1989 - Lynch-Bages, Pauillac

One of the all-time great vintages for this château is the 1989 Lynch-Bages, a striking wine that offers up pure and intense aromas of cassis, pencil shavings, spring flowers and hints of cigar wrapper. Full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, it's seamless and concentrated, with a rich core of fruit, ripe tannins and a beautifully defined finish. Still an infant at age 32, it surpasses all three of Pauillac's first growths in 1989.

The 1989 Lynch Bages remains a monumental achievement, perhaps the exemplar of an estate completely transcending its status. This bottle is consistent with my previous notes: stunning intensity with a cornucopia of black fruit, iodine, graphite and leather. Perhaps the palate is just a tad softer than the bottle tasted at the property a few weeks earlier, but I just adore the manner in which graphite and minerals boss the finish and assert its pedigree. At its (mighty) peak. Tasted at the 1989 Bordeaux dinner at 67 Pall Mall.

Magnum. Absolutely gorgeous. Fully mature, all tannins spent, sweet and fragrant but with the depth of a great claret. The donor, Stephen Browett, asserted the superiority of this wine over many a first growth in 1989. It might not last as long as 2034 in bottle rather than magnum. (JR)