This is the second time I've had this in one week! A delicious bottle of wine. Well structured, aromatic, and finishing with some of the slightly "ripe" vintage character. This bottle was a little different than the other bottle I had as it did not have any eucalyptus notes the other one did. Light ambering throughout, and showing some signs of age. Notes of cassis, violets, cinnamon stick, white flowers, strawberry, sweet wet earth, plum, mint, and cedar. Medium/full bodied, more elegant and floral that the '86 Mouton it was consumed with, but not as profound, and it won't be nearly as long lived as the Mouton! 95 pts.

quote:

Originally posted by dr.darkrichandbold:
This is the second time I've had this in one week!

TWICE IN A WEEK!!!!
You must have a lot of cases or very good friends!

Very few wines will be as long lived as the Mouton 1986.

By the way, the 1989 Margaux still has not reached its maturity.

I would agree elmo, but it's drinkable right now, and not far off. Mabye another 5-10 years at most.

Some day you must understand that "drinkable" does not equate with "ready."

Yes master....

For those interested...I found this on the Squires board. Board-O, you'd be behooved to read it! Interesting comparision with Paul Pontallier of the '89 and '90 posted over the weekend.....

http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=86346

I really don't know anything about the qualifications of François Audouze! Is he a Squires posting member, or a professional wine critic? Meanwhile, I'll stick with the 1990 Chateau Margaux over the 1989!

Nor do I Latour...

But, a guy who seems to be good friends with Paul Pontallier and Piere Lurton, and who dines with them on occasion probably has a decent grasp on the wines. This isn't the first time I've read about him having dinner with one of them, and some crazy wines being poured.

Maybe! But I'll still stick with the 1990 Chateau Margaux over the 1989!

You do that! Although I don't think this is about choosing one over the other. From what it sounds like, both are great wines in different ways.

This was my first First Growth (not so for the rest of the crew) so I have no real reference point when it comes to this level of wine.

Initially I wrote, rewrote and then rewrote again my tasting note. But I have to say, DRAB’s TN above is right on the money. But I will add a couple of personal notes, just to romanticize the experience.

I think the bottle was standing up for at least a day and a half. It was not decanted and I don't know when the cork was pulled. In glass, the first thing I smelled was black olives. This surprised me as I thought this wine was primarily merlot. I was wrong: Cabernet Sauvignon dominant with Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cab Franc. We only had a glass each, so I had to drink slowly. And that was a good thing because after about an hour, the nose exploded from the glass. Aromas of cherries, chocolate and strawberry. More of the same on the palate, along with some subtle spice.

The tannins were sleek and velvety, and yet there was still the presence of some tannins on the finish, albeit 30s later. The consensus was that this wine still has at least another 3-5 years to go before nearing its peak.

I thought this wine was sublime. We had it with a perfectly bbq’ed rib streak. Medium rare of course.

Nice notes, ML. Obviously, a very special opportunity.
Having never had these, I truly hope for the opportunity to try this, and the '90 some time in the future.

Thanks for the post!

ML,

Nice notes. I'm holding my '89's for a while.
If you don't mind me asking, where did you get this? How was it stored?

Hey Dok. All the bottles were served by our host. He has a beautiful collection of wine with lots of First Growths and a top notch cellar. I'm quite envious, but also extremely appreciative.

Sharing is caring!

quote:

Originally posted by Mezzo Litro:
Hey Dok. All the bottles were served by our host. He has a beautiful collection of wine with lots of First Growths and a top notch cellar. I'm quite envious, but also extremely appreciative.

You hiding the guy in your back pockets? Come on, like DRAB sais, SHARING IS CARING.....be a bro....

No disrespect to you, aav, but there's a difference between being disingenous or secretive and keeping things personal. This thread is not about my friend. This thread is about the 1989 Ch. Margaux.

quote:

Originally posted by Mezzo Litro:
This thread is not about my friend. This thread is about the 1989 Ch. Margaux.

You are a man with class, ML.
Well said.

Always good to see others testing their '89's, so I do not need to test mine.

Thanks for the note.