1989 Château Lafite Rothschild

The 1989 Lafite-Rothschild has a well-defined bouquet, earthy in style, with cedar and wild strawberry at the start and later flanked by dried rose petals. Given that this is a First Growth, it does miss a bit of cohesion and horsepower. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins and a keen thread of acidity, pliant and gentle, gaining weight towards the sour cherry and pencil lead infused finish. It's not a long-term Lafite-Rothschild, though this bottle is slightly better than previous encounters. Tasted at the 1989 Bordeaux dinner at 67 Pall Mall.

The 1989 Lafite-Rothschild, a wine that I have had several times both from bottle and magnum, is a better wine than the 1990, although I wonder whether its best days are now behind it. There is noticeably more bricking on the rim compared directly with the succeeding vintage. I also notice a touch of VA on this bottle with scents of molasses, cedar and a dab of the old boot polish. I find that the 1989 has more personality than the 1990 Lafite. The palate is supple and rounded in the mouth, a sense of warmth here although not complex and I would prefer more tension on the finish as it delivers allspice, mulberry and sage on the aftertaste. I wonder where this will go? At the moment it is difficult to see: heading down a cul-de-sac or Route 66? Tasted at the Lafite-Rothschild dinner at Amuse Bouche in Hong Kong and then blind at the Lafite-Rothschild 150th anniversary dinner at the property.

Dry winter, dry spring, dry summer. Just a little rain in July. A severe drought, causing the remarkably early growth of vegetation. Hence for some, the harvest started as early as 31 August. That had not been seen since... 1893! The intense heat continued during the harvest and the grapes were picked in perfect condition, with a high degree of alcohol and well- ripened tannins, the fruit of the drought. This was served blind and I am ashamed of the way that both I and Jay McInerney (sitting opposite each other in the dining room of Ch Lafite) tasted with our eyes rather than our palates. We simply read in the the accompanying booklet that this was the earliest harvest since 1893 and decided before we even tasted the wine that it must be the 2003. A shocking example of mind over matter since the wine looked and tasted relatively mature (mind you, so do quite a lot of 2003s, and Eric next to me told me it was not a 1989). This was much richer and sweeter than the Lafites we had tasted in the chai. There was a slightly charred quality to it (was the fruit a bit raisined? or sunburnt? not according to the booklet). It was already well integrated on the nose but a bit unknit on the spicy palate with some notable acidity and a certain drying quality on the end. Rich and solid and a little atypical for Lafite. (JR)