Château Lynch-Bages Grand Cru Classé Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 1989

Jay Kline

Opened and decanted hours prior to dinner; enjoyed over the course of a couple hours. The 1989 appears a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is vinous with notes of tart, ripe, and dried fruits: cassis, blackberries, black cherry, black plum, tobacco, Poblano pepper, mixed dried flowers, some cocoa, pencil shavings, dried green herbs, a touch of leather, some organic and gravelly earth and fine warm spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin (integrated) and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Fabulous stuff with plenty of fuel left in the tank. Drink now through 2039.

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The 1989 Lynch-Bages is arguably the pinnacle of a fecund era for the Pauillac estate. The aromatics bowl you over with their intensity and precision, complex and brimming with personality: black fruit laced with graphite and blood orange. It would shade many a First Growth. The palate is medium-bodied with gorgeous, multi-layered black fruit on top of graphite and tobacco with just a faint touch of meat juices towards the entrancing finish. Frankly, there is nothing more that you could wish from a Pauillac that is audacious and utterly charming. Tasted at the château both in bottle and double-magnum formats. (Neal Martin, Vinous, July 2023)

Greg Koslosky

Out of 375ml a brooding monster of a wine dense and alcoholic some overripe notes on the nose prune and dried plums . Four square a little soil signature. Lots of power coats the taste buds not refined in the least but the shear density and material is impressive . Reminds me of the 1990 beausejour Duffau the way it’s built . Going to have it with a steak and give it more air maybe some magic will happen !

Shay A

This is an example of a wine that surpasses all expectations and is an absolute knockout in every way. I acquired this a few years back in anticipation of my wife’s 30th, and what an experience we were treated to when finally opening it to celebrate her! The cork on this wine was so impeccable it had me wondering if this was fake. Hardly any seepage, and pristine at the top. Great lower neck fill. I expected this to have funk to blow off, but it didn’t need it, that’s how youthful it was! In the glass, it was dark in color with a slightly fading ruby rim. Explosive aromatics with ripe black cherries, bay leaf, new leather, herbal spices and black currant. Mind blowing profile and structure on the palate...graphite, blackberries, smoked plum, sweet cherry tobacco, and cedar shavings evolve and show layers upon layers of complexity. Seamless and clean, but...I can’t believe I’m saying this...probably still has another 10-15yrs of enjoyment. Aging marvelously and glacially!

Greg Koslosky

Big and rich and so primary tasted blind you would think maybe 10 years old. A serious bottle but the only complaint a little hot on the finish and one dimensional .

Cathy Corison

Owner/Winemaker Corison Winery

1989 Bordeaux PNV Retrospective at Larkmead. One of my favorites. Looked more youthful than many of the other wines. Dried leaves, peppermint. Leather. Full mouth. Nuanced. Not much fruit left. Classic old claret.

Mike Smith

Owner/Winemaker Myriad Cellars

1989

Bill Bender

Holy F!! Consistently the best Lunch Bags ever made and competes punch for lunch with the ‘90 we had in San Antonio.

Eric

My last bottle. Savored on an awful day; being and feeling alone. It’s funny how saving something for a “special” occasion can offer a different idea of the meaning of the word. October 19, 1987 was both my birthday and the stock market crash. Such a juxtaposition as like today with 89 Lynch Bages. Tomorrow might be 2000 Chateau Palmer. Happiness = Reality - Expectation. I’m in negative territory.

Nick Apone

1989