Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron 1989

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "One of the wines of the vintage, the 1989 Pichon-Longueville Baron is drinking beautifully today. Bursting from the glass with aromas of ripe blackcurrants, plums, Cuban cigar, loamy soil, black truffles and burning embers, it's medium to full-bodied, rich and enveloping, with powdery tannins and a concentrated core of fruit. Fleshy and dramatic, with a sumptuous, low-acid profile and a long, expansive finish, to my palate this is the one 1989 Pauillac that, on a good day, can rival the extraordinary 1989 Lynch Bages. While I tend to think it's at its peak, every bottle I open from my cellar in Beaune seems to be better than the last."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "I am fortunate to taste this gem at least once a year, and it consistently delivers an incredible Pauillac experience. Loaded with cedar, lit cigar, tobacco leaf, peppery spice, herbs, currants and blackberry, this wine remains perfectly perched on the precipice of balance and power. Everything about this is just great!"

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Stunning wine, one of the very best 1989s. Rich blackish crimson with a rich nose that is still very sweet and fragrant. But the wine is lovely and refreshing too. Almost minty and aromatic. This stands up well to comparison with the first growths. Bravo! (It was served blind alongside Ch Lynch Bages 1989 which was made by the same man, Daniel Lhose.)"

WINE SPECTATOR: "What a nose here, from crushed mulberry to tanned leather to tar. Full-bodied, with big, velvety tannins that are soft and caressing, like cashmere. This is so tight and powerful still; it seems to be holding back. Be patient, because it will open with another five or six years of bottle age. Hard to wait. So why do it?—'89/'99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now. 20,000 cases made."