1990 Bordeaux VS 1990 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Friday, May 30, 2025 - 7:30 PM and all the 1990 vintage wines in the store on SALE!!
Wine is wonderful stuff. But so many people are put off by the snobbery of it.
John Cleese
Or they simply can’t afford the good stuff…and you don’t have to be a billionaire to drink well at the Wine Watch we have great wines at every price point.
We have conducted a lot of tastings featuring 1990 vintage wines this year and to me this is a vintage that is drinking at its peak right now. I thought it would be a good exercise to show some 1990 vintage California Bordeaux blends alongside of 1990 vintage Bordeaux to see how the “New World” wines are holding up to the wines of “Old World”.
This tasting will feature some top level wines from both California and Bordeaux all from the outstanding 1990 vintage. Let’s call this a modern day 1976 Paris Tasting where blind French tasters picked their favorite wines and they turned out to be from California! Just for fun we will be hosting this tasting blind to see if our “Wine Drinking People” come up with the same results.
The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $375 per person + tax. To make reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. Please let us know when you make your reservation if you have any food allergies and Chef Toni will be glad to accommodate you.
1990 Bordeaux VS 1990 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Friday, May 30, 2025
7:30 PM
1990 Chateau Cos D'estournel, Saint-Estephe
1990 Chateau Figeac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
1990 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste Pauillac
1990 Chateau Lafon Rochet St. Estephe
1990 Chateau Lascombes Margaux
1990 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse De Lalande Pauillac
1990 Beringer Vineyards Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1990 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1990 Dominus Estate Christian Moueix Napa Valley
1990 Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1990 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa
Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
French Onion Soup
Beef Tartar Served on top of Bone Marrow with Truffle Aioli and Whole Wheat Toast
Duck Confit with Sweet Potato Mash and Cabernet Demi
White Chocolate Mousse Pie with Orio Cookie Crust and Raspberry Sauce
The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $375 + 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 food allergies or dietary restrictions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.
1990 Vintage Wines available at Wine Watch.
1990 BERINGER VINEYARDS PRIVATE RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON, NAPA VALLEY
Price: $225.00 Sale Price: $180.00 Quantity in Stock: 9
(93 Points) The generously endowed, dark purple-colored 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is a rich, opulent, full-bodied wine loaded with layers of flavor, copious amounts of juicy fruit, sweet tannin, and moderate amounts of lavish oak. Less muscular and concentrated than the 1991, it is a superb expression of a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Beringer continues to make a strong case for being California's most popular and hottest winery. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
1990 Diamond Creek Red Rock Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA
Price: $465.00 Sale Price: $395.00 Quantity in Stock: 9
“Firm and cedary, with a Bordeaux-like band of black cherry, currant, anise and earth notes that are concentrated and deep, turning tight and tannic. Ready now, but worth holding. --California Cabernet retrospective. (JL)” (2/2001). Wine Spectator.
1990 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA
Price: $465.00 Sale Price: $395.00 Quantity in Stock: 10
(90 points) “Dark, rich and concentrated, yielding a complex array of currant, black cherry, olive, cedar and spice, finishing with supple but firm tannins. --California Cabernet retrospective. (JL)” (2/2001). Wine Spectator.
1990 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Price: $465.00 Sale Price: $395.00 Quantity in Stock: 8
Wine Spectator: "Extremely youthful and full of extract, with concentrated currant, cedar and herb aromas and flavors and hints of cola and tea on the long, smooth finish. A complete wine, drink now or hold through 1998. 447 cases made." (11/92)
1990 DUCKHORN VINEYARDS CABERNET SAUVIGNON, NAPA VALLEY, USA
Price: $189.00 Sale Price: $140.00 Quantity in Stock: 15
(95 points) “Deep, rich and enormously complex, loaded with ripe currant, black cherry, blackberry, anise, cedar and spice, with a long, lingering finish that keeps pumping out the flavors. (JL)” (2/2001). Wine Spectator.
1990 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa
Price: $250.00 Sale Price: $200.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
(90 points) "The most impressive Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon to date, this wine exhibits wonderful black-raspberry, vanillin, smokiness in its bouquet. Full-bodied and loaded with flavor, it displays fine length, balance, and purity. (Wine Advocate)." (10/1993)
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: $825.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
1990 Chateau Cos d'Estournel, Saint-Estephe, France
Price: $495.00 Your Price: $435.60 Quantity in Stock: 9
(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: 16
(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 Haut Brion Pessac Leognan
Price: $1400.00 Sale Price: $1095.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(96 Points) Haut-Brion has been the most consistent first-growth over the last decade, producing top-notch wines, even in such tough years as 1987, 1993, and 1994. I have had a tendency to forget just how exceptional the 1990 Haut-Brion is because of the huge shadow cast by the 1989. However, in this blind tasting, the 1990 proved itself to be a great wine. Its price has not risen nearly as much as one might expect given its quality. The 1990 is a decadently ripe wine with much more evolution to its fragrant cassis, mineral, smoked-herb, hot rocks, tobacco, sweet, toasty nose. Fat, rich, and medium to full-bodied, this superbly-concentrated, forward, awesomely-endowed wine requires 4-6 years of cellaring; it is capable of lasting for 20-25 years. It is an unheralded, underrated 1990 that deserves more attention. Wine Advocate # 109, February 1997
1990 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste Pauillac
Price: $425.00 Your Price: $374.00 Quantity in Stock: 38
(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 Lafleur Pomerol
Price: $3000.00 Sale Price: $2495.00 Quantity in Stock: 2
(97 points) "This wine goes from strength to strength, and is developing even better than I initially expected. More backward than most of the big, Cabernet Sauvignon-based 1990 Medocs, it is full-bodied and viscous, but not as thick or oily as the 1982 can be. The 1990's fresh, pure black raspberry, incense, and minerality characteristics result in a young, legendary wine. Still deep ruby/purple to the rim as well as extraordinarily intense, it is 4-10 years away from full maturity, and should evolve for another 30+ years" Wine Advocate
1990 CHATEAU LAFON ROCHET ST. ESTEPHE
Price: $295.00 Sale Price: $230.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
(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: 12
"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: 9
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: 9
(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. Wine Advocate
1990 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac
Price: $550.00 Sale Price: $450.00 Quantity in Stock: 42
(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 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle
Price: $999.00 Sale Price: $750.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(100 Points) Jaboulet's Hermitage La Chapelle 1961, 1978 and 1990 are considered to be among the greatest wines ever made in the Rhône Valley. The 1990 was sourced from Les Bessards, Le Méal and Les Rocoules, with the vines at the time between 40 and 60 years old. The grapes were hand-harvested, destemmed and macerated for three to four weeks, then matured in barrel for 15-18 months, 20% new wood. It's still amazingly dark in colour, with an immediately intense, savoury expression on the nose reminiscent of beef stock. Dried roses and roasted beef bones come through on the medium- to full-bodied palate, but there's also still fruit, not yet dried out at all. There's a touch of mint on the finish and a prickle of furry tannins. This still has a good sense of density and drive - an extraordinary wine with a reputation that's fully deserved. (MW) Review Date: 06/2019, Decanter
1990 E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne
Price: $1700.00 Sale Price: $1399.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
(100 Points) The 1990 La Landonne is a perfect wine! Fortunately, more than 800 cases were produced. It possesses an opaque black color, and a huge, truffle, licorice, cassis, and peppery-scented nose. While it is one of the most concentrated wines I have ever poured across my palate, it is perfectly balanced, with adequate underlying acidity, huge extraction of ripe fruit and tannin, and a phenomenal 70-second or longer finish. This is the essence of Syrah! Give this monumental wine 7-10 years of cellaring; it will last for 40-45+ years. (RP) Review Date: 12/1996, Wine Advocate
1990 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Crau, Rhone, France
Price: $325.00 Sale Price: $255.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits, France
Price: $5000.00 Sale Price: $4000.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(92 Points) The 1990 Echezeaux continues to confirm that the DRC has been successful in turning out a richer, more structured wine in vintages since 1988. The deep color (it may be the darkest Echezeaux I have seen) is followed by a bouquet with well-developed aromas of spices, plums, black-raspberries, and sweet new oak. In the mouth, the wine exhibits admirable toastiness, rich, medium to full body, moderate tannins, low acidity, and an impressive finish. Anticipated maturity: 1995-2010.
The DRC 1990s, all of which were bottled in April/May, are among the deepest colored wines from this domaine that I have tasted in the last decade. Moreover, they are firmly structured, with significant tannins from both the vintage and from the aging in 100% new oak barrels. For the fortunate few who have had the discretionary income to afford the other great vintages of the DRC from the eighties, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1988, and 1989, the question is - are the 1990s superior? I am not sure they are any better than the 1980s, 1985, and 1988s, but they undoubtedly represent a classic, concentrated, long-lived style of wine. Moreover, all of these wines should have a more graceful evolution and broader window of drinkability than the tannic 1988s, as well as potentially greater longevity than the succulent and opulent 1985s. All of these offerings are outstanding, with that tell-tale complex, exotic fragrance that the DRC routinely achieves. Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr. The Wine Advocate
1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache Grand Cru Monopole Stained Label
Price: $12500.00 Sale Price: $8000.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(100 points) I cannot think of a more profound, young red Burgundy tasted than DRC’s 1990 La Tache. Although it still requires another 3-4 years of cellaring, it is incredibly endowed, with an extraordinary perfume of Asian spices as well as jammy black raspberries, cherries, and blackberries infused with smoke, toast, and dried herbs. Full-bodied, but ethereal, with layers of flavor, as well as mind-boggling delicacy and complexity, this youthful La Tache will be at its finest between 2004-2015. Jan 31, 2002. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
1990 Domaine Michel Gaunoux Pommard Grand Epenots Premier Cru
Price: $295.00 Your Price: $259.60 Quantity in Stock: 23
{95 Points) The 1990 Pommard 1er Cru Les Grands Epenots is a fabulous wine that roars from the glass with a lusty bouquet of black chocolate, roasted dark fruits, game bird, Egyptian musk and plum preserve. Full-bodied, multidimensional and rich on the palate, with an ample chassis of ripe tannins and almost chewy extract despite its 27 years of age, this Pommard is long and intense. A magical bottle that nods to the great post-War Pommards of the 1940s. (WK) Wine Advocate Review Date: 01/2018
1990 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG, Veneto, Italy
Price: $450.00 Sale Price: $375.00 Quantity in Stock: 87
1990 Badia a Coltibuono Sangioveto Vino da Tavola Tuscany
Price: $195.00 Sale Price: $150.00 Quantity in Stock: 19
1990 BADIA A COLTIBUONO CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA DOCG TUSCANY, ITALY
Price: $120.00 Sale Price: $95.00 Quantity in Stock: 15
1990 Castellare di Castellina I Sodi di San Niccolo Toscana IGT
Price: $250.00 Sale Price: $195.00 Quantity in Stock: 16
(97 Points) "The 1990 I Sodi di San Niccolo is flat-out great. It boasts tremendous concentration, power and richness. The 1990 can be enjoyed today, but readers who like fully mature wines will want to cellar this for another few years. A blast of dark cherries, flowers and licorice saturates the palate on the huge, building finish. This is a dazzling and marvelously complete wine from Castellare . . . . Since the late 1970s, Panerai has owned Castellare, one of the jewels of Chianti Classico. Castellare isn’t as well known as the trendiest estates in Tuscany, but the wines rarely fail to impress. The last few years have seen a marked increase in quality throughout the range, especially among the entry-level bottlings. Quality has never been an issue with the flagship I Sodi di San Niccolo, one of the true icons of Chianti Classico that remains under the radar. Fortunately for consumers, prices have yet to catch up with quality. Sodi is 85% Sangioveto and 15% Malvasia Nera from a vineyard in the heart of the estate, where the bunches are typically loose and naturally low in vigor. Today Sodi is fermented in stainless steel, then racked into concrete for the malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged 24 months in French oak barrels, roughly 50% new. Consulting oenologist Maurizio Castelli made the first vintages. Current winemaker Alessandro Cellai arrived in 1997. Readers who want to learn more about Castellare and I Sodi di San Niccolo may want to take a look at my recent video interview with Cellai." Wine Advocate #201, Jun 2012
1990 Melini La Selvanella Riserva Chianti Classico
Price: $65.00 Sale Price: $50.00 Quantity in Stock: 15
The Melini winery produces this sensational red wine “La Selvanella” with Sangiovese grosso grapes. The vineyard is extended for 50 hectares all owned and cultivated with the Guyot method and the cordon spur pruning and they are located at 400 meters in the “La Selvanella” farm in the Radda hamlet. It is one of the best Cru of the Chianti territory and the soil is rich of alberese. It is exposed at south-west. The grape harvest takes place in October and there are 20 days of maceration with several pumping over. After the alcoholic fermentation at 27°C it follows the malolactic one. The refinement takes place in French oak barrels for 30 months and it follows the bottle refinement for one year.
1990 Vignamaggio Castello di Monna Lisa Chianti Classico Riserva
Price: $75.00 Sale Price: $59.00 Quantity in Stock: 11
1990 Pieve di Santa Restituta Brunello di Montalcino Sugarille
Price: $350.00 Your Price: $308.00 Quantity in Stock: 3
Tasting Notes: Aromas of leather and tart cherries. On the pallet, notes of cherry jam and savory spices can be tasted. A wine with beautifully resolved tannins and mild acids.
1990 Tenuta La Poderina Brunello di Montalcino DOCG Tuscany
Price: $115.00 Your Price: $101.20 Quantity in Stock: 48
They own about 9 hectares in Montalcino located in San Angelo in Colle region of Montalcino near Pieve di Santa Restituta.
1990 Guasti Clemente 'Barcarato', Barbera d'Asti Superiore Nizza DOC, Italy
Price: $95.00 Your Price: $83.60 Quantity in Stock: 6