1989 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
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Tasting notes
La Mission 1989 takes its time, pulls you in with softly charred peony and iris floral aromatics but doesn't give everything away immediately. Once it has been coaxed open in the glass, liquid magic pours out, going toe to toe with the iconic 1989 Haut-Brion. Think lashings of liqourice, olive tapenade, pomegranate, crushed roses, tobacco leaf and cigar box, with cumin spice gripping on to the finish, speaking to the heat of the year. Last tasted in 2019 and it feels like it is continuing to climb towards peak drinking, still powerful and luscious. This vintage came two years after the Cru Classé de Graves appellation had come into existence, and one year after Jean-Philippe Masclef joined as technical director, Jean Portal cellar master, Jean-Bernard Delmas estate director. A stone cold delight.
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Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 1989 La Mission Haut-Brion can surpass even Haut-Brion these days, but on this occasion, juxtaposed against its sibling, it must accept a silver medal. That's not to infer it is nothing less than a brilliant Pessac. Taking time to open, it has an elevated bouquet with blackberry, wild strawberry, white pepper and a hint of licorice. The palate is powerful and dense, not as precise or as pixelated as the finest examples, yet fans out with joie-de-vivre on the finish and a tang of black olive on the aftertaste. Awesome. Tasted at Woo Cheong Tea House.
The 1989 La Mission Haut-Brion is hands-down the greatest of this era, and if one takes consistency into account, it is slipping past the 1989 Haut-Brion. Deep in color with only faint bricking on the rim, it has a breathtaking bouquet of intense blackberry, black truffle, black olive and incense. It is the precision that elevates this above almost everything else. The palate is full-bodied yet paradoxically weightless, offering multidimensional flavors of blackberry, raspberry, white pepper and clove. Then there is the underlying mineralité that chisels this into such a formidable Pessac-Léognan, fanning out beautifully on the elegant finish. This might well be Jean-Bernard Delmas's greatest achievement. Tasted at the La Mission Haut Brion dinner at Amuse Bouche in Hong Kong.
About the producer
Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion – sister estate of Ch. Haut-Brion and part of the Clarence Dillon stable – is one of the greatest estates in all of Bordeaux. Based in Pessac-Léognan but not officially classified, it produces outstanding red and white wines.