Notes from an '80's wine dinner last month.

'89 Lynch Bages. Quite youthful with an amazingly forward nose of black fruits with spicy tea essences. The palate was undeniably Lynch Bages with a wonderful fleshiness about it. It also had a superbly ripe core of red fruit with excellent balance and a ripe structure that will surely allow it to improve over the next 5-10 years-excellent!

We drabbed this wine tonight with rack of lamb. It has been in my cellar since release. It had the unmistakable nose of the more austere Bordeaux, redolent of dark fruit with a little cedar. On the palate, it was elegant, yet powerful and concentrated, still somewhat austere. Stunning now, will undoubtedly improve. 92-96

1989 Chateau Lynch Bages - Pauillac

Tasted on 3/26/05

The 1989 Chateau Lynch Bages needs more cellering. Opened 30 minutes before being decanted and consumed over the following 2.5 hours. Dark black/purple color with no signs of age, this full bodied beauty has tremendous promise. Wonderful aromas displaying classic terroir. Sweet cassis along with flavors of leather, earth, tobacco, all tinged with toasty cedar. Juicy tannins show great persistancy on the long finish of 45-50 seconds. Lay this down for another 5-10 years. 94 points.

Dark garnet/burgundy colour. Aromas of lead pencil, cedar, spice box, acetone, leather, alcohol. Medium-full bodied, wonderful complexity on the palate, with replays from nose. Long, long finish, 50-55s, with cedar and red fruit. 95 points (05/14/2005).

From an e-Bob offline at Incanto in San Francisco:

1989 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (9/26/2005)
Good Bdx nose of cedar and tobacco. Good red color, very youthful looking. Medium extraction and body, good complexity and lots of tannins and acid. This is a very big wine but it is nowhere near ready to drink. (92 pts.)