1989 Haut Brion
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Tasting notes
Stacked up against the La Mission 1989, tasted alongisde, the Haut-Brion has more immediate punch, still swinging at the very top of its game, and where La Mission has a softer welcome, showing pure pleasure and finesse, the Haut-Brion remains muscular and dense, even a little closed still on first opening, almost impossible to believe at 35 years. A stunning wine, with spiced depths to the damson, roasted plum and cassis fruits. Expect saffron, tobacco and smoked earth notes, with cigar box, rose petal and liqourice aromatics. The texture remains muscular - more so than last time I drank it, but that was from a home cellar and this is ex-château - and it proves one more time that it deserves to be in the pantheon of 20th century wines. Jean-Bernard Delmas estate director, Jean-Philippe Masclef winemaker.
Critic scores
Average Score
Wine Spectator
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Full bottle 1,314 g. A famous combination of château and vintage. Pale ruby. Mineral, characteristic 'warm bricks' nose. Intense and dusty with the fruit definitely fading. But still gorgeous and haunting. Layers of complex flavour. Long even if not emphatic or concentrated. Still glorious but the fruit is receding. (JR)
The bottle of 1989 Haut-Brion poured in Hong Kong is unquestionably the best I have encountered in recent years. Youthful in hue, it has a breathtaking bouquet with stunning definition, a mixture of shimmering black fruit, crushed stone, black truffle and graphite. The palate is multi-faceted with unerring complexity, yet the freshness, frisson and energy make this a wonderful wine to drink. This has a life-affirming symmetry and a peacock's tail on the finish that leaves you struck with awe. It is one of the best examples of more than two dozen over the years. Tasted at Woo Cheong Tea House.
A beautifully complex, layered wine that offers everything you could want in a mature Bordeaux, the 1989 Château Haut-Brion reveals a deeper plum hue with a touch of bricking on the rim. This is followed by a textbook Haut-Brion nose of smoky, darker currants, smoked tobacco, cedarwood, truffle, and forest floor. With medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, integrated, silky tannins, and a good spine of acidity, it takes ample air to show at its best, but it's clearly in its prime drinking window.
About the producer
Ch. Haut-Brion is the only classified growth in Pessac-Léognan. One of the five First Growths, it is renowned for producing both exceptional reds and whites. Along with its sister estate, Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, it is part of the Clarence Dillon stable.