1989 Bordeaux: Consistently Delicious

10 August 2013: Our hosts provided the perfect settings for a tasting of 1989 Bordeaux (thanks to everyone's generous contribution).  1996 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame decapitated (by sabre) at the edge of the swimming pool, against a backdrop of a lazy summer sun slowly retiring over the Hong Kong waters, a few yachts hurrying back to the marina at the end of a beautiful day at sea.  The starter was a cold gaspacho of green tomato, avocado and crab meat, mixed with shrimp bisque  This was nicely accompanied by a very elegant and refreshing 2008 Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet Les Ruchottes in magnum: already showing an open bouquet of citrus, lime blossom and toasted almond notes, with some mineral complexity and richness lingering on the mouthcoating palate, and very fine long finish.  A very fine effort (17.5/20), and why wait!  (The incidence rate of premature oxidation for white Bourgogne wines has become rather alarming for us that we have decided to drink them much earlier than we would normally!)

Duo of Risotto

This gaspacho was followed by a yin-yang risotto: squid ink with duck meat risotto and the most intensely flavoured, slightly spicy tomato risotto, topped with a couple of prawns.  This was just sensational!  (The tomato sauce that went into the risotto was apparently an adaptation of Heston Blumenthal's spaghetti bolognese recipe! It's one of those recipes that required the reduction of so many ingredients!)  No wonder a few of us went back for seconds!  Main course was a wood-fired oven roasted whole baby lamb which weighed 8 kilograms, with an array of vegetables.  One of us also brought along some delicious Chiu Chow marinated goose from Sang Kee!

Here's a list of the 1989 Bordeaux wines that we tasted, unfortunately a little skewed towards the Left Bank, but we shall make it right on a future occasion!

1989 Bahans Haut Brion: This second wine totally surprised us all with how well it had held up!  An almost heady Graves bouquet of sweet tobacco, cigar box, leather, savoury, roasted thyme, and stoney notes.  On the palate, the entry was almost sweet and juicy, with a fleshy texture in a medium frame. Acidity was low-ish, but the structure still very much intact. Finishes long.  A very pretty wine!  17/20

1989 Léoville Las Cases: A little dusty, with notes of leather and blueberry.  Quite lean on the palate. Lacking in tension, energy, weight and concentration to merit a higher score.  Low acidity. Drying on the finish.  Probably the weakest 1989 in this line-up.   I would drink up this wine.  16/20

1989 Léoville Poyferré (in magnum): A very expressive bouquet of cedar, tobacco, leather, even mint, with notes of plum and raspberry and blackcurrant.  There was great depth, freshness and concentration in the velvety texture of well-defined structure and fine balance.  There was still more than a hint of the firm tannin which could take some years to resolve.  Definitely a wine with a long future ahead.  Drink now or over next 10+ years. 18/20

1989 Montrose: This was the star of the line-up.  Probably the deepest colour of the line-up as well.   A very plush bouquet of dark chocolate, sweet cigar tobacco, cedar, violet and graphite.  With time in the glass, notes of game and leather became more apparent.  Lovely concentration and depth on the palate, firm but ripe and velvety tannins still present in the structure.  Harmonious and finely balanced, though without the more precise definition and profundity of the 1990.  18.5/20

1989 Lynch Bages: A very Pauillac nose, cassis, tobacco, with just a hint of mint, bell pepper and pepper. Medium bodied.  Fine tannin. A slightly chalky, bitter and peppery finish.  17/20 (perhaps there was some bottle variation?)

1989 Pichon Baron: This seemed to be at a different point of development compared to the others.  Quite vigorous and youthful still.  Blueberry, tobacco, cedar and almost herbal/medicinal notes of bell pepper and mint.  Still displaying a firm structure, with refreshing acidity.  Medium framed.  Lacked charm, rather aloof!  Wonder how this will evolve in 10+ years time...... 17.5/20

1989 Angélus: Sweet preserved plum, fruitcake, chocolate, liquorice, with savoury notes.  Almost full-bodied, seductively lush on the palate.  Could do with a touch more acidity to avoid being a little on the 'soupy' side.  Drinking beautifully, at peak now.  17.5/20  

1989 Cos d'Estournel: There was some resemblance with the Montrose: plum, liquorice, earthy, violet and stoney/graphite.  Medium bodied, smoothed out tannins.  Fine acidity, giving nice freshness to this weighty effort.  Did not quite have the concentration and depth of the Montrose, but very fine and harmonious too. There is no hurry to drink up this wine.....drink now or over next 10+ years.  18/20

Our hosts surprised us with a 1989 Vouvray Moelleux Clos du Bourg Moelleux 1er Trie by Huet.  Lovely notes of honey, quince and marmalade.  Luscious but not heavy on the palate, still preserved quite a bit of freshness. Sweet tangy finish.  A lovely accompaniment to the cheese platter.  

We finished with a 1983 Climens......which I didn't get round to as I was too busy with the pear tart (this came from Monsieur Chatté - I highly recommend - one of the best I've ever had!!!) 

What a great tasting and the best thing was that largely the wines were very consistent, most with still a way to go!  Thank you everyone for your contributions!  We look forward to the next!