1 dozen bottles per lot
Details
1989 FIRST GROWTHS
Property of an East Coast Collector
Removed from professional temperature controlled storage.
1989 Bordeaux
"Unquestionably a great vintage and one which brought the decade to a resounding close...First, the weather conditions. In May, growth was three weeks ahead of normal. Early flowering in excellent conditions, followed by the hottest summer since 1949 and the earliest harvest since 1983. However, though the grapes were fully ripe the tannins were not, though later-picked grapes did have softer tannins, but at the expense of acidity. When youthful, the wines almost without exception were extraordinarily appealing. I personally thought we were in for another '85 but with extra dimensions; perhaps even an early developer. In fact what seems to have happened is a sort of reversal of roles, the tannin becoming more noticeable, turning the '89 into a much longer-haul vintage than I had anticipated. Nevertheless, many superlative wines."
MB, Vintage Wine
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1989
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
In original wooden case
"My next and most recent note was made at a dinner party at home. Despite a warm rich mature colour with a tinge of orange at the rim, the wine had an extraordinary attack, a very rich 'entry', nice weight, good fruit, plenty of tannin and acidity. And the nose? I had the advantage of smelling and tasting when I decanted it (a magnum) at 4:30pm: very rich, impenitrable depth and concentration. At 6:10pm, sweeter, richer more fragrant...it was still gloriously fragrant, tea like. Last Tasted May 2001 ****(*) Forget it for another ten years: say 2010-2030 or beyond.
1 dozen bottles per lot
Property of an East Coast Collector
Removed from professional temperature controlled storage.
1989 Bordeaux
"Unquestionably a great vintage and one which brought the decade to a resounding close...First, the weather conditions. In May, growth was three weeks ahead of normal. Early flowering in excellent conditions, followed by the hottest summer since 1949 and the earliest harvest since 1983. However, though the grapes were fully ripe the tannins were not, though later-picked grapes did have softer tannins, but at the expense of acidity. When youthful, the wines almost without exception were extraordinarily appealing. I personally thought we were in for another '85 but with extra dimensions; perhaps even an early developer. In fact what seems to have happened is a sort of reversal of roles, the tannin becoming more noticeable, turning the '89 into a much longer-haul vintage than I had anticipated. Nevertheless, many superlative wines."
MB, Vintage Wine
Château Lafite-Rothschild--Vintage 1989
Pauillac, 1er cru classé
In original wooden case
"My next and most recent note was made at a dinner party at home. Despite a warm rich mature colour with a tinge of orange at the rim, the wine had an extraordinary attack, a very rich 'entry', nice weight, good fruit, plenty of tannin and acidity. And the nose? I had the advantage of smelling and tasting when I decanted it (a magnum) at 4:30pm: very rich, impenitrable depth and concentration. At 6:10pm, sweeter, richer more fragrant...it was still gloriously fragrant, tea like. Last Tasted May 2001 ****(*) Forget it for another ten years: say 2010-2030 or beyond.
1 dozen bottles per lot