1989

1989 / The year that changed the world

If you think you are sometimes spoiled for choice, consider the fate of an editor on the first weekend of June 1989. On the afternoon of Saturday, June 3, the state of Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's Supreme Leader, began to deteriorate rapidly. Just before midnight, Khomeini, 86, died, his death announced on the radio a few hours later. Tehran is 31 and a half hours behind Beijing, so just as crow...

The 1989 vintage in Bordeaux is widely regarded as a watershed moment in winemaking history—a warm, early, and extraordinarily sun-drenched campaign that delivered deeply ripe, luxurious, and iconic wines across both the Left and Right Banks.

Coming off an exceptionally dry winter, the 1989 growing season brought record-breaking warmth starting in May. Budburst, flowering, and veraison all occurred weeks ahead of schedule. Uninterrupted heat throughout July and August accelerated sugar accumulation, leading to the earliest harvest since 1893, beginning in late August for white grapes and early September for reds.

Regional Breakdown & Critical Highlights

• Graves & Pessac-Léognan: The absolute epicenter of the vintage. Château Haut-Brion 1989 produced a legendary, 100-point triumph—frequently cited by critics like Robert Parker and Neal Martin as one of the single greatest wines ever crafted, defined by notes of roasted herbs, cigar box, crushed gravel, and cassis. Its sibling, Château La Mission Haut-Brion, produced an equally profound, muscular 100-point masterwork.

• Right Bank (Pomerol & Saint-Émilion): Extraordinary conditions for Merlot yielded voluptuous, deeply concentrated wines with sweet, velvet-wrapped tannins. Château Petrus and Château Trotanoy produced monumental, plush bottlings, while Château Cheval Blanc and Château Figeac crafted wonderfully aromatic, classic expressions.

• Left Bank (Médoc): High heat tested winemakers, but top estates achieved flawless phenolic ripeness without sacrificing structure. Château Margaux, Château Lynch-Bages, Château Montrose, and Château Pichon Longueville Baron produced benchmark, opulent Cabernets that remain in prime maturity today.

Marking a shift toward earlier picking and riper fruit profiles in modern Bordeaux history, 1989 stands alongside 1961, 1982, and 2005 as one of the greatest vintage triumphs of the 20th century.

1989 VINTAGE in Burgundy

Weather conditions were exceptional which led to a notably early harvest with perfectly ripened grapes in both colours. The reds with their velvety tannins have a fine colour, showing softer more elegant tendencies than the 88?s. They make a wonderful choice to drink on a special occasion. The whites in general were very precocious; ripe, powerful, rich, generous and well rounded; most should already have been drunk but the Grand Crus are superb for drinking now and over the next few years.

As regards the style of the 1989's, we now have one or two general impressions. The white wines are of great class. The Chardonnay in Burgundy has produced wines with ripe, powerful aromas and rich, generous body tending, in certain cases, almost to unctuosity. Initial comparisons have been drawn with 1971 and perhaps 1964.

The ripening of the Pinot Noir crop was somewhat hindered in several areas by unexpectedly large quantities of second generation grapes and extremely dry conditions. The resulting natural sugar levels were slightly lower than the recent yardstick year, 1985, but the fruit was in perfect condition. Overall quality will be good to very good.

The red wines have fine, deep colour and quite vinous, concentrated fruity aromas. They are well constituted and round and should be capable of ageing well. Initial comparisons have been drawn with 1966 and 1979.

In the Beaujolais, the Gamay has yielded powerful, fleshy wines lacking perhaps the charm of textbook Beaujolais. The wines are reminiscent of the 1978's.

Champagne: A warm vintage, where simply charming wines were produced. However, there was not enough heat throughout the year. Spring frosts killed some of the shoots, reducing the harvest by 20%. The inflorescences were discontinued due to the exceptionally cold weather. This was followed by the maturation of the grapes in two phases. The first harvest was already made at the beginning of September and the second at the beginning of October. Overall, the result was a great harvest of good wines. The vintage has been compared to what others believe to be the legendary hot vintages of the century – 1947, 1959 and 1976. The wines are marked by rich essence, heavy taste, tropical fruitiness and softer acids. The vintage matures noticeably faster than 1988 and 1990, reaching its peak in the following 3 to 5 years.

The 1989 vintage in California is remembered as a challenging, weather-disrupted campaign marked by unseasonal, heavy autumn rainstorms that severely impacted late-ripening varieties across Napa Valley, Sonoma, and Mendocino.

Following a warm spring and an ideal summer, growers were anticipating a high-quality, abundant harvest. However, two major rain events struck in September and October, dropping several inches of water right during peak harvest.

Regional Highlights & Key Style Traits

• Cabernet Sauvignon & Late Reds: Grapes harvested before the rains yielded well-balanced, attractive wines with moderate alcohol and fine structure. However, vineyards harvested after the rain faced significant fruit dilution, rot, and botrytis. Growers who engaged in strict sorting and rigorous yield management crafted supple, elegant Cabernets, but many estate bottlings were lighter and meant for earlier consumption.

• Chardonnay & Early Varieties: Harvested mostly before the weather broke, Chardonnay was a success story for the vintage, producing crisp, balanced wines with vibrant natural acidity and rich orchard fruit profiles.

• Notable Successes: Top mountain AVAs (such as Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder) with steep drainage and disciplined producers—such as Ridge Vineyards (Monte Bello), Dominus Estate, and Dunn Vineyards—managed to produce highly structured, classic red wines that outperformed vintage expectations.

While often overshadowed by the spectacular 1990 vintage that followed, California's 1989 campaign favored producers who prioritized strict vineyard selection over volume.

The 1989 vintage in Australia was a mixed, highly variable campaign across the country's primary wine regions, marked by unpredictable weather patterns that presented significant challenges in the vineyard—especially when contrasted with the exceptionally dry, warm harvest conditions enjoyed in 1988 and 1990.

A wet spring and erratic summer across southern Australia led to uneven flowering and fruit set in many districts. Rain late in the growing season disrupted picking schedules, forcing winemakers to manage potential disease pressure and dilution in early-to-mid-ripening varieties.

Regional Breakdown & Highlights

• South Australia (Barossa, Eden Valley, Clare Valley): Experienced a cooler, wetter harvest than usual. Yields were lower and ripening was drawn out. While top producers who managed strict sorting produced elegant, medium-bodied Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon with savory spice and bright acidity, many wines lacked the massive concentration typical of warmer Australian years.

• Coonawarra: Suffered from persistent cool, damp weather during late summer, which made complete phenolic ripening difficult for late-picked Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes harvested before the rains fared reasonably well, but overall the vintage produced lighter, more herbaceous wines meant for mid-term consumption.

• Hunter Valley (New South Wales): Enjoyed a relatively successful harvest compared to the south, yielding classically styled, earthy, and long-lived Semillon alongside savory, medium-bodied Shiraz.

• Top Performers: A select few premier bottlings—most notably Penfolds Grange 1989—demonstrated the power of rigorous vineyard selection, producing deeply concentrated, complex, and age-worthy red wines that far outperformed general vintage expectations.

While generally viewed as a transition year caught between two landmark Australian vintages (1988 and 1990), 1989 rewarded diligent producers who prioritized quality and vineyard selection over high crop loads.

Italy Vintage Report Tb: 1989 was a difficult and low-yielding year. Piedmont suffered a terrible ordeal in June when a hailstorm cut a swath through Barolo, destroying plantations. Some growers lost up to half of their crops, but Barolo and Barbaresco still managed to produce small, high-quality crops. This vintage is generally considered the best for red wine. In Tuscany, 1989 was one of the most variable on record. Some areas suffered from incessant rain, while others suffered from drought. Montalcino and Montepulciano are doing the best. Indeed, these wines are generally light and mature quickly.

The 1989 vintage in Portugal stands out as an exceptionally warm, early, and low-yielding campaign across both the Douro Valley and major table-wine regions like Dão and Bairrada. Coming off an unusually hot summer, high temperatures accelerated sugar development and led to one of the earliest harvests of the decade.

While 1989 was generally not declared as a classic Vintage Port year across the major shippers—since many houses opted for the widely heralded 1985 and 1991 declarations—it yielded a collection of outstanding Single Quinta Ports (such as Quinta do Vesuvio and Quinta de la Rosa) characterized by intense dark-fruit sweetness, low yields, and broad tannic structures.

In unfortified table wines, 1989 delivered deeply concentrated, ripe reds:

• Douro Reds: Showcased broad, plush black fruit, low acidity, and ripe tannins, proving highly approachable in their mid-life.

• Dão & Bairrada: The intense heat favored cool, elevated sites. Producers who harvested before grapes lost their natural acidity produced bold, earth-driven reds with savory notes of dried fig, resin, leather, and tobacco.

Overall, 1989 in Portugal stands as a warm, opulent vintage remembered for strong Single Quinta Port expressions and rich, early-maturing red table wines.

The 1989 vintage in Spain delivered a warm, dry, and exceptionally reliable harvest across the country's northern wine regions, marked by healthy grapes, rich fruit concentration, and excellent natural balance. Coming off a relatively mild spring and a warm, sunny summer, harvest conditions were clear and warm, allowing Tempranillo and international varieties to reach full phenolic maturity.

Regional Highlights & Key Style Traits

• Rioja: Officially rated a "Muy Buena" (Very Good) vintage. The 1989 wines were characterized by ripe black-and-red fruit, sweet spice, and well-integrated tannins. Top historic bodegas—such as CVNE, La Rioja Alta, R. López de Heredia, and Marqués de Murrieta—crafted expressive Reserva and Gran Reserva bottlings that showed great immediate charm and developed lovely tertiary cedar, leather, and dried fruit complexity over long cellar aging.

• Ribera del Duero: A standout year for the booming region. Intensely hot summer days followed by cool mountain nights yielded small, thick-skinned grapes with dense color and muscular structure. Vega Sicilia and Pesqueraharvested ripe, deeply concentrated reds packed with blackberry, espresso, and firm tannic backbones built for decades of cellaring.

• Catalonia (Penedès & Priorat): Penedès enjoyed an excellent harvest for Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo blends, notably from Torres (Mas La Plana), while early modern pioneers in Priorat benefited from intense summer heat on slate soils, laying the groundwork for the region's 1990s renaissance.

Bridging the historic 1982 campaign and the legendary 1994/1995 vintages, 1989 stands out as a ripe, highly pleasurable vintage that delivered long-lived classics across Spain's top appellations.

The 1989 vintage in Germany is celebrated as a sublime, historic campaign across the Mosel, Rheingau, Nahe, and Pfalz—frequently linked with 1988 and 1990 as part of an unprecedented trilogy of exceptional late-1980s harvests.

Following a remarkably warm, sunny spring and summer, an exceptionally long, dry, and warm autumn allowed Riesling grapes to reach intense sugar levels while preserving electric, age-worthy natural acidity. The sunny weather encouraged widespread, high-quality Botrytis cinerea (noble rot), making 1989 an extraordinary benchmark for Auslese, Beerenauslese (BA), and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA).

Regional Breakdown & Critical Highlights

• Mosel-Saar-Ruwer: A legendary year for botrytized dessert wines and concentrated Spätlese Rieslings. The combination of intense slate minerality, soaring floral aromatics, and piercing acidity balanced the dense fruit concentration and residual sugar. Iconic domain names like Egon Müller (Scharzhofberg), Joh. Jos. Prüm, Dr. Loosen, and Zilliken produced collector-grade Auslesen and BAs that possess multi-decade cellaring life.

• Rheingau & Nahe: Produced richer, stone-fruit-driven Rieslings with remarkable clarity and structural power. Estates like Dönnhoff (Nahe) and Schloss Johannisberg (Rheingau) crafted pristine, harmonious wines that seamlessly balanced honeyed richness with vibrant citrus acidity.

• Eiswein Exception: Because the autumn was warm and noble rot developed early, very little cold weather arrived in time for classic Eiswein (ice wine) harvests, making authentic 1989 Eisweins extremely rare.

Overall, 1989 stands as a monumental German vintage, revered by fine wine collectors for its towering, botrytis-affected sweet Rieslings and beautifully focused Spätlesen that continue to drink brilliantly today.

Period report by Angelo Gaja: I believe that 1989 is a beautiful vintage. The vintage is not popular because 1989 was only good in Piedmont and mainly in the Langhe. It rained a lot in Italy in October and November. In Piedmont we had a cloudy period for almost two weeks. It rained in Cuneo, Switzerland, and partially in Asti. But not in the Langhe. We crossed our fingers. The sun returned after a fortnight and we had sunshine from October to early November. Perfectly ripe. The vintage was obscured in 1990, of course.