Generalforsamling 24.5.2019
Chateau Troplong Mondot 1989, St. Emilion
Noe av problemet i 1989 i Bordeaux var at det var veldig varmt, druene ble høstet inn rekordtidlig og flere viner viser uintegrerte og ikke fullmodne tanniner. Flere trodde dette var en vestside, kun Kim tok den som en St. Emilion. Den hadde fremdeles harde og grønne tanniner. Lys farge tilsier at den nok heller ikke har så mye å gå på. Utviklet og tørker endel på finish. 93 poeng
Chateau Baron Pichon Loungeville 1989, Pauillac
En helt annen munnfølelse enn forrige vin. Rik, solid frukt, antydning til brett, kork & jord. Gode smeltende tanniner, noe kaffe og klassisk sigarkasse. Vinen kan fremdeles lagres. Roar, Knut & Kim tok denne som en Pauillac. 94 poeng.
Chateau Montrose 1989, St. Estephe
Mørk og dyp vin. Igjen ble det endel diskusjon om brett og uren nese. 50% av flaskene vi har drukket av 1989 & 1990 fra dette slottet har brettomyces. Men vinen er superkompleks og harmonisk. I rekka skilte den seg klart ut som den mest sexy og sødmefulle vinen. Men ikke så bra som 1990. Alle tok denne som St. Estephe unntagen Øistein. 92 poeng
Jon serverte også denne på vinmøte i 2016;
Chateau Montrose 1989, St. Estephe; Mørk, mokka, kaffe, rik, myk og moden. Syrerik, klassisk vestside, gode tanniner, tørrer korrekt i finish. Nærmer seg optimalt drikketidspunkt ? 95 poeng
Chateau Leoville Barton 1989, St. Julien
Den "letteste" vinen i flighten. En mer tydelig rødbærsfrukt, elegant med sedertre, lett på tå, men vinen holder seg fremdeles frisk og god. På den pene lyse siden og jeg tror ikke den blir noe spesielt bedre ved ytterligere lagring. Men for et superkjøp dette var på VP på 90 - tallet ! Jon og Kim tok denne som en St. Julien. 93 poeng.
Are serverte denne i vinmøte februar 2016;
Chateau Leoville Barton 1989, Saint-Julien; Klassisk rød bordeaux, floral, frisk med et slør av sødme. Kim mente dette ikke var bordeaux. Tørr med god syre, litt undermoden for årgangen. 94 poeng.
Fra thewinecellarinsider.com:
1989 Bordeaux wine remains a unique vintage. The 1989 Bordeaux vintage got off to an auspicious start with a wet spring, following the very, mild winter conditions. Things rapidly improved. By May, the vines were close to three weeks ahead of schedule. Flowering was early and even. The summer was hot, sunny and dry. In fact, it was the hottest summer on record in ages. You had to go all the back to 1949, to find equally hot temperatures. In fact, since records were kept, only 1947 recorded hotter temperatures during the summer months. With a harvest start date of August 31, 1989 Bordeaux is the product of one of the earliest harvests in history. You need to travel back to 1893 to find a year where the picking of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon commenced as early as August 18! The length of time allotted to pick also set a record. While most chateaux finished picking by late September, a few growers did not complete their harvest until October 15! There was a lot of wine too. It was a large harvest for Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes.
1989 Bordeaux wine provided numerous examples of stellar Bordeaux. But with the notable exception of Chateau Haut Brion, it is a year where the best 1989 Bordeaux wine was not made by the First Growths. 1989 Bordeaux wine is in large shaped by the fact that the Merlot was favored over Cabernet Sauvignon. The reason for that is, numerous Left Bank chateaux harvested their Cabernet Sauvignon before the grapes had the chance to reach full maturity. The Merlot set a record for alcohol levels at that time, reaching between 13.5% to almost 15% for some vats! That level of ripeness and alcohol was unequaled in those days.
Fra vinous.com:
I have to confess that I was looking forward to reevaluating the 1989s more than the 1999s, in no small part because the reputation of the 1989s has always been in a state of flux, never quite reaching consensus. Coming off the back of the well-received 1988, and with stocks of 1985 and 1986 floating about, the 1989s met a rapturous reception that was immediately questioned and labeled as merchant hyperbole. There was a bit of overexcited rhetoric, but more importantly, it is a vintage that does not conform to the Bordeaux hierarchy, being populated by more under- and over-performers than usual. Nineteen eighty-nine is a “cosplay” vintage insofar as a handful of properties dressed up as First Growths, acted like First Growths and, most importantly, taste like First Growths. Let’s name names.
From my forays into attaching words to wine, I put my neck out and averred that the 1989 Pichon Baron and 1989 Lynch Bages were equal to, if not better than, the First Growths. Upon reaching their 30-year milestones, I find no reason to alter that view; both remain high points on the Left Bank, probably because to varying degrees, Jean-Michel Cazes is behind both. I tasted the 1989 with the great man himself, and he remarked that it remains one of his greatest successes at Lynch-Bages, though he regrets how few bottles remain at the property. Or there is the stunning 1989 Montrose. I have encountered this wine dozens of times and it can reach perfection. My last bottle at the 1989 dinner at Hatched did not quite achieve that, though it remains a remarkable Saint-Estèphe. Far and away the finest Montrose of that decade, it is cut from a very different cloth than the 1990, albeit with less preponderance of Brettanomyces, depending upon what bottle you have. Likewise, Château Palmer produced a wine that is within touching distance of the 1983, quintessentially Margaux thanks to its floral nose and as vigorous today as when I first tasted it 20 years ago.
How do these overachievers compare to the First Growth at age 30? Well, they are mostly better. Their reputations were tarnished by criticism meted out by Robert Parker that prevailed throughout the 1990s and stuck with them. Though we disagree on some matters, here he was correct. For example, when tasting blind the 1988, 1989 and 1990 Lafite-Rothschild at the property last year, I much preferred the less-fashionable 1988. The 1989 Mouton-Rothschild is decent, though it pales in comparison to recent vintages under Philippe Dhalluin and does display some variation. Likewise, there was nothing wrong with the 1989 Latour... unless you serve it beside the likes of Lynch-Bages or even the commendable 1989 Les Forts de Latour, still chugging along nicely at 30 years old.
