Cheval Blanc 1989 1500ml

98 POINTS

Jane Anson - Decanter

I tasted this at a separate 67 Pall Mall event a few months ago, and it has delivered just as well this time around - impressive for a 30-year-old wine, as bottle variation is inevitably a concern at this age. Yet again it sings out with its concentration and opulent, silky blackberry and cassis fruits. The finish is lifted, with a white pepper note giving an extra kick to the juice, although there are plenty of tertiary hints in the toasted walnut notes. July, August and September of 1989 were stunning, with 13% more sunshine than average across all three months. Cheval always gets an early start to harvest, but this was the earliest of the 20th century to this point, running from 7 to 27 September, with a yield of 50hl/ha. It was owned by the Hébrard family at the time, with Gilles Pauquet as consultant.

95 POINTS

Neal Martin - Vinous

The 1989 Cheval Blanc is a vintage that I have not encountered since 2010. One bottle opened was rustic and fatigued, and Pierre-Olivier Clouet opened a second that was much better. It has a gorgeous bouquet of ample red fruit, morels, black truffle, cigar box and hints of brown sugar, all very well defined and charming. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin and approaching full maturity; brown spices, bay leaf and clove infuse the red berry fruit. At 30 years of age, I suspect this 1989 will not improve further, but its robustness suggests that any decline will be graceful. Tasted from an ex-cellar bottle at the château .

93 POINTS

Wine Spectator

Ripe, almost cooked fruit, with nuts, raisin and spices. Full-bodied, with a dense palate of ripe fruit and a leathery, spicy, dried berry character. So long and powerful. Chewy. This is big and very juicy, with loads of powerful fruit. A little alcoholic, even rustic, but I like it.--'89/'99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now.

93 POINTS

Ian D'Agata - Vinous

(yield of 51 h/h; 13% alcohol): Garnet-tinged red. Leafy aromas of green and red bell pepper, bay leaf and sweeter milk chocolate and superripe plum. Then sweeter and smoother in the mouth than the nose suggests, showing very ripe red cherry, blackberry, milk chocolate and mineral flavors. This boasts a lovely creamy texture and a nice spicy finish, with chewy tannins. A lovely wine, with a sexy personality that grew on me as it opened in the glass, but it's much inferior to the stellar 1990. Make sure you decant this at least a couple hours ahead. A precocious year, 1989 registered only 450 millimeters of rainfall (or half the normal amount) during the growth cycle, with the flowering taking place in the last week of May and veraison during the first week of August. Harvest was from September 7 to 27, the earliest start ever at Cheval Blanc.

Julia Harding MW - JancisRobinson.com

Bricky garnet and quite a broad bricky rim. Highly aromatic, fragrantly leafy and lightly floral but with a more savoury note of liquorice too. Tannins are still dense though fully rounded. This has a firm texture and an impressive savoury finish yet retains that fragrance right across the palate. Later: stronger liquorice notes but still so scented and elegant on the mid palate. Score: 18.5/20

Jancis Robinson MW

Warm, roasted, spicy nose. Even a hint of raw meat. A rather uncompromising style – wonderfully appealing if you like bloody meat. Neat, dry finish with a real upturn – sort of kicks up its heels at the end. Burnt charcoal sensation at the end but lots of lovely fruit too. Very slightly drying on the finish suggests it may be reaching its peak. Masses of pleasure and manages to express both vintage and property. Very long. Great balance. Decanted 2.5 hours ago.

Jancis Robinson MW

Sweet and spicy on the nose though initially fairly light in terms of impact. At first it seemed a bit tight and mean although it opened up in the glass. A pretty impressive drink but without the conviction of the Lhose 1989s served alongside. Score: 17.5/20