La Mission Haut Brion 1989 Case (750MLx12)

100 JA / 100 RP / 100 VM / 100 WCI / 100 FS

#1 Jane Anson Top 10 Left Bank Bordeaux 2024

La Mission 1989 takes its time, pulls you in with softly charred peony and iris floral aromatics but doesn't give everything away immediately. Once it has been coaxed open in the glass, liquid magic pours out, going toe to toe with the iconic 1989 Haut-Brion. Think lashings of liqourice, olive tapenade, pomegranate, crushed roses, tobacco leaf and cigar box, with cumin spice gripping on to the finish, speaking to the heat of the year. Last tasted in 2019 and it feels like it is continuing to climb towards peak drinking, still powerful and luscious. This vintage came two years after the Cru Classé de Graves appellation had come into existence, and one year after Jean-Philippe Masclef joined as technical director, Jean Portal cellar master, Jean-Bernard Delmas estate director. A stone cold delight. Tasted 2024. -Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

I am certainly not going to argue with anyone who believes La Mission-Haut-Brion's 1989 is every bit as profound as the 1989 Haut-Brion. It is a spectacular wine, and as it ages in the bottle, it is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite La Mission-Haut-Brions, ranking alongside the 1982, 1975, 1961, 1959, and 1955. The 1989 boasts a dense, thick, purple color, followed by a sweet, roasted cassis, chocolatey-scented nose with whiffs of tobacco, tar, and minerals. The wine is extremely full-bodied, unctuously-textured, sweet, jammy, and rich. Although it is still a youthful, unformed wine, it is already delicious to drink. It should develop additional bottle bouquet by the turn of the century, after which it will drink well for 15-20 years.- Robert Parker

The 1989 La Mission Haut-Brion is hands-down the greatest of this era, and if one takes consistency into account, it is slipping past the 1989 Haut-Brion. Deep in color with only faint bricking on the rim, it has a breathtaking bouquet of intense blackberry, black truffle, black olive and incense. It is the precision that elevates this above almost everything else. The palate is full-bodied yet paradoxically weightless, offering multidimensional flavors of blackberry, raspberry, white pepper and clove. Then there is the underlying mineralité  that chisels this into such a formidable Pessac-Léognan, fanning out beautifully on the elegant finish. This might well be Jean-Bernard Delmas's greatest achievement. Tasted at the La Mission Haut Brion dinner at Amuse Bouche in Hong Kong. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media