Last night was our 3rd anniversary and we decided to celebrate by opening the 1989 Haut Brion with dinner at a great local restaurant, WF Maxwells.

We poured this into the decanter immediately upon arriving at the restaurant and poured a small taste for ourselves. The nose just shot out of the glass; tobacco, spice, cherry, cedar, and more. In a word, WOW. The first sip was great, nose follows through on the palate and it struck me as one of the most put together and seamless wines I've ever had. Incredible feel and finish. We set aside for about 30 minutes and poured a full glass. It actually seemed to have closed down since our initial taste. We continued to drink over the next 2 hours and at about the 90 minute mark it really opened back up and was singing. Everything from the first smell and taste was there and then some. This wine is just at the beginning of it's drinking window. If you are going to open one, give it 1 1/2 -2 hours in the decanter. An incredible wine that will be hard to beat. 99 pts

Happy Anniversary, CW. Many more! Thanks for the note. There was an earlier thread devoted to this wine started here, a few years back.

PH

Sounds great, Chilly. Happy anniversary. I haven't been too thrilled with the 1989 Bordeaux so far, but I haven't had the Haut Brion. Of all the First Growths, I find Haut Brion to be, by far, the most consistent.

Thanks.

Graves is my favorite region in BDX, so it's no surprise that I loved this. It really seems like it's just entering it's drinking window. Would be fun to watch this develop over the next 20+ years.

Chilly, have you had the 1989 Chateau Margaux or La Mission Haut Brion?