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Château Haut-Brion 1989

Château Haut-Brion, Bordeaux, France

Château Haut-Brion
Bordeaux France
  • 100
    Points
  • The 3 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 100 Pros of
    104 recommend
    this wine
855 100
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    3

  • Producer ranking ?

    1

  • Decanting time

    3h

  • When to drink

    now to 2040

  • Food Pairing

    Skirt Steak with Pomegranate Sauce

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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New record for 1989 Haut-Brion 

Haut-Brion’s 1989 vintage reached a new high on Liv-ex’s trading platform this week at £14,846 per case.The new record is well above the First Groeth’s previous high of £14,500, which it achieved during the market’s high point in 2011.

According to the Liv-ex blog, since the market’s nadir in July 2014: “The Haut Brion Index – tracking the prices of the last ten physical vintages – is up 15.8%. It is curre...

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The Story

Château Haut-Brion is the oldest and by far the smallest of the "Premiers Grands Crus" vineyards of the Gironde 1855 classification. Château Haut-Brion is one of the few remaining family-owned domains of the Bordeaux region with a history going back to the 16th century. It has been owned by the American Dillon family since 1935.

 

There is an amazing dual hit of black fruit and fine-grained tannins here, which is rounded off with a wonde...

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Wine Information

A VERY EXCEPTIONAL YEAR / A very hot year and also very dry ; such years produce great vintages.
Here is what we can say about this wine today : First, the wine shows great concentration of aromas and a lot of mellowness due to lovely tannins and a rather low acidity. A wine with a lot of fitness and harmony. One might compare it to the 1959 for its
structure and mellowness. Similar weather conditons produced a rather similar
crop. The grap...

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Vintage 1989

Bordeaux: The 2nd in a trio of great vintages and which produced a large harvest of ripe, rich and fleshy wines which generally possess soft, silky tannins, accompanied by a high alcohol level. It was the hottest summer since 1949 and the harvest began on August 28, the earliest since 1893. The grapes were harvested in dry conditions, the only concern being that some acidity levels were low, which which has led to suggestions that some wines w...

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Average Bottle Price

2020 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000
1 950€ +30.9% 1 490€ +16.7% 1 277€ +8.4% 1 178€ -13.8% 1 366€ +37.0% 997€ -31.5% 1 455€ +13.9% 1 277€ +153.4% 504€ +128.1% 221€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Latest Pro-tasting notes

66 tasting notes

Tasting note

color

Deep, Ruby red and Dark

ending

Long, Extensive and Lingering

flavors

Toasty, New-oak, Blackcurrant, Cigar-box, Licorice and Voluptuous

nose

Opulent, Refined, Charming and Intense

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Warming, High tannin, Perfectly balanced, Complex, Concentrated, Full-bodied, Rich, Firm, Harmonious, Medium-Dry and Silky tannins

Verdict

Well made and Masterpiece

Written Notes

1989 Haut Brion – This wine achieved 99 points three times for me in 2021.  It almost gets taken for granted given its youth compared to the other Bordeaux that usually crack this list, but make no mistake about it, this is one of the best Bordeaux ever made.  Here is my best note from last year:
Another monumental bottle of this wine!  I don’t think I have ever had more bottles of a specific wine that have consistently scored as great as the 1989 Haut Brion.  I mean, occasionally this wine scores 98 or 98+ and not 99.  Never 97!  And I must have had it 50 times.  It will forever be one of the greatest Bordeaux ever made in my lifetime.  Let's get back to the actual note.  'Nose so good' is how mine started; the song remained the same.  There were so many minerals, wheat and what I deemed great compost.  The fruit flashed sweetness like meaningful eye contact from across the room.  'So good' appeared again, followed by 'the best'.  There was a tasty nuttiness to its divine finish. 

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  • 99p

Und im dritten Glas war noch eine weitere, moderne Legende, der 1989 Haut Brion, einer der größten, jemals erzeugten Haut Brions. Das ist ein Gigant, der praktisch alles hat, Tiefe, Komplexität, Länge, enormen Druck und vor allem diese explosive, typische Haut Brion Aromatik mit purer, dunkler Frucht, etwas Eukalyptus, viel Tabak, Leder, Teer und Zigarrenkiste, sogar schon etwas generöse Süße. Und warum habe ich dem diesmal nur WT99 gegeben? Weil ich das Gefühl hatte, dass dieser Haut Brion, der sich im Gegensatz zu den anderen Premier Crus des Jahrgangs nie komplett verschlossen hat, sich jetzt ganz dezent zurückgezogen zeigte. Das kann passieren und wird von Flasche zu Flasche unterschiedlich sein. Aber das sollte nicht davon abhalten, diesen epischen Wein wo immer sie in finden hemmungslos zu genießen, jetzt und die nächsten 30+ Jahre.

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  • 99p

Deep ruby and beautifully shaded at the rim. Intensely ripe with strong lead pencil aromas. Very meaty. Lovely balance and succulence. Just gorgeous stuff and very intense and long without being at all burnt. It gets better and better on the finish. Just a hint of tar but such subtle fruit beforehand. Really reverberant on the mid palate. Great combination of richness and energy.

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  • 98p

Château Haut-Brion 1989 / 100 points / One cannot say enough about this gorgeous Haut-Brion that leaves one speechless. The wine combines power, intensity, complexity and depth with incredible finesse. I've tasted this wine many times and each time, the wine is perfect, magical. Still youthful, this wine has at least 30+ years ahead.

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  • 100p
Haut-Brion Vertical 1918-1999 / Vintage 1989 100 points: Deepish ruby, garnet rim. Highly scented and massive intensity, rich, ripe, layered, red and darker fruits, detailed, leather, plums, tobacco, superb nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, sweet ripe red fruits, darker berries, layered, detailed, nuanced, superb and hedonistic, impossible to describe, stunning length.
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  • 100p
The 1989 vintage was the first year Haut Brion green harvested, a method to reduce the crop. This beautifully intense wine, still in evolution and surprisingly quite aggressive, had intense chocolatey/cedar aromas and touches of sweet leather. The palate is the most muscular of all the younger wines with rich slinky/thick tannins and volumes of fruit (94/100 points). Some people measure length of flavour with the minute hand of their watch. This was like waiting for the kettle to boil.
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  • 94p
The total opposite to Martha’s Vineyard. Concentration of fruit without power. Great balance and elegance. Also 97 pts. Which of the two wines I prefer depends on my mood.
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  • 97p
One of the greatest wines from Bordeaux. It has everything in it - except enough bottle ageing for delivering all what it has on offer. Future 100 point wine most likely!!
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  • 97p

1989 Haut-Brion –  one of the most perfect wines that ever came across my lips. It has got everything that I adore about Bordeaux, elegance, finesse yet an incredible power. The perfume is just to die for as it encapsulates everything we´ve learned to associate with Haut-Brion – cigar box, damp tobacco, fine spices, minerals and delicious but restrained fruit. The palate is remarkably textured with layers and layers of flavours, all that concentration and still so incredibly smooth and astonishingly long. Wow that´s claret to me, that´s perfection…

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  • 100p
Although tasted once or twice before, this wine still had a lot to live up to. I'm delighted to report that again, it exceeded my lofty expectations. The depth and complexity after an hour or so in the decanter was something to behold. Fabulous depth and texture. Beautifully fresh tannins still with amazing length. This made me think just how good Red Bordeaux can be when the top properties really get it right. A fantastic bottle that will remain so for a decade or two yet but seems perfect now.
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  • 100p
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Information

Origin

Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Best buy

Investment potential

Good

Fake factory

There is a possibility

Glass time

2h

Drinking temperature

16

Other wines from this producer

Château Haut-Brion Blanc

La Clarté de Haut-Brion

Le Clarence de Haut-Brion

Plantiers de Haut-Brion

Inside Information

100 points James Suckling

 This continues to be a perfect wine with a beautiful, dense character of tobacco and sweet fruits. Chocolate, toasted walnuts and flowers here too. It's full-bodied with velvety tannins. Lasts for minutes on the palate.   (6/ 2013)

100 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 This continues to be one of the immortal wines and one of the greatest young Bordeaux wines of the last half-century. Consistently prodigious and almost a sure bet to top the scoring card of any blind tasting of this vintage as well as other years, the 1989 Haut-Brion is a seamless, majestic classic, and a tribute to this phenomenal terroir and its singular characteristics. The wine still has a very thick, viscous-looking ruby/purple color, a spectacular, young but awesome smorgasbord of aromas ranging from scorched earth, liquid minerals, graphite, blackberry and black currant jam to toast, licorice, and spice box. The levels of fruit, extract, and glycerin in this viscous, full-bodied, low-acid wine are awe-inspiring. The brilliant symmetry of the wine, extraordinary purity, and seamlessness are the hallmarks of a modern-day legend. It is still in its pre-adolescent stage of development, and I would not expect it to hit its full plateau of maturity for another 3-5 years, but this should be an Haut-Brion that rivals the greatest ever made at this estate. Life is too short not to drink this wine as many times as possible! A modern day clone of the 1959? Anticipated maturity: 2005-2030.   (1/ 2003)

100 points Wine Spectator

 What a gorgeous, seductive and beautiful wine, as always. I can't get over the perfumed aromas of subtle milk chocolate, cedar and sweet tobacco. Full-bodied, yet so refined and silky, lasting for minutes on the palate. Everything is in just the right proportion. This is a wine that will go on forever. I love it. One of my great loves in the wine world. (Web Only- 2010) 

97 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

 Medium red. Highly nuanced, roasted aroma dominated by tobacco, grilled nuts, smoke and vanillin oak. Densely packed, but also juicy and penetrating, with great thrust and superb vinosity. A very powerful wine with a robust tannic structure. Finishes very long and strong. This and La Mission really transcend the vintage. Drink 2005 through 2030.   (7/ 2002)

Jancis Robinson

 Deep ruby and beautifully shaded at the rim. Intensely ripe with strong lead pencil aromas. Very meaty. Lovely balance and succulence. Just gorgeous stuff and very intense and long without being at all burnt. It gets better and better on the finish. Just a hint of tar but such subtle fruit beforehand. Realy reverberant on the mid palate,. Great combination of richness and energy. 19.5/20 points.   (7/ 2010)

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