1989 Chateau Latour Pauillac

1989 Chateau Latour Pauillac

X FACTOR
I just had this bottle last week, and today a good friend served me this again. I nailed the label by just a whiff, and also nailed the vintage after some navigation. It was totally different from last week’s bottle. I was told my friend decanted this bottle for 2 hours . Not only it didn’t go flat, it was holding up extremely well. The most important X factor for this bottle was the provenance — direct from the chateau! Amazing black cherries fruit in the palate's center, full bodied with velvety tannins.

9 Jan 2018
CONUNDRUM
Latour, one of the most consistent winemaker in Bordeaux, did not make a 5 star vintage on a top vintage of 1989! I was puzzled what has gone wrong with Latour in 89.....It started off strongly. Nose was so fruity and top grade fragrance it was my top choice at the beginning. Palate was superb too, with great elegance of fruits. However it took 30 mins for the weakness to surface; first, nose of greenness surfaced, then the palate started to fall apart with diluted taste. Total conundrum!

7 Jul 2014
Had a vertical Latour tasting. Tidying my notes here. Here is the vintage & consensus ranking in ascending order: 83 (last), 96, 66, 95, 57, 70, 90, 01, 89 (first). 9 attendees voted for these 9 btls, so it's a fair judgment. This 89 was so balanced it was really beautifully made, deserved the #1 spot, defies Parker's' low rating of 89. This btl & 96 were of ex chateau provenance just to be fair.