1989 VS 1990 Vintage Bordeaux Wine Tasting Friday, October 17th 7:30pm and all the Bordeaux from these two GREAT vintages on SALE!!
"You know, the day you open a '61 Cheval Blanc … that's the special occasion."
Maya (advising Miles against being overly fussy about when he will drink a vintage Bordeaux wine he owns): Sideways
At Wine Watch we think that every day above ground is a special occasion that’s why we have so many “Once in Lifetime” tastings!
When we hit a subject, we hit it hard as I like to say we are doing scientific work with wine here at Wine Watch. October, we have taken on the subject of 1980's vintage Bordeaux. Although we had to reschedule our 1982 vintage Bordeaux tasting which was supposed to be tonight we have it on the calendar now for Friday November 28th. The 1982 vintage which was considered the best to drink today a decade ago but some of the 1982’s are getting a bit old for my taste.
We just hosted a 1995 vintage Bordeaux tasting and some of the wines are now showing beautifully and should continue to evolve for a decade or more. And our studies would not be complete without 1989 and a good segway to our next decade of Bordeaux studies would be to try it next to the 1990 vintage. This will be special as these may be the best back to back vintages of all time in Bordeaux.
The 1989 vintage was an extremely warm year with the temperatures heating up around the harvest and many wineries had to use the garden hose to cool down the fermentation tanks as this was before many chateau had installed temperature controlled tanks to do this automatically.
the 1990 vintage was even hotter and considered picture perfect for almost all aspects of the harvest and the period after which made it a bit easier to make great wines for everyone from the left bank and right bank, whereas 1989 was clearly better on the right bank and the lower Medoc.
Join us as we taste through five wines from each of these two outstanding vintages from Bordeaux, we will have a special meal to accompany the tasting wines. The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $395 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any dietary restrictions or aversions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.
1989 VS 1990 Bordeaux Wine Tasting
Friday, October 17, 2025
7:30 PM
1989 Chateau Gruaud Larose Saint Julien
1989 Chateau Lascombes Margaux
1989 Chateau Lynch Bages Pauillac
1989 Chateau Meyney Saint-Estephe
1989 Chateau Cos d'Estournel, Saint-Estephe, France
1990 Chateau Lascombes Margaux
1990 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste Pauillac
1990 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac
1990 Chateau Lafon Rochet St. Estephe
1990 Chateau Cos d'Estournel, Saint-Estephe, France
Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
French Onion Soup
Top Sirloin with Bordeaux Reduction and Truffle Shoestring Fries
Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee
The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $395 + tax, call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any dietary restrictions or aversions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.
All the 1989 Vintage Wines in the store on SALE!
1989 Chateau Cos d'Estournel, Saint-Estephe, France
Price: $425.00 Sale Price: $350.00 Quantity in Stock: 136
(93 Points) Complex aromas of tobacco, earth and forest leaves follow through to a medium body, with fine tannins and a fruity and soft finish. Very soft and long. At its peak, but pretty and seamless. Wine Spectator
1989 Chateau Cissac, Haut-Medoc, France
Price: $89.00 Sale Price: $75.00 Quantity in Stock: 8
(90 points) "Very little aging on the rim, more like a 1996 than a 1989. The nose is dense with cigar-box, blackberry notes. Earthy, ripe and backward. The palate is tannic, well-integrated, masculine with good grip. Lots of tobacco notes: it reminded me of a "cheap Latour". A superb wine, probably the best Lagune I have tasted. Needs another 5-6 years to reach its peak. Tasted January 2004." Wine Advocate.
1989 Chateau Gruaud Larose Saint Julien
Price: $330.00 Sale Price: $275.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(92 points) "The 1989 Gruaud Larose is evolving very slowly, and its impressively youthful structure and vibrant flavors auger very well for its future. Offering up aromas of sweet berry fruit, cigar wrapper, loamy soil and cedar, it's medium to full-bodied, with a rich core of fruit, lively acids and fine but still present tannins. As this develops in the cellar, it's showing more plenitude and mid-palate volume than it did a decade ago, and for patient readers this is emerging as a comparatively underestimated 1989 Médoc." Wine Advocate
1989 Chateau Lascombes Margaux
Price: $250.00 Sale Price: $200.00 Quantity in Stock: 21
Tasting Notes: Garnet color with brick red hue. Opulent nose reminiscent of balmy spices, fine leather, and tobacco leaf. On the palate, it is rich with a wonderful sweetness underlining the maturity of this wine with very convincing length.
1989 Chateau Meyney Saint-Estephe
Price: $165.00 Your Price: $145.20 Quantity in Stock: 43
(93 points) Dark-colored, sporting loads of minty, berry and chocolate aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, with plenty of velvety tannins and a long, rich finish. Built for aging. *Highly Recommended, Top 100 Wines of 1992* (5/1999) Wine Spectator
1989 Chateau Petrus Pomerol
Price: $7500.00 Sale Price: $5900.00 Quantity in Stock: 13
(100 Points) "Multi-millionaire collectors will have fun comparing the 1989 and 1990 Petrus. The 1989 has a slightly more saturated color and seems more tightly knit both aromatically and on the palate. However this is splitting hairs as this is another stunningly opulent rich full-bodied amazingly concentrated exotic flamboyant Petrus that remains remarkably youthful and in need of 7-8 more years of bottle age. Additionally the tannins are slightly more elevated at least from a tactile impression. However the 1989 looks to be another 30-year wine with extraordinary equilibrium between all of its component parts. An amazing effort!" Wine Advocate
1989 Chateau Rieussec Sauternes (375ml)
Price: $120.00 Sale Price: $95.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(92 points) After a period of prolonged disjointedness, this wine has pulled itself together. The color is deep straw, and the wine displays an intense perfume of creme brulee custard, baked apple pie, and sweet, ripe pineapples and pears. Full-bodied, rich, alcoholic, and fat, with low acidity and considerable sweetness, this is a luxuriously rich, unctuously-textured, heavyweight Sauternes that should become more civilized with age. (RP) Review Date: 01/1998 Wine Advocate
All the 1990 Vintage Bordeaux in the Store
1990 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion, France
Price: $2750.00 Sale Price: $2250.00 Quantity in Stock: 7
(98 Points) One of my favorite Cheval Blancs, it remains to be seen if the 1998, 2000, and 2008 will live up to this offering. It is the ripest wine of the aforementioned vintages, with a complex bouquet of tobacco leaf, Christmas fruitcake, sweet black fruits, bordering on fig and plum, but no hint of overripeness, and notions of new saddle leather, mint, and incense. The gorgeously expressive aromatics are followed by a full-bodied wine revealing abundant glycerin as well as elevated alcohol, but it is not hot, and nothing is out of place. Expansive, rich, and revealing the nuances and complexity that come from bottle age, it is at its peak of maturity where it should remain for another 10-15 years. Release price: ($3000.00/case) Wine Advocate #183, Jun 2009
1990 Chateau Cos d'Estournel, Saint-Estephe, France Magnum
Price: $995.00 Sale Price: $825.0 Quantity in Stock: 2
1990 Chateau Cos d'Estournel, Saint-Estephe, France
Price: $495.00 Your Price: $435.60 Quantity in Stock: 7
(94 Points) Not as concentrated as the 1982, or as most of the vintages made since 2001, the 1990 Cos has reached full maturity. It exhibits sweet berry fruit intermixed with spice box, herbs, and spring flowers. Expansive, round, and sensual, with wonderful purity as well as lushness, this irresistible wine can be enjoyed over the next 6-10 years. Wine Advocate # 183, Jun 2009
1990 Chateau Figeac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France
Price: $495.00 Your Price: $435.60 Quantity in Stock: 13
(94 Points) One of Bordeaux's most schizophrenic properties, as disappointing as Figeac's 1989 has turned out, the 1990 is fabulous. This property has not made a wine as rich as the 1990 since 1982. In contrast to the 1989, the 1990 is a great Figeac, potentially a richer, more complete and complex wine than the 1982. The 1990 exhibits a saturated dark purple color (somewhat atypical for Figeac), and a gorgeous nose of olives, fruitcake, jammy black fruits, minerals, and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, with gobs of glycerin-imbued, sweet, jammy fruit, this wine is nicely buttressed by moderate tannin and adequate acidity. Fleshy and rich, as well as elegant and complex, it is approachable because of the wine's sweet fruit, but it promises even more pleasure with 2-4 more years of bottle age; it will last for 20 years. I predict the 1990 Figeac will have one of the most exotic and compelling aromatic profiles of the 1990s. It is a terrific wine! RP Wine Advocate
1990 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste Pauillac
Price: $425.00 Your Price: $374.00 Quantity in Stock: 37
(96 Points) Along with the 1982, 2000, and 2005, the 1990 is one of those monumental Grand Puy Lacostes that you can’t have enough of. Still inky/blue/purple-colored to the rim, it boasts a gorgeously sweet, pure nose of creme de cassis, spring flowers, and a hint of wet rocks. The wine is full-bodied, plush, and expansive with impressive levels of glycerin and purity as well as an endearing texture. This 1990 is evolving at a glacial pace, but the sweetness of the tannins and low acidity ensure a delicious treat whenever a bottle is opened. It should evolve for another 20-25 years. Release price: ($300.00/case) Wine Advocate # 183, Jun 2009
1990 CHATEAU LAFON ROCHET ST. ESTEPHE
Price: $295.00 Sale Price: $230.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
(90 points) "A bit rustic but very concentrated. Dark ruby color, with ripe berry and dried currant aromas. Full-bodied and chewy, with lots of fruit and a medium finish. Needs a bit of time.--1990 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2004. 12,000 cases made." Wine Spectator
1990 Chateau Lascombes Margaux
Price: $295.00 Sale Price: $230.00 Quantity in Stock: 8
"Exhibiting good tannin, the exotic, orange-scented 1990 offers up ripe aromas of tropical fruits, cassis, and new oak. Rich, medium to full-bodied, with excellent concentration, low acidity, and a velvety, even voluptuous mouth-feel." Wine Advocate.
1990 Chateau Montrose La Dame de Montrose St. Estephe
Price: $330.00 Sale Price: $275.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
Another excellent 2nd wine and this wine is one of the best value. A baby version of Montrose, a bit more forward in style and slightly less concentrated.
1990 CHATEAU MONTROSE ST. ESTEPHE MAGNUM 1.5L
Price: $2695.00 Sale Price: $2250.00 Quantity in Stock: 7
(100 Points) I have had the 1990 Montrose on four separate occasions over the last several months, and I have consistently rated it either 99 or 100. Three of the bottles came from my cellar, and one was tasted at the chateau. None of them revealed any brett, which is not the case with bottles that were exposed to heat, or had bad storage issues. The wine remains a blockbuster, an inky/ruby/purple-colored effort revealing stunning concentration, amazingly high glycerin, and abundant amounts of sweet black fruits intermixed with notions of earth and spice. It is a fleshy, full-bodied St.-Estephe with atypically high amounts of fatness and fruit extract, but it is settling down nicely and seems set for another 2-3 decades of longevity. Many have felt the 1989 Montrose is better, and it is getting closer to meriting a three digit score, but it remains more tannic and backward. Release price: ($350.00/case) Wine Advocate #183, Jun 2009
1990 CHATEAU PAPE CLEMENT PESSAC LEOGNAN MAGNUM
Price: $795.00 Sale Price: $650.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
(94 Points) This complex, dark garnet/plum-tinged wine reveals some bricking at the edge, and its beautiful, smoky, meaty nose exhibits notions of sweet currants, black cherries, and licorice. Medium to full-bodied and fleshy with low acidity, sweet tannin, and an expansive mouthfeel with no hard edges, it is a fully mature 1990 that should drink well for another decade. In my opinion, the Pape Clement vintages from 1998 onward are even more impressive and deeper. Moreover, they possess greater longevity. Release price: ($310.00/case) Wine Advocate
1990 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac
Price: $550.00 Sale Price: $450.00 Quantity in Stock: 39
(94 points) "Concentrated. Medium-ruby color, with ripe plum, cigar tobacco and smoke aromas. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a long finish." Wine Spectator.
1990 Chateau Filhot Sauternes
Price: $99.00 Sale Price: $79.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(90 Points) Filhot, which prefers to tank rather than barrel ferment its wines, produced a 1990 that is clearly the best wine I have tasted from this estate. It exhibits gorgeously ripe, honeyed tropical fruit, an intense, medium to full-bodied personality, wonderful purity, fine acidity, plenty of botrytis, and a long, zesty finish. What makes this wine so appealing is its combination of richness, crisp acidity, liveliness, and zestiness. Last tasted 11/94 (RP) Review Date: 12/1997 Wine Advocate
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