opened that evening and decanted the following morning . By the evening this was just wonderful - very different to the magnum last year which in hind sight we hadn't given long enough out of the bottle . This time the wine was like a strong perfume on the nose and a length and depth to die for . One of my most enjoyable evenings with a first growth .
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5/9/2019 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dinner For Returning Friends (Our House, Hong Kong): I'm pleased I persuaded my mate to decant this for 3 hours before he brought it to dinner....which made all the difference. Very plush semi-opaque velvet red/purple colour. Nose is gosh!.....very precise, linear, deep, cedar forests with the earthiness that also implies....still extremely closed but has entered into its secondary phase with that earthiness. Palate is really deep, very rich, belly-filling and with jellied/compote black and red fruit that is so pure. Massively heady and rich... an absolute pleasure but still too young to do itself full justice. For me, it's still in its 'Californian' stage of early adolescence but some people will love that. I'd leave it another 10 years unless you are blessed with a half-dozen bottles or more. 93+
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3/23/2019 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 96 Points
From a perfect bottle coming from bonded storage. Having been disappointed 2 times in a row with corked bottles this all time favourite of mine was very good this time but unfortunately not able to reach the stratospheric heights I have seen it hit. Consumed after a DRC Richebourg 1999 and paired with cheeses it had a wonderful mature Bordeaux nose that showed slightly more barnyard than I personally have a preference for. Then again coming off the nose of the Richebourg was a tough act to follow. The plate showed a tad more tannic than other bottles I have had and it felt that possibly the fruit was not quite as sweet here with more cedar and leather and possibly the bottle would have benefited from some additional time in decanter to "relax". There was however no denying of this wines quality and it was enjoyed and consumed rather quickly around the table.
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3/16/2019 - nywine68 wrote: 94 Points
Tell-tale HB smokiness, cigar and cedar. Fruit still very alive with good underlying acidity. Very elegant. This felt a bit light and did not have quite the same length as previous bottles I've had.
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3/8/2019 - M.S.L. wrote: 92 Points
On a night of some truly magnificent wines. Other tasters with a lot of experience said that this bottle was not in top condition, which I think is realistical due to the high marks everywhere on this. It was still a very good wine, but I hope to meet it again some other time.
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3/6/2019 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Haut Brion vs La Mission Haut Brion dinner with Bernard Burtschy (Taberna del Alabardero, Washington D.C.): Expressive, hedonistic perfectly ripe black fruit, sensual palate. Starting to show cedar and leather. As much tertiary notes as the 82 but more youthful and intense fruit expression.
Dominant Fruit: Blackberry and blueberry liqueur
Balance: 10
Expressiveness: 10
Complexity: 9
Ripeness: 10
Purity: 9
Intensity: 9
Silkiness: 10
Precision: 9
Tannins: 7
Acidity: 7
Concentration: 10
Maturity: 6
Modern (Oak): 0
Over ripeness: 0
Condition: 10
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2/17/2019 - BradE wrote:
A side by side of 1990 Haut Brion and 1990 La Mission Haut Brion. Both bottles in perfect shape. Both were showing more development than I've experienced to date, and at age 29 are finally starting to show their age. I preferred the Haut Brion, but both were outstanding, and the table was split.
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1/29/2019 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 95 Points
Tar and coal dust nose. Tangy dark fruit finish with soil and tar notes. Long finish. Good bottle
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12/9/2018 - PaulusLoZebra Likes this wine: 95 Points
Rich, sweet nose, ripe dark fruits, smoke, cedar; intense flavors, mouth-filling, good firm acidity, but very smooth; dusty tannins; very long, rich, sweetish finish. A great, pleasing, delicious and intense bottle of wine, but somehow lacking a bit of complexity despite the tremendous raw material available.
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11/2/2018 - fontaine wrote: 94 Points
Sylvain a remplacé son Mouton 86 par Haut-Brion 90. Un nez similaire au Montrose mais en moins profond et plus discret. En bouche le vin n’est pas aussi complexe et profond que je m’attendais malgré que celui-ci a de belles saveurs de fruits, de graphite et de cuir. La texture est soyeuse et la longueur est moyenne. Le vin me semble un peu sur la retenue. J’imagine que lui aussi souffre de passer
directement après Montrose.
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10/26/2018 - BenBlu wrote: flawed
Second faulty bottle (slight TCA burying the fruit) in a row (SIGH)...
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10/20/2018 - dream Likes this wine: 97 Points
A perfect bottle and it showed magnificently. Stunning, authentic nose of warm bricks, smoky gravel and dark cherry tobacco.. Totally decadent on the palate with a crazy good velvet texture and incredible flavors of soft road tar, smoky gravel and dark burnt red fruits. Awesome on the finish with great complexity and notes of tobacco, all-spice and black cherry mineral crunch. All things came together tonight with a bbq’d grassfed ribeye. A very terroir-driven, exotic style but so representative of the vineyard.
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10/16/2018 - beatles wrote: 96 Points
The great outing (Aalborg, Denmark): Magnificent. A very complete wine with all the tell tale notes of tobacco still very much alive. The fruit is soft and mature, vbery rich, and while there is no need to wait for this, there is no hurry either.
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9/23/2018 - jdtonic Likes this wine: 98 Points
Dark ruby with blood orange.
Nose of roses and red fruits, a bit of heat.
Slate sharp palate — Like eating figs and strawberries off a gleaming wood sailboat. The ripe fig and expensive wood more pronounced this bottle. Chef made some kind of mascarpone/fig bread with herbs after tasting...
Just phenomenal. Dark plums, some mint, sage, a bit of lead pencil, cedar. Also - yes- asphalt. Up all night after the 9/22 Greek Show helps perspectivize/filter the road tar. Which is secondary and fading with air as I tap out this thing now...
Wow.
A Superb and unique wine.
98-99.
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9/18/2018 - ChrisR Likes this wine: 94 Points
It is interesting seeing other tasting notes on this wine: they are rather all over the place. My bottle definitely tended to the darker end of the spectrum: black fruit and some tar/asphalt, coupled with dried tobacco and strong spices. Not powerful, but palate-saturating and persistent, with a long, dry (almost too dry) finish. Restrained and not as open-knit or exuberant as I was expecting from this vintage. Very Bordeaux.
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9/3/2018 - jdtonic Likes this wine: 98 Points
Opaque maroon/purple.
Nose of cedar wet leaves, licorice and strawberry �� pie.
Delicious on the pnp. The cedar and loamy notes fill in with red and purple berries in the mouth over the first half hour like wonka gum.
Heavy strawberry notes which — like so many Italian reds fail at— match and then surpass the secondary notes of forest floor and dried porcini.
Finishes very long —and berry long— with both black and red licorice filling in between flavors previously announced.
Surreal with a rare burger slathered in marrow!
Superb. 98-99 pts. A wow ��!!
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8/25/2018 - petitblanc wrote:
Austin Offline; 8/24/2018-8/25/2018 (Kevin's House): Four hours in the open bottle. Very fresh and deep color. Faint barnyard but also cigar box, cherry, and exotic spice. Superb mouthfeel and balance. This surprised me by turning bretty with time in the glass, with a bandaid note coming forward aggressively. Flashes of brilliance, overall rather disappointing. Not scored.
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7/31/2018 - melzar wrote: 96 Points
From Magnum: Deep fragrant bordeaux nose. Just entering a long plane of maturity, this beauty has years of life ahead. No sediment thrown. Impeccably well balanced palate with copious fruit front and center. Finish goes on and on.
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6/20/2018 - Bordeaux_Jon Does not like this wine: 92 Points
From a very pristine half bottle, cork not even wet half way and no signs of leakage. Still, this wine was passed peak which concerns me. Lots of smoke and BBQ, some tobacco, red fruit, and herbs. Haut Brion indeed, but a bit tired and old smelling. With air it did not improve and the tannins become more noticeable. It actually evolved to be a bit harsh to drink. I've had this wine from two full bottles this past year and it was better there but still not as great as I hoped. I have fond memories having a half bottle in 2009. I'd recommend drinking up in either format.
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6/15/2018 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
I've had variable experiences with this wine but tonight it was singing with a very open-knit personality and lots of great HB flavors of tobacco, warm bricks, tar and a myriad of spices. The finish is so very complex with notes of mint, minerals and char. Much softer and more ready than the '89 with plenty of '90 sensuality and silkiness.
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6/8/2018 - lifebreath wrote: 92 Points
This bottle was a little off but still an excellent wine. Cork was a bit loose. A little funky upon opening, but evolved well with some time.
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6/2/2018 - dcwino wrote: 93 Points
Annual gathering with Chicago winos in Chicago - Burgs, old Bordeauxs, Cult Cabs and SQN (Smyth and The Loyalist - Chicago IL): Medium expressive nose displaying ripe black fruit, red currant, plum, crème de cassis, licorice, noticeable brett, i.e. Jedi mind trick, ripe lead pencil, a hint of green and mineral. Nicely integrated palate, very polished black fruit, silky, medium acidity and mineral, and a medium long finish with a hint of green and lead pencil at the end. My guess is Montrose.
With air, tobacco emerges and the nose becomes generous and more complex. I suspect the brett note was actually green and tobacco.
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6/2/2018 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Wine Dinner Extravaganza (Smyth and The Loyalist - Chicago IL): Single blind in 1990 left bank star flight. All open 3 hours before serving. This started out the most tannic of the flight with great aromatics of black currant, cassis and spice. Less forthcoming palate for quite a long time, but really started unfolding and opening up after an hour in glass, going from 91 points when poured to 94 when finished.
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5/19/2018 - Remony wrote: 95 Points
3 bottles for my 70th birthday dinner. They showed some bottle variation, although that may have been because the two better bottles had been left in open jug-style decanters for 4 hours before being served, whereas the third was in a stoppered decanter, in case it was not needed on the night (it was, of course!). Exquisite blackberry colour, cool essence of Graves pebbles and graphite (I cannot agree with those who say that terroir does not impart minerality to a wine), and great with the beef. But not, to my mind, quite in the same class as the 1989.
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4/11/2018 - Ramberg wrote: 96 Points
Small and simple dinner gathering with some special friends, no formal notes.
Clearly a great start on tonights blind tasting when we switched to the reds after a great opening with a 1990 DP.
Nose shows a semi mature Bdx., with cassis and & currants, gravel, stable tones, smoke and tobacco leaf’s.
Smooth and silky, sweet ripe fruits in the mouth, black currant, cherries, touch of earth and wet soil.
Fresh and very much alive.
Great length and overall just delicious.
(96 – 99+)
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3/31/2018 - Ricky99 wrote: 94 Points
Incredibly dark and complex after an hour of decant. Leather and earthy notes. Amazing finish
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3/26/2018 - BenBlu wrote: flawed
This was a real bummer! After a somewhat mediocre 1995 we were looking forward to the 1990 - a wine which we had been fortunate enough to encounter a few perfect bottles before. This one had a slight TCA taint and was therefore not representative of what this wine is capable of. What a shame...
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3/10/2018 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
Forum Reunion (@ WB): Extremely beautiful and complex bouquet with horse stable, leather and smoke. Same impressions on the palate, cedar, smoke and beautiful toast. Really beautiful and complex.
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3/9/2018 - europat55 wrote: 95 Points
Nose: A Palate: A
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3/6/2018 - In2wines Likes this wine: 98 Points
Bordeaux November 2017
Second bottle in 2017, and very consistant, in a periode with a lot of bad corks (1982-1998) in Bordeaux Haut Brion / La Mission seems to have avoid this issues.
Still very young, needs more time but the quality and fruit/tannin are so good so you can jump on enjoy !
Drink 2018-2040
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12/24/2017 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 94 Points
One hour decant and drank over another three. A classic example of the 1990 vintage and the Château on the nose with opulent red berry fruit but layered with exotic spice and cigar box. Highly showy and expressive. Mild red cedar. Light gravelly minerality. Whereas the ‘89 required a two hour decant to blossom, this was an immediately forward and accessible bouquet off the pop. On the palate the fruit is still vibrant and juicy. Delicious drinking, really about as classic as it comes. If critical, there aren’t layers of complexity on the palate, and the finish isn’t sensationally lengthy in the same way as the ‘89. That said, this is a really good bottle of the ‘90 and is definitely providing as much drinking pleasure as the ‘89, if less immense and polished, which was actually actually positive.
Interestingly, this bottle had original foil but a modern label. On the back of the bottle there is a label that says «cette bouteille a été ré-étiquetée en 2014, elle n'a pas été dégustée ou rebouchée» or “this bottle has been relabeled in 2014, it has not been tasted or recorked” ... Overpaid for a few of these in Bordeaux in 2014, unfortunately not from the Château, but at least the provenance seems good.
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12/7/2017 - fcxj wrote: 88 Points
Pleasing black fruit and sweet palate to start, then strangely overtaken by TCA.
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11/6/2017 - Sozzled-Me Likes this wine: 92 Points
I am not sure whether I got a bad bottle but I found this to be somewhat inharmonious and whilst good enough, not as good as I was expecting in light of its reputation. Still gently tannic. Interesting long finish.
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11/1/2017 - Collector1855 wrote: 98 Points
The Judgement of Paris - reloaded: Easy to spot as the Bordeaux in this flight. Very classic Left bank nose with all the forest aromas mixed with dark fruit. Wonderfully complete and soft palate. A grand, mature Claret.
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10/29/2017 - aquacongas wrote: 95 Points
Semiblind Haut Brion Tasting (Guido's Cellar): Sehr spannende semiblinde Haut Brion – Probe in sehr geselliger Runde mit tollem Gastgeber und einer sehr leckeren Forellen-Tarte. Alle Flaschen wurden zwischen 0,5-3 Stunden doppelt dekantiert. Was die Treffgenauigkeit der Jahrgänge betraf, ist noch deutlich Luft nach oben. Interessant war, dass die Differenz in den Bewertungen (6 Trinker) bei fast allen Weinen maximal im 2-Punkte-Bereich lagen. Es wurde eine Flasche nach der anderen getrunken. Keine Flights. Keine fehlerhaften Weine.
Nicht so stark wie vor drei Monaten. Salzig, noch viel reife Tannine, Pfeffertöne, Lakritze, Fruchtnoten im Hintergrund. Lag mit meinem 1995er Tip wieder mal daneben. Da wird in den nächsten 20-30 Jahren noch viel kommen. Für mich die Nummer 2 des Abends. 95+
For me and overall second place
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10/3/2017 - Benji La Malice Likes this wine: 97 Points
Fantastic smell of tobacco, taste of prune with chocolate and herbs, really complex and detailed with long finish.
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9/22/2017 - JulianSkeels Likes this wine: 96 Points
Another cracking bottle. Not quite as amazing as my last CT note, but still wonderfully aromatic - with saves of tobacco on the nose and ripe lush black fruit in the mouth. My favorite vintage of HB for drinking now. Super. Would have enjoyed more if this wasn’t consumed too quickly, and alongside lots of other wines.... 96+pts. Drink now-2030
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9/19/2017 - Rich Hart Does not like this wine: 70 Points
I bought a 12 bottle case and have now tried 9. Every bottle has had the same problem - severely brettanomyces effected. The wine critic Neil Martin noticed the same in May 2014 "This is not one of the best bottles of Haut Brion 1990 that I have encountered, since here the brettanomyces is more acute and rather subdues the fruit." So I got in touch with Clarence Dillon at HB who suggested it was a storage problem even though Brett is clearly a production fault!! I will accept an occasional corked bottle but not a whole case of Brett effected wine. I will not be buying HB again.
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9/11/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 96 Points
While still in its evolutionary trajectory, this is a sumptuous wine with lots of good sweetness and structure. Damp leather and sweet cedar envelop the ripe fruit creating a beautiful perfume and lively flavors. This is so good that it's hard not to imagine that it's at its peak, but it hasn't quite expressed all of its tertiary nuances. You can drink this now, but it has well over a decade before it starts to lose any steam.
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9/8/2017 - chbeaumont wrote: 98 Points
Well coloured; classic/text book Graves nose - warm brick, tobacco, a savoury earthiness, refined; beautifully integrated, weightless, floats across the palate, seductive 'sweet' fruit. Effortlessly, lingering. Glorious. No need to wait further.
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8/30/2017 - PJRONeill Likes this wine: 96 Points
Around 10 or 12 years ago I had access to a small stash of this at a reasonable price and I remember the second of three bottles drunk around that time being the best red I've ever had. Roll forward to last night and it remains absolutely spectacular and as good as red wine gets for me. Sweet red fruits, olives and cigar ash on the nose, beautiful line and length on the palate, graceful and refined with a terrific finish. A real privilege to be able to drink this and to have one more bottle to enjoy.
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8/17/2017 - Purple Grillz wrote: flawed
The bottle had perfect fill but the capsule was easy to twist off slowly and the cork was very dry and broke apart. I'm guessing it was standing for quite some time.
Incredibly thin, barely anything interesting for what should be a legendary wine
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8/3/2017 - wineguy75 Likes this wine: 100 Points
drank blind vs. '89 Haut Brion with expectation that '89 would win hands down. That was wrong and all liked the '90 more. Maybe it was the extra decant time given the '90, maybe it was the more uncertain provenance of the '89. Both amazing bottles with great noses and cigar box tastes, but the '90 crushed it tonight. The 3rd "imposter" wine came in 3rd.
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8/3/2017 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 100 Points
Third time I had a bottle of this in the last year and third time I am rating it perfect. This is my wine. I just love everything about it. Brought this to Glasshouse in London - decanted for 1.5 hours prior which was ideal/needed (on pnp it was so shy and got me worried for a small moment it might not repeat the performance of the previous bottles). The sommelier thought that this is at the early peak, and should hold for ~7 years. Well glad I have 7 bottles left. I have not had the 89 Haut Brion (yet), I just can't/don't want to imagine it being better - not sure I will find out as the exercise of doing so would mean forgoing ~2.5-3 bottles of 1990 Haut Brion (given the current market prices of the wines) which I am not sure I am willing to "afford".
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8/1/2017 - BradE wrote:
As anticipated, this was a star. I've loved this wine from the first bottle I had in the late 90's, and it continues to be a reference standard Haut Brion.
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7/22/2017 - kr522 wrote: 91 Points
This is a wine I've enjoyed in the past - and more than many other vintages of Haut Brion, excluding the 89. This time it wasn't nearly as harmonious as previous bottles. Black fruited, licorice, coffee, with some oak still showing. The fruit is going strong but overall I found the components a bit disjointed.
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6/16/2017 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 98 Points
Ganz andere Kaliber die Haut Brion‘s 1990 und 1995. Der Erstgenannte ist ein Gigant. Blutjung strotzt er noch von wilder Schwarzer Johannisbeer-Frucht. Rasiermesserscharfe Säure, etwas Zigarrenkiste mit süßer saftiger Frucht ohne seine Eleganz zu verlieren. Der ist noch in seiner Jugendphase und hat mindestens 30 Jahre vor sich. Wäre interessant ihn gegen den berühmteren 1989er zu trinken. Momentan würde ich den 1990er aufgrund seiner Zugänglichkeit wohl vorziehen. 97-98. Die Maximalpunktzahl dürfte in den kommenden Jahren nicht utopisch sein. Danke Flo.
Der 1995er zeigt sich etwas entwickelter mit mehr Sekundär-und Tertiäraromen wie Graphit und Würze. Beide Flaschen für 2 Stunden dekantiert. Während am Anfang beide Flaschen gleichauf liegen, zeigt sich im Laufe des Abends, welcher mehr Struktur und Potential besitzt. Die Frucht „verliert“ sich mit der Zeit und somit bleibt ein klassischer Bordeaux zurück, der sicher noch 10 Jahre braucht, um sich vollständig zu entwickeln. Wer mehr Opulenz wünscht, nimmt den ersten, wer mehr auf Zurückhaltung steht, wird mit dem Zweiten seine Freude haben. 94
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6/3/2017 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
A very distinctive wine with great vineyard typicity now with delicious flavors of warm bricks, cassis, tobacco leaf and dried cedar along with complex notes of asphalt and gritty graphite. Comes off a bit rustic drunk next to the '90 La Miss but there's no doubting the unique complex finish. I'm one of the few that don't rank this as one of the top vintages from this great estate as the middle palate is somewhat lacking.
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5/26/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 98 Points
Château La Mission Haut-Brion vertical tasting (Wine Watch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida): In this La Mission Haut-Brion vertical, ironically my WOTN was the 1990 Haut-Brion. It's stunning in every way. Like the 1990 La Mission, it's exotic, but in a much earthier, brooding way. Lots of blackberry, black cherry, sous bois, leather, and roasted meat on the nose. Both powerful and elegant on the palate. The fruit is incredibly rich and ripe. An impressive wine from start to finish. This is a wine that never seems to disappoint.
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5/26/2017 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
La Mission Haut-Brion Vertical (Wine Watch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): The lone Haut-Brion in the vertical of La Mission Haut-Brion. With the label showing, the difference was apparent in that this Haut-Brion was softer, more complex and distinctly more elegant than the rough textured LMHBs. It is more mature than the '89 or '90 LMHB as well and probably has peaked. Only slightly excessive acidity keeps it from scoring even higher.
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5/25/2017 - DrZett Likes this wine: 96 Points
Great 1982 vs 1990 Vintage Tasting (Rare-Bordeaux-Weine, Wachtberg (Germany)): Beautiful mixture between ripe red berries, tobacco and fresh leather. In a good drinking window now. Amazing structure with a long finish and nicely intergrated tannins. Amazing!
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5/17/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Just like walking into a Cuban tobacco store with all its smoky, leaf, cassis, cedar, forest floor and campfire aromatics. Full bodied, deep, powerful, rich, mouth filling, and with intensity and character, this is a stunner to drink today and for the next few decades. I am also thinking this is just about ready for a score upgrade as this really grabs and holds you right where you need to be grabbed and held.
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3/28/2017 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 94 Points
1990 Bordeaux Blind: Highlights: Gorgeous nose projecting out of the glass. Dense and damp earth, ripe but dense red and black berry fruits, gravel, and mild spice. Rich, round, opulent. Big but very pretty. Ripe palate with solid structure, totally balanced tannin. The concentration and expression of the nose immediately suggested first growth calibre, and the spices and gravel suggested Haut-Brion. Only correct blind call out of the line up, and decidedly the best wine of the evening, towering over both Margaux and Latour, which were less than stellar examples.
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3/8/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 96 Points
Complex nose with black fruit, tar, coal dust, dark soil, and dark savory spices. Intriguing overtones of dried flowers. Complex palate with nice zip and long finish. Required 30 minutes to even begin to open. 45 minute decant, consumed over one hour. Lots of upside. 96-97
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2/25/2017 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 100 Points
My second bottle of this (last was one year ago and since would rank this as my best wine experience rating it 100 points then). So I was obviously looking forward to re-tasting this a lot! Opened and decanted, good fill, cork was in good condition only slightly soaked (~1/4 or less). This bottle seemed more developed the the last as it was showing noticeable bricking, certainly looked like a ~30 year old wine. Started tasting about 45 minutes after decant and initially there was a bit of (not unpleasant) barnyard on the nose, not what I remembered from the previous bottle. It already drank very well, albeit not like a perfect wine. Decided to give it another half hour of air. And then, knew it was on again! Barnyard nose had blown off entirely - now there was a beautiful melange of scorched earth, cigar box, forest floor; on the palate this was pure silk, the tannins so soft and fully mellowed/integrated with this gorgeous sweet 90 fruit coming through and leading to a never-ending finish. This is so subtle, think cruising with a 12 cylinder 6 liter engine 600bhp biturbo car at 1400 revs at 60 miles per hour in the sixth gear. I love this wine. It just continued to get better and better of the following 2 hours and we both sniffed the decanted after the last sip was poured for one last intoxicating whiff. BTW - you don't actually need to drink this. Just smelling it suffices to grasp its greatness.
For me, this is a perfect wine. There may be different wines, but not clearly better. Looking forward to my remaining 9 bottles. Planning to have these now-2020 (I don't think there is any merit in further aging). Drink NOW.
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2/21/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 97 Points
First growth dinner (Cafe Maxx, Pompano Beach, Florida): Incredible every time. So balanced. Perfect acidity. The sweet earthiness envelops the core of dark fruit perfectly. The nose is unmistakable. Animalistic and raw. Round on the palate. Powerful. A long memorable finish.
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2/12/2017 - cab blends wrote: 94 Points
You need to get past brett on the nose otherwise this would score close to zero (or technically 50 on the rating scale). This was initially presented to me blind and I almost didn't taste it as the brett was so overpowering.
The score above ignores that. Once you get past the nose, the wine is velvety and very well integrated. Some smooth red fruits ran across the palate. The finish is medium length.
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2/6/2017 - Millennial Drinkers wrote: 96 Points
Deep garnet red with bricking on the edges. Lots of brett on the nose but that does not make us shy away. Notes of smoke, leather, bell peppers and animal. Moderate tannins (7/10) and medium plus bodied. Well integrated and so smooth, its almost silky. A bit of fruit and earthy notes on the palate. Long finish. Drink till 2020.
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2/3/2017 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 96 Points
Consistent with prior bottles, this displayed a spicy nose with darker undertones of tar and coal dust, and a light greenness initially with white pepper highlights. 96-97+
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1/5/2017 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 95 Points
Holiday dinner organized by Ken Brown with many great wines! (Ripple Restaurant in Washington D.C.): Depending on your tolerance for brett... I really liked this wine, but it was likely the least pure expression of the bunch. But who cares in this case? I don't. At first very menthol and mint, a bit too much. With time in glass, the wine turned out full bodied and opulent while maintaining an elegant poise. Many in our grouped picked it as their favorite. My hand went up, too, but I understand that it was not as pure as the 1996 - for example. Still a mid 90s score makes eminent sense.
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12/23/2016 - NJwineguy wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for a short while
Still tannic and structured
Open perfectly after a while.
Very nice. Earthy. Musty.
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12/12/2016 - the player Likes this wine: 96 Points
Always amazing and first bottle in 3 years. This wine is progressing at a glacial pace. Lots of cassis, black currant, tar and asphalt, dark ruby red, hardly any signs of aging. After two hours in the decanter, the wine opened up and transitioned from a very masculin full bodied wine to a very complex and hedonistic a la LMHB style with a superb mid palate structure, sweet black fruits and a long coffee tinged finish with tannins almost fully resolved. As good as it comes by my book.
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12/8/2016 - burgcamel wrote: 97 Points
Much better than the last bottle. I did not keep notes but I recall it had no brett. Obviously, the last bottle I had must have been an off bottle. No hurry on drinking this wine.
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12/2/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 96 Points
Brilliant combination of dark black fruit, violet, lavender and white pepper. Suave and salacious at the same time.
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11/19/2016 - RockinCabs wrote: 93 Points
Nose: roasted plum, slight raisins, sweet cappuccino beans, woodsmoke and vanilla . Palate: heat damaged? Not conclusively, but much more roasted than i expected. Full dense palate feel with power but lacking the nuanced verve and acidity of the la mission. Finish: polished roasty black fruit, good length and penetating chocolate/espresso.
Overshadowed by 82 HB tonight, and im not convinced this was a repesentative bottle.
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11/11/2016 - Milos Likes this wine: 96 Points
Drank at Toca restaurant together with several other Bordeaux reds and 1990 Dominus. Wine of the night for most participants. Complex nose of black fruit, barnyard and leather supported by mineral undertones on the palate and ripe and fine tannins; great mid palate and long finish. Still getting better.
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11/5/2016 - ubercuvee wrote: 98 Points
Ready now but it really needs 60-90 minutes in the decanter to show its stuff. Lovely (Blind. my bottle, WOTN for everyone else, I preferred the '95 LLC). One fo the great all-time bordeauxs
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11/3/2016 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 94 Points
Château Haut-Brion Vertical (Bouley): Beautiful bouquet of red cedar, cigar box, Indian spice, soily mushroom, and rustic underbrush. Ripe and opulent. Very expressive, very indicative of 1990. Overripe strawberry too. Palate still has youth and packs a punch of ripe red berry fruit. Developing nicely.
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10/17/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
This never fails to provide an extraordinary, tasting experience. With elegant, silky textures, ripe, sweet, smoky, tobacco laden, dark red berries and more smoke, earth, tobacco leaf, cigar box, black cherry, earth, blackberry, cassis and thyme on the nose, to say it is a knock out, does not say enough. Prices have been climbing for this beauty lately. Even though it is quite pricey, when compared with current, top vintages, or the 1989, it's sill reasonable. If you have the money, it is worth considering.
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10/8/2016 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 98 Points
Just about as good as it gets. I've had this wine a number of times, and it's always consistently rocking. It's great to compare this to the 1990 LMHB, which is more structured and linear. This 1990 Haut-Brion is exotic, full of earthiness and Asian spices, and charm beyond belief. Complete and balanced. Drinking perfectly now, but with decades to go. This is a wine that is a continual buy for me, and as Jeff Leve correctly states, a good relative value compared to the 1989.
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9/28/2016 - TheUsualSuspects Likes this wine: 100 Points
Wow. What a wine. Tasted alongside Cheval Blanc 1990, which I initially favoured due to its more sexy luxurious nature, the Haut Brion however kept on getting better and better. Fresh, vibrant, perfectly balanced, beautiful aromatics, superb mouthfeel, coats the mouth with sweet dark fruits and touches of spice. an incredibly long finish. New notes and aromas hit you well after the last drop in your glass has gone. Sensational experience, this is what it's all about. It's in a perfect place right now but as previous posters have elaborated, it's got plenty of life left!
I love 1990 Bordeaux, and this might now sit atop a quite wonderful tree.
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9/22/2016 - Purple Tooth wrote: 100 Points
This is what bordeaux is all about! Wow describes it the best. This wine is fully mature, yet extremely youthful and lively and coats the mouth and throat with earth, and sweet antiqued fruit. The mount of tannins and acid are in perfect harmony and create a long throbbing effect of after pleasure. The wine is in a PERFECT drinking window. It comes across extremely fresh, which is another reason why it deserves 100 points. This wine is not at the risk of getting tired anytime soon, its just warming up. This is one of the best Bordeaux wines that I will EVER drink and can only get better. When you swallow this wine, and you are teased by the 2 minute long finish, you become enlightened (or reminded) as to what makes a true Grand Cru wine and why it costs so much and so hard to find. DRINK or HOLD
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9/14/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Silky, elegant, complex, refined and ready for prime time drinking. There is that beautiful smoky, tobacco, cigar box character that is made even better by the sweet, delicate, polished dark red fruits and cherry pipe tobacco that permeates the wine. Drink this beauty now, or lay it down for 10-20 years, if you are young enough, and have that much patience.
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9/3/2016 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 100 Points
Let's cut straight through the chase: Wow, OMG, wonderful, perfection in a glass for me. Had a perfect bottle of this in mint condition label, fill and cork. At Chez Bruce restaurant for lunch alongside a Gruaud Larose 1982 which also showed admirable. But the Haut Brion was in a league of its own. I love the 1990 Bordeaux in general and had high hopes for this based on reviews here on CT that this might just be a perfect wine for me and it was. i did not take formal notes as I was just busy savouring this for 2 hours. Decanted for 1.5 hours prior to consumption. Immediately a point but showing no sign of decline over the next hours. This is so singing and ready to go. If you are lucky to have a bottle pull the cork. Sure it will keep but I just love it so much the way it was with the fruit still dominating and carrying on and on.
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8/27/2016 - Ericsson Likes this wine: 98 Points
Bordal chez Albert (Chancy): Carafé, servi en dernier dans la série.
Reconnu au 1er nez, un côté âtre froid que j'adore, beaucoup de finesse en bouche, la classe quoi.
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8/5/2016 - NGFISK Likes this wine: 99 Points
This bottle was in perfect condition and after ~ 2 hours in the glass truly sang. Breathtaking nose of smoke, tobacco and meats with a silky smooth, long finish.
Drank the night before my wedding with my groomsmen as I presented them with their keepsake personalized knives.
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8/5/2016 - reichken wrote: 98 Points
deep dark purple wine, very broad in the mouth and really makes you pay attn, this is not a sit back and relax wine, this is sit up, payattn to me wine as not many get as balance, as long or as big, still improving, great mag
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7/14/2016 - oxwombat Likes this wine: 96 Points
Opened in the Jackson Room at the Hong Kong Club. Decanted and enjoyed over dinner.
Wonderful wine, absolutely gorgeous aromatics with black fruit and that signature Haut-Brion smokiness coming through. Tannins beautifully integrated, structure holding up very well and it had a long finish that just kept on lingering in the mouth.
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5/12/2016 - Lord Rayas wrote: 99 Points
Alex's MNSC (The Pawn): decanted for 1.5hrs. fabulous cigar box with long finish. hard to believe '89 can be that much better so go buy this instead!
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5/7/2016 - liber Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted an hour, perfect cork and level - essentially as last August's note, third out of HB 89 and La Mission 90 as showed excessive ink and tar which appeared to be blowing off into something more harmonious by the final glass 2 hours later.....the 89 was in a class of its own and outstanding! VF+ (19).
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4/20/2016 - RayOB Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank at 67 Pall Mall
We decided to drink a 1990 Haut Brion and a 1990 Lafite side by side. This was a wonderfully opportunity to see which one we preferred. Both are amazing with incredible complexity and depth. The Lafite is slightly more polished and refined like a city gent. The Haut Brion is more mature with some slight rough edges like a country squire. Both changed through the course of the evening offering us many different notes and tastes. We all preferred the Haut Brion to the Lafite but only by one point because it was more interesting. Both are incredible wines.
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4/14/2016 - ricknat1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Rich, round, ready, ripe this kept getting better in the glass so it may have merited a higher score. Many preferred this as WOTN but I thought the La Miss eclipsed it.
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3/16/2016 - kr522 wrote: 94 Points
well done with a fineness to the fruit, but not a powerhouse by any stretch and a little lacking in the midpalate.
definitely carries that 1990 roasted quality but maintains a sense of elegance as you'd expect from Haut Brion. i don't think it's in any danger of fading but i doubt it gets better from here
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2/4/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 95 Points
Certainly the best bottle of this wine that I have had. On the margin, one notch too ripe for my palate even by the standards of the vintage, but this is not a major detractor as there is a wide range of savory and earthy flavors to more than balance. Smooth and velvety, but certainly still at a point where it will benefit from additional bottle age.
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2/2/2016 - dream wrote: 91 Points
Still a deep, solid color. There is a green tobacco note on the nose along with hot asphalt and dark spices. Decanted for 2 hours, it kept improving but is drinking younger than I expected. Strong notes of green tobacco, graphite and black fruits lead to a complex finish with very fine-grained tannins and lovely smoky notes. There is a mean greenie in this bottle which turned me off some and this wine continues to under-perform in the last couple of years. A dumb phase perhaps? 91?
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1/28/2016 - nywine68 Likes this wine: 95 Points
1989 vs. 1990 Bordeaux (Vaucluse): 89 vs 90 tasting. At first I gave the slight edge to the 90 but as the wines opened up more in the glass I reversed scores (95 vs 96) but in the end we're splitting hairs here. Both wines are gorgeous. Earthy smokey dark fruit flavors with incredible depth. An amazingly long finish. The 90 as usual was rounder than the 89.
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12/28/2015 - KenK Likes this wine: 94 Points
I really loved the aromatics here of crushed gravel, green pepper and earthy dark red aromas. The palate while quite good was a bit leaner than aromas indicated. Because it was popped and poured from magnum, grabbed a second Poe about an hour later and really opened. This should have been decanted. My bad. Probably unrated this bottle in hindsight.
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12/27/2015 - Burgundy Al wrote: 92 Points
Holiday Champagne Dinner (Chez Kailin - Northbrook IL): Great aromatic start with dark cherry, liqueur, espresso and dark chocolate, with hints of earth. Slightly less exciting flavors, slightly more evolved, with a good minerally texture.
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12/22/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
This is a stunner. With its smoke fuled, cigar box, caramel, cassis, florest floor and blackberry nose to get you going, things are just getting started. The luscious, perfectly ripe fruits with layers of hedonistic fruits just doesn't quit from start to finish. This is drinking now and it's still young! You can pop a cork today or in 10-15 or 20 years. It's up to you.
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12/15/2015 - jmoore431 wrote: 96 Points
Tasted beside the LMHB: denser, more extract; greater complexity and finish. But, oh what a contest!
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11/21/2015 - Aglenardi Likes this wine: 99 Points
The WOTN exceptionally dense and complex wine with extreme depth of flavors and aroma. Aroma of blackberry blackcurrant and cherries with a mouthful of dense fruit on the palate, almost chewy-like. Many years ahead for this wine. Absolutely amazing
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10/30/2015 - Paul S wrote: 94 Points
1982, '89 and '90 Left-Bank Bordeaux Dinner (Imperial Treasure Shanghai, Ngee Ann City, Singapore): An excellent wine, but this was somehow less enjoyable than both a 1982 Palmer and a 1989 Pichon-Lalande in the same flight. Strangely, the Haut-Brion, which is usually quite the crowd-pleaser, just felt a little more modern and less effortlessly charming than the two Medocs. Nevertheless, this was still a very good wine in its own right. It had a beautiful nose, very lifted, with wafts of fragrant tobacco and cedar wood, sweet cassis and plums, then a little sous bois, a touch of vanilla bean and just that little floral hint, all coming together in a bouquet that had a wonderful clarity to it. At first, there were just a few drifts of volatile acidity in there somewhere, but these parted quickly enough. The palate carried on where the nose left off in lovely fashion. It felt really clean and fresh, with wonderful lifted acidity racing through very compact, but nicely pure flavours of cassis and black cherries seasoned with tobacco and earthy sous bois notes. It felt nicely rounded on the attack and midepalate, but there was still a little bite of fine tannins towards the long tobacco-infused finish, which then saw little notes of mint and menthol and a pat of funky earthiness emerge with time. This was perhaps less ready than other two wines on its flight, so that it came across less nuanced and multidimensional, with the fruit more strident and primary, but I really did love the effortless clarity and juicy energy it had along with the very linear precision and focus that the very best 1990s all share. Excellent stuff for sure, but I would actually have left this aside for another 4-5 years at least - I think it will be just lovely when it hits its stride.
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10/17/2015 - Ericsson wrote: 98 Points
Magnifique bouteille achetée en primeur, into neck. Bouchon légèrement friable mais sorti d'une seule pièce.
Moitié carafée durant 1 heure et bouteille finalement bue en 3 heures.
Grenat moyen avec bords plus clairs. À l'ouverture, nez sur les arômes de fruits noirs puis se refermant. Ensuite, notes de mûres, cassis et framboises qu'on retrouvera en bouche. Notes florales aussi, un peu de fumée.
Pour moi, la bouche est distinctive de ce grand vin, avec une belle attaque, aucun creux, beaucoup de variété de goûts, de l'ampleur, de la longueur, aucune lourdeur, de la classe et de la distinction et, surtout, cette magnifique trame acide qui sous-tend le vin et accompagne si bien une très longue finale.
Selon moi, grâce à cette fine acidité, le 1990 est supérieur au 1989 pour la race qu'elle lui procure... (De toute manière, je préfère les bordeaux 90 aux 89...)
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9/30/2015 - ttriant Likes this wine: 99 Points
Decanted for 2+ hours
Dark red color with some brown at the edges
Aromas with nuance of violets and mature berries
Big, balanced wine with intense flavors of currants and mature berries
Long finish, just an amazing wine experience...
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9/17/2015 - ricknat1 wrote: 96 Points
A phenomenal bottle, served blind and immediately recognizable although we were told it was an 86
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9/11/2015 - SimonG wrote: 93 Points
Keith's Blind Challenge 2015 (The Medlar, London): Blind. Lovely, bretty, slightly smokey nose. A sweetness too. Quite broad. Really surprised to discover what it is — not nearly as focused and together as a previous bottle. Presumably the Brett. Had guessed 85/78 LMHB. Still lovely, but a shade below previous experience. ****
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8/29/2015 - liber Likes this wine: 96 Points
Chez G, decanted an hour - deepish dusty garnet, little rim development; classy HB nose with tobacco, iodine, graphite, trace violet and road tar particularly noteworthy; fullish, very long and persistent, lovely energy and grip to fruit, but graceful and relaxed as befits wine of this quality, beautiful balance and structure, much more life here, thank you Stephen, needs matching with 89 and 90 La Mission! Very fine plus (19/20).
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8/22/2015 - cakie Likes this wine: 100 Points
2nd of the case. The first bottle of the case wasn't right but the second was sensational. Fully mature, endless finish and what a wonderful wine. I'm praying the remaining 10 follow this one. This wine epitomises what claret should be and is why its my favourite! Perfection.
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7/30/2015 - reichken wrote: 94 Points
deep dark layered wine, with full mouth of earth dark fruits with a glycerin edge
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7/11/2015 - Meneley wrote:
Lead pencil, earthy, dried red currents. More fruit in 1990 than 89. Perfect wine...brilliant! LO
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5/29/2015 - jmoon Likes this wine: 96 Points
rich ripe full thrilling long . Slightly overshadowed by 53 Lafitte at p mills courtesy of r m but... Was amazingly good proud mineral dark elegant powerful poise
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5/12/2015 - fcxj wrote: 96 Points
Ex-chateau, not 89 still but wow
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5/2/2015 - steinersing wrote: 96 Points
Open and ready, but long life ahead. Truffle and earthy tones, some fine acidity. Long. Typical HB nose. Alongside 1982 - the latter with hints of cigar box which I did not get in 1990. Otherwise clearly siblings.
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4/25/2015 - Eric wrote:
Bordeaux in Bern (Bern, Switzerland): Mmm, my favorite wine of the tasting. Classically roasted, ripe and smokey, earthy with a hint of truffle. This is a wine of utter pleasure, and it was firing on all cylinders.
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3/21/2015 - cakie wrote: 88 Points
Not sure about this, the cork looked new which can't be right? Case bought from reputable merchant 2 yrs ago so don't know. The wine was massive, amazing concentration and a wine that we really enjoyed with roast rib of beef but only after it had breathed for over an hour, with my father who is an old school Bordeaux fan. Thing is I've had this before at the end of the 90s at the haut broom tasting at the ritz )sorry to name drop) and it was stunning. I'm not sure this is the same wine or maybe it's just closed down a bit Sorry this note isn't much use. I'd love to hear from others who have wines with good provenance to compare.
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2/22/2015 - rilina wrote: 96 Points
Powerfull, fullbodied, tobacco, leather, well balances thus a little to warm. Very long aftertaste, impressive wine that needs more time.
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2/21/2015 - beatles Likes this wine: 94 Points
Haut-Brion dinner: A very classic example of both the wine and the vintage; it is smooth, almost creamy, a little warm in the style, vanilla interferes with the tobacco notes, a hint of the south here. Hard to resist, and I doubt it will become any better than this.
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2/15/2015 - premiercruclasse wrote: 94 Points
Consumed at The Little Door with HJ. Tastes like liquid smoke, smooth tannins, very long and lingering finish. Very one of a kind wine, but I don't know if I like the overpowering smokey flavor. I wouldn't pay $650 for it.
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2/13/2015 - dream wrote: 91 Points
This bottle seemed in perfect condition but this wine seems to have closed up recently and hopefully will emerge again. This bottle showed classic flavors of Haut Brion with notes of scorched earth, tobacco and smoky leather but the acidity was stubbornly high and affected the finish which was high-toned but showed a lovely spice-driven complexity. 91?
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1/30/2015 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Dinner with Charles M - 96 DP Oeno, 96 Dom Rose, 90 Margaux, 90 Mouline, 93 Ponsot Chambertin & etc. (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): Expressive nose displaying ripe black fruits, blackberries, cassis, strong presence of ash and smoke, lead pencil, wet tobacco, cedar and earth. Excellent concentration, sweet dark fruit driven palate impression, quite silky and seamless, bright acidity, nicely integrated tannins and lovely long finish. This particular bottle seems to resemble La Mission Haut Brion with the ash and wet tobacco. With air, it became fresher and more polished. This is a really youthful example.
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1/27/2015 - eschaefer Likes this wine: 95 Points
Medium body pale garnet hue with a slight tinge of brick on the fringe. Powerful nose of smoke, cassis and piled Saddle leather. Still Youthful at 25 years, but the mood this wine evoked was brooding. Lengthy finish. Delicious and probably has another ten as acidity was still vibrant. Highly recommended.
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12/31/2014 - MatthewF wrote: flawed
New Year's Eve 2014 (My house): From half bottle with a fill just below base neck. Nose had an odd note, but it seemed to be just a touched reduced. Palate on the other hand had a weird medicinal note and finished harsh and acidic. Went back a couple hours later and only become worse. Too bad.
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12/23/2014 - Peliot Likes this wine: 98 Points
Gorgeous. My best ever bdx with the possible exception of the 96 Latour. Quintessence of smooth. I've had a few experiences lately where I felt like I rushed and my last sip was the best, so I really wanted to be patient with this bottle (in terms of decanting) but I'm afraid I was too patient. I drank half a glass pop n pour and it was powerful and at it's best. I then waited 2.5 hours but by then It was fading, though still perfectly balanced and smooth as a mountain spring. To fellow winos I would advise pop n pour. Great wine.
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12/19/2014 - Billigan Likes this wine: 95 Points
End of the year means busting open some treasures, and from the notes here, I figured this wine might be ready to play ball. Two hours in the decanter, and the huge nose gained steam, with slightly roasted dark fruit, hot stones, coffee grounds, and cigar smoke. I feel like the warm vintage may have obscured some of the Gravesian character, but the aromatics were still deep and very compelling. Rich, borderline-overripe fruit on the palate and surprisingly soft, almost buttery tannin considering its relative youth. But this buttery quality made it just so silky and delicious going down. A regal wine for sure, but not quite reaching the heights I'd hoped for, perhaps held back by this vintage's particular character.
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12/18/2014 - dcwino wrote: 95 Points
Holiday Bordeaux Dinner with Eric - 82, 89 & 90 FGs among others (The Grill Room at Capella Hotel Georgetown): Ripe black fruits, lead pencil, cedar, tobacco, licorice and mocha. Warm and round, ripe black fruit driven palate impression and nicely integrated tannins. Very tasty but not as sophisticated as the 89.
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12/18/2014 - Eric wrote:
A great dinner at Capella in DC (Washington DC): I love where this is. So much more open and giving than the 1989. It's not as profound a wine and clearly much more a product of the vintage. Ripe, roasted, horsey. Chicory coffee. Roasted earth. A warm, voluptuous wine. Haut Brion always makes me happy!
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11/22/2014 - sdr wrote: 94 Points
Whereas the '89 HB is still backward and brooding, the '90 is completely developed and mature. The color is almost garnet, the rim is orange. The bouquet of woodsmoke, coffee and raisin is obvious and compelling if you favor the Graves typicity. Medium body, flavorful, consistent, beautifully balanced.
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11/15/2014 - Ramberg wrote: 98 Points
Bought this bottle a few years back, and saved it for a tasting, that never happened, and then did not happen again...
So I decided to finaly pull the cork today, because I felt I was worth it.
Goddamn!
This is how a great Left bank Bdx. should behave & taste.
Semi mature nose, showing great depth and complexity.
Stable tones, with great strikes of expensive tobacco, coffee, spicy dry herbs, cassis, currants, minerals, gravel, graphite and pencil lead.
Talk about trade mark nose!
And the palate does not disappoint.
Smooth and silky, but with energy and punch enough to go for many, many years.
Earth, fine ripe velvety deep dark fruit…
Such a complex palate!
First stage of maturity I would say.
Structure enough to live for at least my life time.
Very clean and complex, with an incredible length.
Lively and fresh fruit present, no signs of being 25 years of age, and starting to fade.
Many years of joy left, but in a great window now.
Great, great, great HB!
Best 1990 I’ve had perhaps (together with the 1990 Cheval Blanc and the 1990 Ch. Margaux):
Just what I needed.
(97 – 100)
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11/4/2014 - rossi.wine wrote: 98 Points
More evolution in colour here. On the nose sweeter, very ripe fruit, complex with notes of graphite, undergrowth, spices, tobacco and hints of minerality. On the palate rich and powerful, but retaining wonderful elegance. Smooth and silky, great balancing freshness, lovely texture, wonderful finish - very very long and persistent with a lovely mineral touch at the end. Absolutely stunning. 97-99
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11/4/2014 - Papies wrote: 98 Points
5 Decades of Haut Brion, with James Handford MW (Handford Wines, London): Quite a dark wine, from colour, to nose to the ripe core of fruit on the palate. Beautiful, open nose, rich fruit, complex, light cocoa. Good depth and structure. Still on the young side and less ready than the 1989 (Papies 98) but this is a very complete wine with lots of life ahead of it. Has a persistence that is admirable. 97-98 and lots of life ahead of it and another masterpiece from the 1990 vintage. Second only to the 1989 on the day for the group.
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9/27/2014 - WildeMeeuw Likes this wine: 96 Points
Paris Tasting in Zwolle (again... at last) (De Librije - Zwolle): Kleur: Robijnrood, rand gaat richting oranjebruin, iets verkleuring Aroma / bouquet: Mooi en klassiek bouquet, snuffelwijn, herfsbos, aards - champignons en een vleugje truffel, wat gedroogd fruit, vooral pruimen, heerlijk Smaak / Afdronk: Geweldig mooie, complexe wijn, veel boterzachte tannines, prachtige balans, zacht zuur, geweldig mooi en klassiek glas. Algemeen / potentieel: Wijn ontwikkelt zich nog in het glas, kan nog zeker 5-7 jaar mee. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 96/100
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Color: Ruby, edge goes towards orange brown, slightly fading Aroma / bouquet: Beautiful classic bouquet, sniff wine, autumn forest, earthy - mushrooms and a hint of truffle, some dried fruit, especially plums, delicious. Sophisticated and classic flavor of a great wine. Taste / Finish: Very beautiful, complex wine, lots of butter soft tannins, great balance, soft acidity, wonderful beautiful and classic glass General / potential.: Wine is still under development in the glass has certainly 5-7 years of reserve potential. 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Taste / Finish: 18 + General / potential: 9 = 96/100
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9/14/2014 - ATBridge wrote:
A Great French Dinner (Indianapolis, IN): Pronounced leather, tar/rubber (not in a bad way) and slight gamey notes on the nose. It took aggressive swirling and for the fruit to make its presence known. A big and complete wine. Still needs time.
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9/11/2014 - LWI wrote: 96 Points
Haut Brion Tasting 1918-1999 (Oslo): A clean, linear and crisp wine, much more structured than 1989. Although there is plenty of body and intensity, this suffered from coming after the 89, and did of course not have the enormous fruit of that legend. Structured, and with a tough and tannic finish. In my view, at least 10 years too young. My best 90 HB so far.
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9/11/2014 - EndreS Likes this wine:
Chateau Haut-Brion Vertical (Litteraturhuset, Oslo): This shows more cool fruits, and a clearer mineral note. Plenty of tobacco and just a touch of paprika. Smooth and silky, and extremely elegant. Awesome length of flavor. A beautiful wine. I really liked this one, perhaps even better than the '89.
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8/11/2014 - pjaines Likes this wine:
Regal and elegant and still rather upright at the moment - very polished and superb nose of lavendar, violets, wet stone, black fruits. Should have decanted as an hour later the wine really started to unfurl and let those tertiary characteristics start to peek out. Will be better in 10, even more amazing in 20. Right now I'd say this is still about latent potential.
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8/10/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Now we're talking. Edging close to its 25th birthday, the wine is clearly expressive. Smokey, tar, cigar box, forest floor, cassis and blackberry, with hints of dried cherry make up the nose. Sweet, soft and velvety, the wine personifies grace and elegance.
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8/2/2014 - johnh1001 wrote: 94 Points
1990 Dinner at University Club (Chicago): Much more open than the Margaux. More earth, asphalt, some smoke and sweet dark fruit on the nose. Wonderful harmony on the palate. More dark fruit and tobacco. Interesting mix of spice. Love the balance and long finish.
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7/22/2014 - burgcamel wrote: 92 Points
I have had this wine several times but I don't remember this much brett. I'm sure some would find the amount of brett acceptable but it was a little too much for me.
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7/11/2014 - dream Likes this wine: 96 Points
Beautiful HB nose of scorched earth and warm asphalt. Medium-bodied and gorgeous on the palate tasting just about fully mature. Simply delicious flavors of dark red fruits, sweet smoky earth, cedarwood and tobacco. The finish floats over the tongue with mind-boggling complexity with an incredible array of spices and minerals. Perhaps a touch rustic compared to say the '89 but this is a fabulous, deeply satisfying and terroir-driven vintage for Haut Brion.
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6/12/2014 - rwgray Likes this wine: 90 Points
A healthy dose of brett which made the initial taste a little off-putting. With a flavourfull meat dish it was quite nice but not what I was expecting.
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6/11/2014 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 95 Points
Stephen K 1990 BYOB Dinner (University Club of Chicago): Big and bold
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6/8/2014 - sandwich Likes this wine: 95 Points
Classic Bordeaux but not for the simple palates. This is structured and nuanced with many subtleties. Feminine palates might reject this for its earthy and rustic notes, but there is a lot going on here. It has the expected nose of graphite and aged cheese, but the cassis, blueberry and boisenberry shine. The finish is dominated by char roasted wild boar tenderloin that makes you salivate.
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6/7/2014 - Russell Faulkner wrote:
UAE Wine Dinner: Now we are talking, fresh tobacco, spice, utterly classy without showing off in the slightest.
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5/7/2014 - RayOB Likes this wine: 97 Points
Drank at Davy's
Nose of cedar, earth, tar, tobacco, red berries and spice. Rich complex deep palate. Long length. This is wonderful stuff that has legs to last a lot longer. The only problem is the price.
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5/4/2014 - fatboi Likes this wine: 96 Points
Tobacco, earth, iron and red flowers. Tannins very alive but not over powering. was delicious with the burger we had. Wish I had more.
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4/29/2014 - BradE wrote:
Drunk with the 82. Although the 90 is a great wine, the 82 simply crushed it on this night.
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3/6/2014 - -E- wrote: 95 Points
(Blind) Klar, dyp rød med mild kant. Floral, parfymert nese med mørke, røde bær, brente toner og tobakk.
Bløt, innsmigrende og energisk frukt med flott konsentrasjon og dybde. Fokusert og presis med frisk, spisset syre. Finkornede, lett tørrende tanniner. Mørk, lettbrent frukt og toner av røk i utgang. Nydelig lengde. Veldig Pessac. Kan ligge lenge
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3/6/2014 - LWI wrote: 95 Points
1990 Bordeaux Horizontal: Blind. Tobacco, big fruit; It boasters a warm, earthy, and complex tastes. Still, very fresh, even some minerals, good tannins, structured, very good length. Not exactly a charmer, but a very good and food friendly wine.
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2/24/2014 - subtlet Likes this wine: 92 Points
1990 Bordeaux Dinner (Noisette, Portland, OR): DEEP blackberry scents explode from the glass, backed by a hint of molasses and a bowl of dark fruit. Hibiscus scents give a floral note, and cinnamon and nutmeg give some spice character. This is a gorgeous nose! Blackberries, dust, and a touch of candy hit the palate right away, with the candy flavors lingering long. There's a touch of green in the center accompanied by some light acid. Gentle tannins sit on the palate for a long time, while blackberries linger through to a late finish along with nutmeg and cinnamon.
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2/18/2014 - galenico Likes this wine: 99 Points
BORDEAUX 1990 ALLA CIECA (ENOTECA ROSSORUBINO TORINO): WOTN. Lo intitolerei: "La trilogia del dollaro".
Naso chiuso e compresso: per la prima oretta nessuno l' ha considerato... poi si è fatto vivo e ha spiegato di che stoffa é fatto!
Una stoffa che arriva dal west, aranciato terroso, cose da indiani, pipa che sbuffa in un saloon, polvere e colpi in canna.
Naso morbido, suadente, cuoio fortissimo, fondina e cinturone, dollari accartocciati, polvere da sparo. Clint Eastwood ne "Il buono, il brutto e il cattivo"
In bocca migliora a ogni sorso... non ti molla più: liquirizia, pelle e polvere. Pronto da bere oggi e seta della migliore fattura.
Meraviglia.
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1/19/2014 - the player Likes this wine: 95 Points
Excellent nose dominated by leather, gravel, cigar tobacco and spice. With time in the decanter the fruit emerges to intermingle with the leather, tobacco and gravel. Velvety entry on the palate, full bodied mid palate and well integrated tannins for a long deliberate finish. Not as good as the first bottle I've had but just as enjoyable.
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1/2/2014 - sdr Likes this wine: 96 Points
Fabulous Haut Brion. Peak of maturity. Classical smoke and mineral profile. Delicate, fragrant, almost sweet. Medium body only, but very harmonious. Lovely.
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12/29/2013 - dream Likes this wine: 96 Points
So what's a 100 point nose? Open up a good bottle of this vintage of Haut Brion and you'll find out. Overwhelming smells of sweet tobacco, fireplace hearth, cedar, smoky gravel and deep dark spices just keep coming through. The palate is lush with flavors that echo the nose and a persistent smokiness that is just gorgeous. The finish is smooth, silky and complex with a hint of tannin left with just lovely notes of gravel and scorched earth. Impossible to stop smelling and drinking this and the only negative is this vintage is just not as deep and delineated as the best vintages of HB but what a superb showing for this hedonistic style.
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12/27/2013 - the player Likes this wine: 96 Points
Outstanding wine one of the best 1990s I've had. Crimson color with bricking throughout the body of the wine clearly reflecting the wine's age. This is clearly in its drinking window but has a long life ahead. Decanted and drank over an hour or so. Complex nose of black currant, raspberries, tar, old leather, hints of black olives, jasmin and spice cake. Very dense and complex wine, enters the palate with pure silky fruit, coats the mid palate with multiple layers of black and dark red fruits, but the leather and tar still present which is why this will always be one of my favorite wines. Very dense mid palate, just the right amount of acidity, this wine is dark, full bodied, dense, pure and elegant, and finishes very long. A little less delineation on the wine and a little less purity of fruit say versus the Margaux and Montrose of the same vintage which has me rating the nose closer to 100 points but a slightly lower rating on the palate. Nonetheless an outstanding wine, to be savored on a special occasion.
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12/17/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
A little bit of air or decanting would have added more to the experience. Still, even popped and poured, it was easy to find the smoke, black raspberry, Asian spice, leather, cigar box and plum filled aromatics. On the palate, the wine was rich, silky and alive leaving with a beautiful sense of purity of fruit in the long, graceful finish.
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12/6/2013 - JulianSkeels Likes this wine: 97 Points
Casual dinner. Decanted and drunk immediately although returned to bottle after 90mins (45-60mins would have been perfect). From a pristine bottle from cellar. What a nose. Initial charcoal and fresh tobacco becomes new saddle leather and smokey earth, then chestnuts and leather before the extra cedar emerges. Such a wonderful evolution, although with extra air the (for me) typical 1990 Bordeaux sweetness and fading kicks in. I really think this is at peak for the next 5 years.
Initially quite acidic, the terroir really shines after 60-90mins when in the mouth the wine has an supreme breadth and length combined with an aromatic but masculine complexity. In that window there is a perfect balance and complexity that matches any wine I have ever experienced. Unfortunately, it is still a 1990 and it doesn't last (like the 1989...)
97pts on average, but 99pts for the 30-60mins when the wine was in the perfect drinking window.
Still completely outclassed the 2004 Starderi Spinetta served before. Followed afterwards with a lovely 2010 Domaine Chevalier with cheese - which I can highly recommend.
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11/20/2013 - sindbad Likes this wine:
Powerful perfume. Silky on the palate, with dark cigar and tobacco notes. A pleasing iron/blood tang completes the wine. Pure class.
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11/12/2013 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
DOUBLE BLIND 95+ DINNER @ DEERING BAY YACHT & COUNTRY CLUB (WINE CELLAR @ DEERING BAY YACHt & COUNTRY CLUB, MIAMI, FL): The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Barnyard, Black currant (cassis), Plum, Cedar, and Lead Pencil. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Long. Noticeably more Brett than the other Bordeaux. Luis' wine.
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11/8/2013 - DonWinspear wrote: 96 Points
A dark garnet color. The nose hints at classic bordeaux; tobacco, spice, cedar. The palate was surprisingly youthful for a near quarter century wine. The tannins are still present complemented with an acidity that belies its age. Notes of earth, tobacco, dark fruit, spice. No question, this is a classic wine that is not only drinking beautifully now, it has the ability to last many more years in the cellar. Gorgeous.
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9/20/2013 - Nutty08 wrote:
HDH '90 vs '00 BDX Comparative Tasting (Chicago, IL - Spiaggia): Nose was a little less expressive and complex than the La Mission, but the finish would not leave the palate. Utterly sensational finish that lasted minutes. Compared to the La Mission, this was a little more stately, where the La Mission was more lush and forward. Among the best Bdx I’ve ever tasted. Sadly, this was gone before a re-taste. A++
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9/14/2013 - Alexepop wrote: 96 Points
- Ruby color and aromas of hay/straw - Unlike any wine I can recall. Full of aromas, vegetal and other that I would need to sit down with my 'le nez du vin' aroma kit to figure out. Fascinating. Quite frankly it tastes just ok.
First use of my new Coravin. The pouring worked great. We shall see how well it preserves at a later pour.
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7/25/2013 - aagrawal wrote: 96 Points
Bonham's and Butterfield Pre-auction tasting (San Francisco, CA): Powerful, youthful nose with cedar, graphite, very complex; palate is full bodied, balanced, integrated tannins. A superb wine with great balance and classic bordeaux character, lacking only a bit of uniqueness to take it into the stratosphere. Excellent now, likely a life ahead of it. 96
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7/11/2013 - Didman wrote: 94 Points
A beautiful gentle giant of a wine. Nicely matured for current drinking.
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4/29/2013 - SimonG wrote: 95 Points
Keith P @ Trompette (La Trompette, London): Classic Graves nose. Tobacco, cedar. Sweet fruit. Classic. Must be Haut Brion. 85? No, so maybe 82? Turns out to be the 90. Rich, rounded, some depth here. Sweet-fruited, long, plenty of complexity here. Complete. *****
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3/16/2013 - sdr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Excellent showing for this just mature wine, destined always to live in the giant shadow of the '89. At home, I allowed my tasting sample to warm up for hours in a glass and it took that long for the classical warm brick, woodsmoke character to arrive. We drank it over a 2+ hour period at the restaurant but while it was clear this was a finely crafted Bordeaux, it didn't really shout "Haut Brion." I may need to change my strategy.
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2/12/2013 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Clear brick all the way to the edge, looks aged, but from a great vintage due to no change in meniscus; nose of menthol, cigar, tobacco, gravel, blue cheese, earth, and blowing Graves; good richness and fat, not a ton of fruit but it makes it up with sweet tannin. Showed 1000% better than a bottle a week ago because this was a pop and pour rather than being decanted for several hours. Would not suggest decanting. Oh, called blind.
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2/3/2013 - Rezy13 wrote: 90 Points
Super Bowl 2013 (Cumming, GA): Translucent color; cedar, sandy, red fruit, red flowers, ash; tobacco is long on the finish, tannin lingers but not tannic, tails off on the finish. Palate lackes, but the nose is great. Thought it was '88 La Mission Haut Brion. Everyone was shocked when it was revealed. Another disappointing showing for a historically great bottle after the '90 Montrose. Bummer.
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1/26/2013 - 83AJ wrote: 98 Points
Classic hb. Only 20 min decant and we're on the way. Not
Sure this one lives 25 more years, plus it's delicious classy
Juice now.
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1/16/2013 - Lype Likes this wine: 95 Points
Worth the praise, attractive marmalade on the nose, layers after layers of refined minerality, subtlety and beauty, will last for decades and get even better.
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12/29/2012 - MauriceE wrote: 100 Points
This is the second time I had the privilege to drink this wine. Again from a cellar where the bottle was kept from release (restaurant De Leuf**) - so extremely important to know how the bottle was kept!! It was simply divine. When this hits the glass, it is hard to image wine is "just" the fermented juice from grapes. This wine seduces, thrills, amazes, etc. Perfect balance. It has a velvety feel in the mouth, but the sheer power shines through clearly. As one very high-regarded taster remarked in reaction to my note: "I regard this as the perfect wine. I simply cannot imagine a better wine, not even in the mind." Though I can imagine other candidates, I surely agree with the sentiment.... we need a new scale when a good example of this wine does NOT get the perfect score...!!
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11/4/2012 - svdheijden wrote: 97 Points
Whimsical performance of this famous wine. Drank together with the Mission Haut Brion 1990, which performed far more stable. Hardly any nose at all when opened, then double decanted to open it up; hardly showing any age on the rim, but in the nose at first full of brett and very secondary (leather, underwood, mushrooms, truffle), even giving the impression of being in its aftermath. This stage nor more than 90 pts. Very slowly this wine got its act together; color deepened and some fruit emerged, but not convincingly so. After 3-4 hours the true quality and style of this wine could be noticed. Started more like a Pauillac than a Graves wine. In the end broad spectrum with juicy meat, bacon, tobacco and a very attractive silky tannines and freshness on the palate. 96 points. So still, the MHB90 beat its neighbour today... P.S. 24hrs later (33 hrs after opening!) the wine shows its full class: no hint of oxidation, strong notes of kirsch, eucalyptus, liquorice, anise (I never encountered anise before in any wine), cedar wood/cigar box, tobacco and the typical dusty, gravelly Graves perfume. The old lady kept us waiting but at last, there she is: utterly elegant and extremely well balanced.
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10/20/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
1990 Haut Brion opens with licorice, tobacco leaf, cassis, smoke, fresh herbs and stone. Soft, round, plush and sexy, this hedonistic wine pleases the palate and senses. 97 Pts
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10/18/2012 - G_H Likes this wine: 93 Points
The White Club private tasting and dinner (Basel): Walnut, leather, chamomile tea, round and approachable, felt much more mature then the Mission 89 next to it.
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9/15/2012 - Dave Canada wrote: 98 Points
Super Tasting 1 of 6 - Andrew does 1989 Bordeaux (Langdon Hall, Blair, Ontario): Very pretty nose of leather, minerals cedar and currants. It is immediately evident that this is from a different vintage as the fruit seems riper. The palate shows smoke, minerals, cherry, black currants, and cedar. This is lacking just a touch of definition in comparison to the 1989 Haut Brion as well. But as my friend says. "now you are picking peanuts from poop" Agreed….this wine is awesome….the finish never ending.
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9/15/2012 - Wine Canuck wrote: 100 Points
Super Tasting 1 of 6 - Andrew (Langdon Hall, Cambridge, ON): This is the best red wine I've ever had. I love being the contrarian and in a flight with the '89 LMHB, '89HB, '90LMHB I had a preference for this wine. This was probably the most open of the flight. Also undoubtedly the most aromatically complex in this lineup, which always gets me. Just ads a touch of funk to set it apart. Leather, sweat, earth, coffee, meaty. Palate lingers nicely, and is very long. Absolutely love this wine!
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9/15/2012 - alittle wrote: 98 Points
Tasting Group Dinner Series (1 of 6) / Andrew's 28th Birthday (Red Room, Langdon Hall, Cambridge, Ontario): Popped and poured, followed for the course of the evening. In the glass, deep garnet with mild brick. A soaring nose, that was slightly more complex than the 1990 La Mission Haut Brion, showing notes of blackberries, plums, dried fig, iodine, smoke, brine, crushed rocks, cedar, leather, dried tobacco, pyrazine, and some brettanomyces adding a nice funk that contributes to the overall complexity. This is one of those wines that you could sit there a keep picking out different scents and aromas that waft out of the glass. On the palate, again, quite lush, with an ample amount of glycerin, with flavours of dark fruits; blackberry, blackcurrant; leather, dried tobacco and mineral, paving the way to a nice long finish. As with the 1990 La Mission Haut Brion, I prefer the style of the 1989s a little more, which show more focus, are a touch less ripe, and have better purity of fruit.
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9/12/2012 - Wowofwine wrote: 100 Points
One of the best Haut Brion I have tasted. Perfect balance. Not so far the 1989!
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8/14/2012 - magnusvinum Likes this wine: 98 Points
After decanting was dominated by earthy notes (would recommend at least 2 hours decanting before drinking) but gradually the classic scorched earth, cassis, floral, mineral notes of Haut Brion began wafting up like lazy smoke. The palate is extremely multi-dimensional with silky fine tannins and an endless finish. A very great wine that is just hitting its stride but in no way is starting to fade. If you have this in your cellar please don't hurry, it's surely going to get even better!
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7/4/2012 - PatrikO wrote: 96 Points
Just reaching its plateau, lots of tobacco, leather and dark fruits, very giving on the nose and just beautifully silky in the mouth.
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6/5/2012 - nytiger wrote: 98 Points
Wine of the night in a tasting of 9 bordeaux, wonderfully complex and delicious
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6/2/2012 - Milos wrote: 96 Points
Drank at dinner with Heinz and the gang. I had this wine about a year ago and was expecting a velvety intense wine. This one exploded from the glass with dark red fruit, mostly blackberry, menthol, funky barnyard notes and cigars leaves. The palate provides intense fruit flavours, mineral notes and low acidity. Tannins are soft and finish very very long. More what I would expect from Haut Brion.
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5/24/2012 - MusicAndWines wrote: 98 Points
A near perfect bottle of wine. I don't know if I could ever give a wine a perfect score of 100, but if I ever did, this one would be close!
This bottle still has a lot of ageing left. Too bad I only had one. A splendid fully bodied Bordeaux that is perfectly balanced and just the right amount of acidity and tannins. I tasted a bit of earthiness, smoke and a touch of oak. I felt like royalty drinking this wine!
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4/12/2012 - DonalOB Likes this wine: 98 Points
Antique Wine Company dinner (Hong Kong Club): Ruby with pale rim. Very smokey on the nose with blackcurrant, black truffle and black raspberries. Also some tobacco - black tobacco??
Great feel in the mouth. Long with a sweetness from the fruit on the finish. This was complex and got better and better in the glass.
Seems to be drinking at its prime.
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3/1/2012 - dream wrote: 96 Points
Gorgeous aromas of road tar, black fruits, warm gravel and charred oak. This is a beautiful and elegant Haut Brion that's medium-to-full bodied and very transparent to the terroir with wonderful flavors of scorched earth, hot gravel, warm bricks and asian spices. Finishes with a lovely complexity with notes of char and tobacco. Still in need of a few more years to reach its peak. More open-knit and silky than the '89 but lacking that wines incredible depth and density. 96+
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1/25/2012 - englishman's claret wrote: 98 Points
89/90 Bordeaux Retrospective with Hart Davis Hart: The nose here is more expressive than the '89 - the difference is that this one has come to a beautiful, comfortable maturity. Red, brick-inflected Graves fruit with some great baked apple, horsey notes. Not exactly lithe, but not quite the meat on its bones that some of the Medocs show. This is a style I really enjoy.
Altogether less smokey, less brooding than the '89. Ready to go and while I don't think it will improve, I think this will last beautifully. I loved this.
5-
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1/16/2012 - abistodenas wrote: 97 Points
Bu sans prise de notes. Un vin d'une finesse et au touché incroyable. Nez sur des notes fumées, bois noble type sental, et bien plus encore. La bouche est extrèmement souple et d'un équilibre incroyable. La noblesse des arômes inspire un grand respect. Le cuir et des notes boisées d'une grande finesse accompagne un fruit mûr encore bien présent.
Une très grande bouteille, d'une buvabilité extrême malgré l'opulence des fragrances dégagées. 97
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12/22/2011 - dream wrote: 96 Points
This HB has finally lost it's baby fat and that streak of acidity/tannin that existed has finally integrated into the wine. The result is an amazing vintage of HB that's a little exotic but still terroir-driven. Full-bodied for a '90 with beautiful flavors of dark berries, warm bricks and smoky tar that lead to a fabulously complex, smoky finish with hints of roasted nuts and minerals. This is fast becoming one of my favorite HB's of all time. 96+
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11/28/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
WOW! This knock out perfume pops with smoke, tar, creme de cassis, leather, earth, tobacco, hot stone, cigar ash, blackberry and spicy aromas. If this does not get you going, Haut Brion is not your thing. Intense, powerful, concentrated and rich, with textures of sillky and velvet, there is not a hard edge to be found. The long, pure, clean, opulent, fresh, pure, spicy finish remains in your mouth for close to sixty seconds. This is not that far off the legendary 1989 Haut Brion. As this sells for half the price, this is the wine to buy.
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11/25/2011 - Lord of the Bottles wrote: 95 Points
Haut Brion Dinner with Jean-Philippe Delmas.: At Wine Society Haut Brion Dinner with Jean-Philippe Delmas. Final grand vin in the line-up and still incredible, smoke, fruit, gravel, dark chocolate, truffle, earth.
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10/22/2011 - Bill Bucklew wrote: 92 Points
Earthy nose that didn't blow off. Strong secondary flavors with some red cherry in the background. Tobacco and graphite with the cherry on the drawn out finish.
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4/29/2011 - salil wrote: 96 Points
Darker in its flavour profile and more powerful and brawny than the '85 poured earlier; this starts out with a similar scent of pipe tobacco, cedar, leather and dark fruited flavours, but it's much richer and more primary in the mouth with the fruit very concentrated and forward and plenty of tannin beneath. There's impeccable balance and tremendous length - spectacular now, and I imagine this will only get better with age.
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3/10/2011 - tbabes wrote: 100 Points
I brought this with us to dinner at the French Laundry; the sommelier opened and decanted for us about an hour before service. The fill was into the neck and the cork was prisitne; this bottle was in perfect condition. A purple-ruby core, turning to blood red at the rim; looked a bit younger than a bottle tasted two years prior. A heavenly bouquet, offering up notes of ripe dark fruits, tree bark, tobacco, black truffle and earth. Medium-bodied, with a velvety texture, soft tannins, great balance, impressive delineation, and a stunning finish.
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2/1/2011 - Remony wrote: 97 Points
Decanted one hour. Surprisingly no sediment at all. Bottle and label immaculate, level perfect, cork tight and in pristine condition. Colour deep, no lightening or bricking. First two glasses -- little nose, wine slightly unknit, some tannin; cedar, tobacco, pebbles and rosemary, not very expressive and an impression more of minerals than of fruit; fine but seems slightly unnatural, unyielding, incomplete. Third & fourth glasses -- the components have now melded together; a glorious expression of fruit, stones, cedar and herbs; no longer tannic, very long, a wine to be sipped and savoured for a whole evening. Lovely. Should have been decanted for at least 3 hours. A special bottle of wine, and the last before my traditional annual abstinence from 2 February to Good Friday, nearly 12 weeks this year because Easter falls very late. Oh dear -- will I hold out that long? [I didn't, but I did do 6 weeks.]
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1/10/2011 - Eric Likes this wine:
Dinner with the WOFW folks (London): Wow this was strong showing for this wine, the cleanest example if 1990 HB I have ever tasted. Crazy smoke and roast moving to gravel and cherry, this screams of Graves. Such amazing concentration, nobility and poise.
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1/1/2011 - Zweder wrote: 96 Points
Beautiful bouquet with luxurious oak, cigars and surprisingly good cherries, which imo is not usual in Bordeaux wines. Nevertheless it adds to the complexity. On the palate the same impressions as well as chocolate, a lot of sweetness and acidity and a good dose of alcohol. Soft tannin. Elegant and powerful at the same time. A great wine!
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12/27/2010 - Khamen wrote: 99 Points
Utterly, stupidly sexy. There is a beautiful charred note on the nose, like smouldering chacoal, which really gives it a lift. Surprisingly sweet fruit in here, much more evolved than the 1990 Latour. A real palate-coater with luxurious velvety concentration and immense depth. I've not had the legendary 1989 but without doubt the finest Haut-Brion I have tried so far, a step up even from the sublime 1995. Will keep, and may improve marginally in bottle but if you have these you really need to try one. I preferred this to the Latour, although both are absolutely classic expressions. Glorious stuff.
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12/20/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
1990 Haut Brion is the real deal! Cigar box, smoke, earth, truffle, roasted dark berries, plums and tobaccos aromas make up the perfume. In the mouth, this plush, round, opulent, sexy wine coats your palate. The intense, rich, pure finish is loaded with sweet cassis, chocolate covered blackberry and dark cherries. 98 Pts
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11/20/2010 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fabulous wine that reminds me of the equally fabulous '90 Margaux. So deep, so dark, so delicious. Seems dominated by cab sauv now which typically makes up 75% of the blend. Blackberry and cassis. Lovely sweet fruit. Just beginning to enter its plateau of maturity. The tannins and structure are there and surely the wine will become more complex and mulifaceted with more time.
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8/28/2010 - clementwolf wrote: 94 Points
Wine brought to dinner by friend. Colour was brownish-red with orange rims, wine looks older than 20 years old and I initially thought it could be from the 80s. Good strong nose of dark fruits, tobacco, minerals and earth. The texture was medium with round tannins and a long finish. Tasted this before but this bottle seems to be a little bit different. Maybe there is something wrong with the storage? Very good wine overall.
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7/28/2010 - jlgnml wrote:
BYOB Haut Brion 60 Year Perspective (Les Nomades Chicago): Very clean, good flavor, great future, abrubt finish for now, a wine in progress, potential is good, nose still a little closed.
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7/2/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Served blind at Chateau La Mission Haut Brion over dinner - This aromatic delight opens with jammy dark berries, smoke tobacco, hot stones, licorice, cigar box and baked cherries. Sensuous opulence could be the name of a porn star, or the right descriptor for this silky wine which ends with a rich bath of cassis and black cherries.
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6/5/2010 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Superb Haut Brion approacing it's apogee but with lots of energy and thrust. Slightly subdued bouquet, more about bright dark berries than smoke and earth. Blind, I would have guessed a fine Medoc, such as Margaux. Very full for HB and the endless waves of blackberry and black cherry are delightful. Tannins are rounded, acidity is fine. In a few more years additional complexity may develop and push the score even higher.
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5/22/2010 - 60ouvrees wrote:
Real breed and class here. Excellent wine.
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5/20/2010 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 92 Points
1990 Château Haut-Brion (Frankrijk, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan) Kleur: Dieprood Aroma / bouquet: Prachtig rijp bouquet, donker fruit, kruidnagelen, chocolade met kersen = mon chery, mahonie, sigarenblad. Smaak / Afdronk: Superkrachtig maar superrond. Zacht zuur, werkelijk boterzachte tannines, powerwijn, kracht en sappigheid, ruim in de alcohol. Algemeen / potentieel: Met iets minder alcohol grenst de wijn aan perfectie. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 12 + Smaak / Afdronk: 17 + Algemeen / potentieel: 8 = 92/100
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5/18/2010 - MRichman wrote:
1990 Left Bank Bordeaux Horizontal: Broad, herbal & complex. Soft, minty/menthol with a long herbal finish. Goes on forever and expands on the finish. There is so much going on with this wine. My WOTN.
A
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4/30/2010 - soyhead wrote: 94 Points
1st Gro(w)th Nite at PRIMAs (PRIMA, Walnut Creek): nose - dark tea, blackberry
mouth - rich, dark fruit, coffee, with complex 2ndary flavors (mushrooms). Long tannic finish with considerble life ahead of it. Consensus WOTN.
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3/31/2010 - jonnyoro wrote: 100 Points
drank this last night at Baker and Banker in SF- along with white: 2006 Judge, 2006 Aubert Lauren, and 1997 Chapoutier Oree; and the reds: 1990 Chateaux Margaux and 2002 Shafer HSS. What fantastic wines. this is the fifth time i've had this wine and by far the best (last time was 2 yrs. ago). entering its perfect drinking window, this was full bodied, massive wine that is still light on its feet- scorched earth? you bet! great minerality? boat loads! super mid palate and an awesome finish? the best! the good news? 4 out of 5 of the other wines were perfect tonight too. this haut brion is easily my wine of the year so far (and I have been fortunate to have had some great wines this year).
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3/14/2010 - rralls wrote: 97 Points
97-98+. Right up there with the best wines I've ever had. Had a small glass from another table.
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3/13/2010 - RiedelBeagle wrote: 94 Points
Drinking well.
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2/21/2010 - kr522 wrote: 93 Points
great nose. in the mouth it was big but the terroir is so dominant with earthy and mineral flavors i felt like i was chewing on coffee beans. for me it partially obscured the fruit. i never thought there could be too much Graves characteristic in a wine, but here it is. The 89 is clearly better
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11/27/2009 - vespasian wrote: 97 Points
Stunningly complex nose of spice, cedar and leather with a strong note of cigar box infused cassis and minerals. Some licorice and vegetal evolution. Lifted, complex and vibrant; Fantastic on the palate, elegant with good body. Super concentrated and flavoursome. Earthy, dark smoky fruits. Powerful and profound - a truly great Haut Brion.
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10/22/2009 - Rani wrote: 98 Points
Ran's 40th Birthday Extravaganza (Israel): Dark and brooding, this fragrant beauty showed notes of barnyard, star-anise, saddle leather, figs and thyme. Hugely complex, with lots of cigar tobacco, ripe blackcurrant, plums and a velvety texture on the palate. A long, sweet finish leaves you wanting more. Flirting with perfection.
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10/9/2009 - ricknat1 wrote: 98 Points
One of the best Haut Brion's we have had yet. Better then the 79 or 82 (so far). The nose is incredibly complex and smacks you in the face with leather, spices, dark fruits and other earthy, smoky ingredients. in the mouth it is full bodied, rich, luxurio
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9/28/2009 - JScott wrote: flawed
Corked and then some. Volatile nastiness is a bonus.
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9/26/2009 - JScott wrote: flawed
Corked profoundly.
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8/1/2009 - JJL wrote: 95 Points
From a new lot - bottles were pristine. Anise, charcoal, coffee and some cherry on palate with white lily on nose, great balance. This bottle drank young. I have noticed that some of the big Haut Brion and La Miss vintages ('89/'90) and also '86 Mouton drink better now from less than pristine bottles. Seems as if the well kept bottles are aging slowly and still not ready for consumption. Will drink the 'ugly' bottles first.
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7/21/2009 - dream wrote: 95 Points
Gorgeous wine, young but showing. Blacker fruits, classi HB nose of warm bricks and char. Big, velvety texture with good thickness and solid underlying acidity. Quite delicious but this should attain rarified status with another 5 years or more. 95+
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4/12/2009 - zimmy07 wrote: 94 Points
I would have thought this wine was 5 years old. This was still massive and the color was silly for being 19 years old. Tobacco, cedar and graphite dominate the mid palate on this wine. Very floral nose that carries over nicely to the mouth with a sweet fruit character to this. I had three great bordeaux's this evening, and all were great but for so many different ways
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4/2/2009 - psmith wrote:
Dinner with the Lees and Zimmers (Columbus, OH): Streamlined, elegant nose with earth, tobacco, and red fruits. Medium bodied but great balance, with softened fine tannins. Classy styling. Really good.
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3/20/2009 - Charlie Carnes wrote: 96 Points
My 40th at Daniel (Daniel NYC): Had this at Daniel next to a 1994 Mouline, and it was not a let down. What a sensational wine. It had the initial Haut Brion assault on all 5 senses. A beautiful rich red velvet appearance. The nose had so much going on it is hard to fathom. There was typical Graves like tobacco box, white flowers, sweet subdued spices, cassis liquor, earth. The mouthfeel was rich and voluminous, with beautiful taste of dark cassis and dry dusty Graves mineral, and a finish that lasted for minute. The oohs! and ahhs! from my wife and father would account for the 5th sense. Sorry here to leave out a little nuance description, but these notes are from memory as well. I believe this wine will improve from longer cellaring.
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3/6/2009 - JJL wrote: 98 Points
Brought to Acker auction at Cru. Opened the bottle at 3pm and as soon as I took a whiff from the decanter, I knew this was something special. My first taste confirmed that. I decided to decant for only an hour because I knew I would have lots of time at the auction to let it open and I did not want this to fade before I drank it. This was much bigger than the last bottle I had and the fruit decided to come out and play this time. The mouthfeel was luxurious and the acidity kept it fresh. The nose had a little mushroom and some cedar and cherry. The palate started with a little black fruit, which belied the bright cherry color of the wine. The finish was fresh with cherry tones that faded into wet stones, charcoal and leather. As great as the food is at Cru, I wanted to drink this wine by itself.
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2/11/2009 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
The wine sported a very, dark ruby tint. Smoke, truffles, herbs, cassis and black fruits galore made their way to your nose. This wine is very intense. Stunning levels of concentration coupled with multiple layers of flavor make this a treat for your senses. Layer after layer of flavor fill your mouth with joy. Very classy and elegant as well as rich.
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1/3/2009 - leerasr wrote: 100 Points
Pretty good, best so far. Penny's B-Day at the Grill
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12/27/2008 - dcwino wrote: 98 Points
Dinner at Cityzen, 82, 86, 89 and 90 first growth and LMHB (Cityzen, Washington DC): Very fresh, cassis, licorice, tobacco, anise with core blue fruit. Still very young and although a classic grave, a hint of Burgundian delicacy.
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12/20/2008 - tbabes wrote: 100 Points
Perfect fill; we brought this to our 10th anniversary dinner at Per Se. The sommelier decanted approximatley 1 hour prior to our first taste. An elegant ruby appearance, with no amber at the edge. A heavenly bouquet, offering up intoxicating scent of ripe dark fruits, flower (lilly), and white truffle, with hints of smoke and aged tobacco. Very flavorful in the mouth (but absolutely no sense of heaviness) with a lush texture, incredible concentration, and an hauntingly complex (and never-ending!) finish. To this day, the '90 Haut-Brion remains the finest Bordeaux wine that I have ever experienced!
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12/17/2008 - JJL wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for 3 hours, drank over next 3 hours. Deep cherry red color. Cherry infused limestone palate upon opening that progressed to an herbal, minty toothpaste palate. The fruit on this bottle never really evolved.
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12/13/2008 - winecowboy wrote: 90 Points
Cigar box, leather and oak. From a magnum but didn't show as well as expected. Perhaps it was wrongly matched with the food. Also the hype that it's close to the 1989 is just wrong.
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11/15/2008 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Lovers of Haut Brion cannot have enough of this wine in their cellar. This is almost at the level of the legendary 89. But, the 90 is much more fun and open to taste today. This is so packed and stacked with smoky fruit, it's almost unreal. The intoxicating perfume offers black fruit, forest floor, smoke, tobacco and spice notes that roar from the glass! Great concentration. Layer after layer of rich, deep, polished, rich, ripe roasted fruit take over every nook and cranny of your palate. The long finish is seamless and lasts close to a minute. The corpulent texture is pure silk and velvet. This is sublime. Still young, this will improve for decades. I hope the 98, 00 & 05 are this good!
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8/3/2008 - noppakit s. wrote: 99 Points
It's not easy... actually, it's very difficult to drink great Bordeaux along with great Burgundy but Haut-Brion 1990 can get through it.
Again, my love…...flawless……..…99/100…………
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7/19/2008 - la turque wrote: 98 Points
Beyond brilliant! Incredible balance, sweet fruit, soft tannins and acidity, lovely aromatic complexity. A stunning wine.
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7/19/2008 - BradE wrote:
Bordeaux in Verbier: A quartet of Haut Brion. 90, 82, 70, and 61. Started with the 90 and a very good place to start. For me, this wine never fails to impress. It screams class, and its fruit profile is stunning. Really good juice.
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5/12/2008 - Ricky99 wrote: 95 Points
At Alba... with a 90 pichon lalande...lots of fruit and great balance... not ballsy but big.
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4/15/2008 - gsquireh wrote: 97 Points
Wine and Food Society of New York annual BYOB (Steve Hanson's Primehouse, NYC): A Ripe and fragrant wine, the cassis merges with the toasted smoke-herb aroma. Rich and delicious, balanced and beautiful, this is a full-bodied forward and fruity wine-with gobs of concentration that makes this a meal in itself.
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1/25/2008 - noppakit s. wrote: 99 Points
4th Testing...This bottle seems to be more ready to drink. The 1st nose is medical scent then becomes to be the beautiful cassis, elegance nose of white truffle, chocolate, herbs, mineral, wonderful deep and clean. Very seductive...I hardly take my nose away from the glass.
Full-bodied in a very round and very smooth, very fine tannin, fruit-bomb but not too sweet. Fresk & Delicious.
The Aftertaste that takes my breath away so far, strong affect to my heart actually as same as last three times.
This is the most love-affair wine in my life.
Latour 1961 is a little bit better but can not be replaced into my tender-heart.
and Haut-Brion 1989 should be tested soon because it's the only one left that I hope it can be...more impressed !!!
Now I'm losing my mind...
Oops...I already said these things in my other testing-note...
Drink it now - 2030
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12/19/2007 - PeterH wrote: 97 Points
Consumed at Per Se.
How's it get better than this???
The perfect Bordeaux. Tobacco leaf, a little cigar box, a little cedar.
Big and tasty.
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12/16/2007 - tbabes wrote: 100 Points
Commanderie de Bordeaux Dinner; LaCroix. The finest wine I have ever experienced. Quite pretty to look at, with a brilliant purple-ruby core, turning ruby-garnet at the rim. An incredibly impressive bouquet, offering up wonderfully complex scents of ripe red and black fruits, tapenade and white truffle; upon further airing, picked up notes of lilly, leather and tobacco. Absolutely sublime in the mouth, with a round, generous character, full mid-palate, and a long finish; perfect balance and delineation.
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12/16/2007 - AllRed wrote: 94 Points
Tasted double blind. Garnet core, bricking toward the rim. Earthy tar and leather notes with dark fruit tones underneath. Sweet red fruit on the palate with a bit of tar coming in on the long finish. 94-95+. Thanks Rich & Dana!
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9/24/2007 - Paul D wrote:
Wine Society Famous Five Tasting - Bordeaux First Growths 2000 & 1990 (Merchant Taylors' Hall, Threadneedle Street, London EC2): Medium garnet core, wide pale garnet rim. Classic developed, open baked, roasted stone nose (so it's true!), plenty of spice. Quite light and elegant on the palate with red-toned fruits, baked stones, nice lingering acidity on a sneakily lingering finish. Charming and drinking well now. Ranked 3rd out of 5.
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9/24/2007 - Rupert wrote: 92 Points
Famous Five tasting with Jancis Robinson (Merchant Taylors Hall, London): Pale, browning, evolved, tea-like nose, soft, sweet, tobacco and cedar - lovely, mellow claret - not big, though
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9/12/2007 - bwr wrote:
with bbq ribs showed strong barnyard nose and with game, smoke, tobacco, earthy flavors. archtypical of the the finest Bordeaux wines.
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9/9/2007 - noppakit s. wrote: 99 Points
My 3rd testing last night confirms the same feeling...It's still Rock 'n' Roll to me...The best wine in my world....
This is the most delicate wine... Unutterable !!!
...it can freeze your desire...hold you still with its 10 minutes long-aftertaste...
Drink it between 2010 - 2035
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5/29/2007 - noppakit s. wrote: 99 Points
Tasting one glass last year ( 98 points ) :
But this time, This bottle, it takes 4.5 hours of testing. ( opened 1.30 hours before drinking )
Very beautiful dark ruby, deep and clear in colour. Loads of aroma and bouquet intermixed in elegance style. Double dual-layered, multi-dimensions. Smell is so clean and deep...very very deep. A little bit too young, shows scent of wood but..lovely, flowery, berry, cedarwood, earth from the vineyard, wet stone and herbs. Very dramatic and high class...very smooth scent of lavenderand white/yellow flowers....Sorry for using a lot of word '' VERY ''
In the mouth, this full-bodied contains perfect ABC...Acidity, Balance and Complex. A little bit sweet, soft and very smooth, still tannic, firm tannin but nice...more than nice. Round and delicious. I wonder...how can it be...unbelievable !! This must be one of the best half-dozen wines in my life.
Aftertaste : WOW....fullfilled my heart !! It goes down very deep and stay there for a moment then slowly return on the same way up into my mouth...Long..Long and..Long...it keeps one part in my heart like never gonna leave me anymore. The most beautiful woman has true love and takes her nice time with me....
Recommend : Drink slowly. It may takes your heart away...so far...I'm losing my mind...still.... Drink it now - 2030
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5/7/2007 - MRichman wrote:
Haut Brion Vertical at Craft in NYC (Craft restaurant, NYC): A bit tannic. Bright but simple. Tobacco & tar with a darkish note. Very nice.
A
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5/7/2007 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 94 Points
Haut-Brion Vertical (Craft): It's odd how evolved this is, tasting ten years older than both the '89 and '85 beside it. Here the fruit profile is redder but showing more minerals and iron. It's the equal of the '89 in terms of roundness and finesse but its array of flavors is much wilder. There's a strong sense of umami, meatiness with a little salinity.
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4/10/2007 - Eric wrote: 95 Points
Offline with Jonathan Dinh (Seattle, WA): Ripe, very roasted, bloody, horsey, chicory. Now THIS is Haut Brion! This is a wine of pure indulgence, riper than ripe, yet featuring beautiful grip. Some notes of incense and sandalwood start to peek out of the glass with more time. Lovely!
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3/20/2007 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Herbs, coffee, cassis, licorice and black fruit entice your senses. Perfectly balanced, but not as concentrated or layered as the 89.
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3/7/2007 - LEOWINE wrote: 99 Points
Light brick on the rim with dark core. This nose is knock out; I am picking up aromas of wet stone, tobacco coffee. In the mouth: now this is wine excellent sweet fruit excellent balance and above all a legendary finish that lasts it way back to Bordeaux. This still has a very long life so don’t rush. This is the best Haut Brion I have had to date but I think the 2000 will be better in time. A 5 star legend.
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2/13/2007 - trankin wrote: 97 Points
SOBER haut Brion Tasting (CB's house): Nose of tobacco and earth. Gorgeous wine. Lovely, elegant, beautifully balanced, open and harmonious. Just wonderful.
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2/1/2007 - winefool wrote: 93 Points
HDH Comparative Bordeaux Tasting 1989 & 1990 (Casino Club): Pale red/pink color. Medium aroma of floral red fruit. Very Haut Brion on the palate with dusty fruit and iron notes. Almost a bit austere though. 93+ pts.
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1/3/2007 - james-chu Likes this wine: 98 Points
Very complex and very open,you can smell tobacco,black fruit,smoke,earthy and a banana-like boutique.After decant about 1hr without decanter ,it taste smooth ,fullbody,a little sweet, low acidity.when i open this wine about 3hrs, it close down.i thought gameover but i was wrong. after half hour,it reopened again and become more better.i was surprised and i think i should drink this wine slowly.Finally,i drink this wine from pm 7:00 to am 2:00. 1990 haut brion is a great wine, it last 7hrs from open to close down at that night.
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12/26/2006 - JScott wrote: flawed
Corked as hell. Sunovabitch.
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12/13/2006 - Dave Dalluge wrote: 96 Points
Spanish Inquisition at Brad England's House: Deep rich inviting red color. On the nose this gives red fruit, tobacco, earth, smoke, and cedar. Good intensity. I smelled this without tasting it for about 30 minutes (Brad was adamant that we needed to wait). On the palate thiis much more tight and compact than the other wines served. Good fresh red cherry fruit complimented by tobacco, earth, smoke and mineral. The finish fell off a little quicker than expected. This is still an extremely youthful wine, and should unpack more with additional time in the bottle. A great experience.
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12/13/2006 - BradE wrote:
Tough to judge, as we were having a Rhone fest. Started out a bit horsey, but over time developed into a smokey tar infused flavor pit.
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12/13/2006 - Siggy wrote: 93 Points
Weekday Pizza Night at Brad's (Brad's House, Minneapolis): Beautiful rich tarry/smoky nose. Kirsch and crushed smoky black fruits on the palate. The nose on this wine was killer, but I thought the palate was a touch green and short. This was very tannic, and may have been closed down. Still, an excellent bottle and one that steadily improved with air time.
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12/9/2006 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' #4 (Sammamish, WA): Sharp mineral, horse, cedar. Crushed rocks and sweet fruit on the palate, drinking rather delicately. A nice leathery finish, reticent, holding back a fair amount.
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11/30/2006 - PeterH wrote: 97 Points
Consumed along with a '90 Lafite and '90 Margaux at the Gotham Bar and Grill.
Now we're talking. This is just great juice. Great nose of tobacco, cedar, fruit. That great Haut Brion taste of fruit and tobacco. Awesome balance, integrated tannins, almost sweet in a way. Just delicious, layered flavors. Great length. This wine is a winner.
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9/24/2006 - James B wrote: 96 Points
Most dinner guests loved this wine and deeply appreciated the rare opportunity to try it. Some who claimed extensive Bordeaux experience labeled the wine as flat and perhaps past its prime. To those of us with less experience with Haut Brion, this wine impressed us with an enormous nose and signature Bordeaux characteristics of earthiness and selected floral notes. The wine did not linger on the palate as long as one might expect. Considering the age of this wine, we believe it is best to decant, but do not allow the wine contact with air for more than an hour or two. It is clearly ready to drink now.
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9/23/2006 - A&C wrote: 97 Points
This wine had a wonderful nose -- sweet bordeaux perfume, which lingered in my collective memory for weeks. I thought the wine had a wonderful signature bordeaux taste, with hints of earthiness, and cassis. Crisp and very distinct. Not as complex as some other Bordeauxs I've had, but the wine had a nice, sterile, refined finish. One of my buddies who enjoyed this wine with us who has been drinking a lot of 2000 bordeaux lately noted a slight brown to the color, and a little bitterness at the finish. I didn't see it. To be generous, there is a chance the wine may have been a little off from other bottles, perhaps due to irregular storage prior to purchase or the fact that we may have decanted it a bit too long. Or it might be that my friend's palate has recently been exposed to more young wines, and the aged quality was different than his recent tastes. Or my friend may simply not recognize coffee grounds, cigar box, the earth and cedar when its presented with a wonderful nose. By and large, a very enjoyable bottle of wine. Not an over the top blockbuster or a mortgage-the-farm wine, but very enjoyable. The perfume of the nose was its defining characteristic -- that and its classic bordeaux taste and finish. Lingered in my mind long after the wine had disappeared.
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8/26/2006 - dbg wrote:
Dark red to rim, great complex nose, gravel, lead pencil, hints of
tar, elegant (in a good, not a thin, diluted way), voluptuous in the
mouth with ripe fruit, perfect balance, and a smooth finish, this is
drinking beautifully right now and should continue
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6/20/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Older Bordeaux - First Growth and Others (onesixty blue - Chicago IL): Nose starts with black cherry, cocoa and some cherry liqueur. Ripe and powerful fruit, bold and brawny with lots of tannins and acidity. Great minerality comes through from middle to end. Needs another decade to evolve further, and I think this become increasingly interesting.
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6/20/2006 - winefool wrote: 95 Points
Wineflock - Pre-1990 First Growth Bordeaux Tasting (onesixtyblue): Full red color. big bright red fruit with tons of acidity . Mmmn, very nice with chocolate smoked cherry cough drop notes on the finish. My WOTN.
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6/12/2006 - D. Fulton wrote: 95 Points
Simply a beautiful wine. Incredibly expressive, silky, and ripe. Plenty of fruit backed up by notes of smoke. The finish is tannic, but long and graceful. Drinking well now, but will age well for another 10. A pleasure to drink. 95+
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6/3/2006 - Tubbs wrote: 97 Points
I popped the cork of this wine in the morning and it got 14 hours of slow oxygenation before consumption. Oh my! The perfect nose for me: white pepper, cedar, forest floor, a little bit of horse... it was all there. The palate was lovely as well, showing classic Graves minerality, dusty tannins, ample fruit, excellent balance and length. For many, this is perhaps still a bit young, for me, it was perfect.
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4/23/2006 - Serge Birbrair wrote: 94 Points
Do you know any better way to celebrate the coming home from the long trip? I don't.
So we popped the cork of this beauty and as soon as the cork was popped the aromas filled the room. Unmistakenly Bordeaux, sweet tannins coating the mouth, balance and sweetness all in one, no orgasms, but pure elegance and refinement. Sexy wine
4/11/2006
The bottle we've had today was even better and came alive with 2 hours of air time. Still not "mortgage your house" wine.
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4/3/2006 - JScott wrote: 97 Points
This is right in my wheelhouse. Cedar, plum and everything in place.
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3/30/2006 - Melli wrote: 96 Points
Stellar showing....rated 2 of 9 in '90 Bordeaux tasting which included a couple 100 pointers. ready to drink now.
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2/12/2006 - cortoncharlie wrote: 95 Points
Deep ruby color with only the smallest hint of rust on the edges. Lovely nose of leather, tea leaves, white flowers. Ripe, decadent with a nice grip and impressive finish, an overpowering wine where the balance should improve with more time. Drinking beautifully now with decanting but sense it will see better years ahead. Great representation for Haut Brion and the vintage.
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1/28/2006 - Eric wrote: 97 Points
Dinner at Lampreia (Seattle, WA): This was right on form. Horse, roasted earth, some white flowers, wow. On the palate this was gamey, powerful, a sweet core, yet leathery and gorgoeus. What a simply lovely bottle, ripe, yet pure Graves, roasted and earthy. Mmm, I really enjoyed this a great deal!
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12/10/2005 - Eric wrote: 97 Points
Seattle Tasting Group 'End of Year Dinner' #3 (Sammamish, WA): Horsey, smokey, with some tobacco and roast. For some reason I was heading off to Pauillac, although reading the descriptors makes me think "Duh, dude, it's Graves!" Roasted, ripe and beautiful, this is really wonderful and hedonistic wine.
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12/7/2005 - steffenpelz wrote: 97 Points
2nd Annual Cellar Treasures Tasting (Long) (Asti Trattoria): Another amazing wine. The nose was to die for. Expressive, earthy, and cigar box. On the palate, it has an open-knit, loamy, truffle quality. I can't help but think that with more age, this should be close to a phenomenal Burgundy with respect to its texture and aromatic profile.
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11/1/2005 - RossM wrote: 91 Points
Light red in color with definite orange coloring at the edges - surprising for this wine. Aromatically this wine beautiful with lots of cola, coffee, older olives and mocha. The tannins were very soft and mature. Nice spicy length. I would defifntiely drink this wine again, but I think I would've preferred it two years ago.
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10/29/2005 - ERoss wrote: 97 Points
Bottle of Angst, Volume I (Older Bordeaux and More) (Chateau Guerette): [Decanted 2+ hours]. Medium ruby-purple in color, with hints of brick at the edges, this was a beautiful expression of Graves perfume and body. A slight spritiness put a point on the nose, but it blew off to reveal notes of cassis, white roses, damp earth, and roasted thyme. Exquisitely rich and powerful flavor profile, with a solid mid-palate and long, long finish. Clearly more to offer than the Mouton this evening, with many years of life ahead.
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10/22/2005 - trankin wrote:
Wine Spectator Bordeaux First-Growth Tasting (New York Marriott Marquis): Medium red with rust tones, some sediment. Nose of dark soil, red fruit, light barnyard notes. Beautifcul structure. Sweet tobacco, red cherries, cedar and woods on the palate. Very nice indeed.
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10/1/2005 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
Full coffee red garnet. Huge aroma of barnyard, spciy red current, and a hint of chocolate. Rich mature red fruit and coffee with a slight herbal note. Very nice and drinking fine now. Held up nicely in glass - very nice. 10/05
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8/11/2005 - Eric wrote:
Pre-Parker warmup dinner at Citronelle... (Georgetown, USA): Ripe, rich and loaded with leather and funk. Amazingly this was probably the least favorite of the flight which verges on insult given how lovely it was !
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8/8/2005 - Eric wrote: 98 Points
Dinner at Cru (New York, NY): Wowza! When first tasted this showed horse, horse and more horse (Mr. Ed country here) along with with leather, white flowers, tobacco, earth, and roasted coffee; oyyy what a nose! The palate put that to shame however, ripe, unbelievably rich and full in the mouth, so sweet and forward and slutty in comparison to prior tastes of the more serious and dimensional 89 HB, this wine was definitely flaunting its considerable endowment tonight. What a pleasure! It is hard to put words to just how wonderful this was, a poster-child both for the vintage (ripe, sultry and forward) as well as the appellation (roasted, earthy, leathery, and indescribably complex). Wow!!!
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8/1/2005 - MichaelB wrote: 97 Points
Oh these bottles have been staring me evein the face for a long time. As I approach 40, I think of when I bought this wine (3 cases) in 1993 at age 27, and drank 6 of them of them in a ignorant bliss of the time-in a week!. Needless to say ,the wine was much too young then, but the imprint of its DNA is etched upon my tongue and mind. I can still taste the wine we sampled with some REALLYstemware (imagine the worst ever scenerio)
The wine still has a youthful appearance, with some lightening at the rim. As I write this, the 90 Haut Brion is opening incrementally, so its full impact may yet be shown.With 30 minutes in glass it shows captivating scents of damp forst floor, sweet tobacco, minerals, some roasted character- a la 90 vintage. The wine has a velvety rounded appearance in the mouth, but at the same time its finish shows plenty of mouth drying tannins. Dense, chewy, concentrated, but my no means mature, by mature I will always think of mature as the way the ethedral 61 feels on the palate-The 61 Haut Brion remains my all time favorite wine, ethedral soft nectar, liquid velvet defined . I try to imagine the 89 or perhaps this wine(but as good as this it doesn't have the glycerin) in 20 more years to get this again, or source a perfect bottle of 61 again.Yielding seemingly more with every sip, I have corked and refrigerated the remaining 2/3 bottle for inspection tomorrow. It will be a nice lunch! I have a busy day, but no way am I leaving this to possibly lose an edge, perhaps a glass at lunch and one at dinner.
Day 2. Not much more to comment on, the wine speaks for itself.
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7/17/2005 - 128 wrote:
After Sunday dinner with the family at Four Seasons. Consumed with truffle salami.
Good nose of cassis and cigar box. A trifle sweet on the palate, but otherwise great balance and mouthfeel. Great wine. Pity the wife didn't like the sweetness - she prefers her wine really dry. Her loss.
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4/28/2005 - la turque wrote: 95 Points
Drinking beautifully. Will be at its peak in another couple of years.
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2/21/2005 - lridgway wrote: 97 Points
Great bottle of wine. Balanced fruit and tannin with good secondary flavors. Long finish. Will open the next bottle in five years. I think it will be even better then.
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1/23/2005 - bdenuyl wrote: 94 Points
Classic Haut Brion! Decanted for 1 1/2 hours and it continued to open up as the evening wore on. Developed the classic Haut Brion flavor and nose. Very elegant, with fine tannins. Didn’t seem to have quite the depth of the ’82, but perhaps in time. Oddly, the next evening it had lost most of its depth and was not that special. So yo may want to drink future bottles in one evening.
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1/8/2005 - Alpine wrote: 97 Points
Wow, Wow what a wine...now I know why I love Haut Brion....Great fruit, a great nose and wonderful length. Drank over dinner at Pomme restaurant in Clayton, MO....as good as the food was the wine was the highlight of the night.
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1/7/2005 - Blair Curtis wrote: 95 Points
Wine Olympics (Picasso Restaurant, Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada): A savory wine with roasted meat and fresh herbs on the palate. Very nice mouthfeel and strong finish. A wine I'd like to take to dinner with me. (Group = 90.1)
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11/4/2004 - cassetta wrote: 98 Points
Haut Brion verticle with the West Michigan Offliners. Dark purple. Sweet nose of cassis and plums. Full bodied, currants, sweet tannins and a lush finnins. Decanted for 3 hours and drank over the following 1&1/2 hours. Still a baby and currently drinking better than '89 and the '89 LMHB, but don't I think this will develop more or last as long as the other two.
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11/1/2004 - brian a wrote: 98 Points
Tastes at the Bonham's and Butterfields 82 vs. 90. vs. 2000 Bordeaux Tasting
Yum! This wine had a beautiful nose of dark fruits, tabacco/cigar box, earth and perhaps a hint of leather. Drinking great, but with some years ahead of it, it had a subtle thing going for it compared with some of the other wines, that I enjoyed. Not as foward and flashy it was like the underdog in this tasting that comes from behind to win you over. Its funny I wrote this before looking at the other notes on Cellartracker but they are all indenticle down to points even, weird.
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10/16/2004 - JeffJo wrote: 98 Points
Pretty amazing. Insane trademark nose from the first second the cork was pulled. Took about 30 minutes to settle down. Everything you look for in a Haut Brion -- complex nose, tobacco, shoe leather, dark fruit and a hint of lead with a finish that goes on and on. Drinking well now, but it's got another 5+ year until it's anywhere near its peak.
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5/13/2004 - dbg wrote:
Dark red to rim, WOW what a magnificent complex nose, gravel, lead
pencil, hints of tar, more elegant (in a good, not a thin, diluted
way) than the big young 96 Lafite, voluptuous in the mouth with ripe
fruit, perfect balance, and a smooth finish, this is
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2/1/2003 - sdr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still very young of course but already classical and classy. Powerful, flavorful, long. Great future.
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5/19/2001 - Charlie Carnes wrote: 96 Points
This wine is truly compelling! From all aspects I am amazed: appearance, structure, taste, mouthfeel, finish, and nuance. Deep dark red velvet color. Layers of typical Graves-like characteristics that include, tobacco, cigar box, saddle leather, iron, cassis. There is such a velvety smoothness to this wine. The length and breadth of this wine are amazing... what a finish! I will say that this wine is still in disguise, and will reveal itself in 10 or so years. It might be nearly perfect by then!
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8/20/2000 - JeffJo wrote: 99 Points
Amazingly good. Smooth and well integrated, a rich, complex nose of shoe leather, tobacco and woodsiness. Trademark palette with long spicy full finish.
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7/29/2000 - dbg wrote:
outstanding nose, concentration, richness, typical Graves character,
also with tarry notes
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11/7/1998 - mdefreitas wrote: 90 Points
CT Group does Bordeaux vs Cal Cabs @ Jeff S: Minerals, earth, and dried fruits. Seemed quite closed at first. Seemed to have opened up a bit later in the night as some sweeter fruit and tobacco poked its head out. One for terroir fans. Even a bit of characteristic gravel.
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6/1/1998 - Charlie Carnes wrote: 96 Points
Personal Note: A nose by any other name... My first H.B.is an assault on all 5 senses. Musty cigar box,leather,earthy nose. An explosion of super ripe fruit, grip and strong long finish. Wait 6 years.
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4/1/1997 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Sweet oaky nose. Relatively tight, especially when compared to the ‘89. Reminds me of the ‘85. Delicious and lovely.
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12/17/1995 - Zweder wrote: 97 Points
Retailer tasting; just short notes. (@ vdV): No words for it. Complete and complex. TOP! TOP! TOP! At 5 years of age this is already so smooth and great and also still so silky powerful. Hope to taste this again in the future. 97+
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10/27/1993 - La Cave d'Argent wrote: 92 Points
Tasted at blind horizontal 1990 Bordeaux tasting at Vintage Wines, Ltd. Deep ruby with red rim. Nose of intense currants, blackberries and cedar. Palate shows medium body, with massive hard tannins. Long, hot finish. Needs time. Personal ranking 5, group ranking 6 out of 8 top growths.
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