Medium red with some amber at the rim. Knockout nose combines tobacco, warm stones, minerals, menthol and burning woodsmoke. Wonderfully dense, silky and sweet, but there superb underlying acidity and tannic structure to buttress the wine flesh. Haut-Brion is widely considered to be the wine of the vintage, but in my experience La Mission is at the same exalted quality level. Drink 2005 to 2030.

Quality 989 | Brand 989 | Economics 882 | buzz brand
Quality: Predicted life of 14 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group, which averages 9 years Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 33 of the world's top wine lists, including The River Café at Brooklyn Economics: Above its peer group average price of £185 for the 1989 vintage Production: Lower production than its peer group average of 92,455 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

Deep, quite blueish colour but pale rim. Very punchy, lots of impact after the Haut Brions. Ripe and powerfully scented. Very manly and sturdy with a great future. (JR)

The 1989 La Mission Haut-Brion has arguably lain in the shadow of the lionized 1989 Haut-Brion for a number of years, so let me put this out there: The 1989 La Mission has improved over the last decade and is now equal to Haut-Brion; at its best, it may ultimately even surpass it. This note comes from a bottle compared directly with Haut-Brion, and it easily holds its own. The heavenly, live-wire bouquet displays more minerality and tension than the Haut-Brion, offering black olive and crushed stone – penetrating and thrilling. The palate is perfectly balanced with filigreed tannin, incredible intensity and perhaps just a little more backbone compared to the Haut-Brion. The freshness knocks you sideways, and the length and precision are faultless. This is easily one of the best La Mission Haut-Brion ever crafted and, in this instance, just a perfect bottle of wine. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the estate. www.vinous.com

As good as 89 Haut Brion, or, depending on the day, it can be even better. The verdict with the group was split between the two. Still deeply colored, the wine explodes with dark red berries, charcoal, burning fireplace logs, campfire, cigar box, tobacco leaf, ash and tar scents. Full-bodied, powerful and mouth-filling, the wine starts off strong, and keeps on going, seemingly never quitting. Long, expansive, intense and seamless, this is what great wine is all about. it could age even longer than Haut Brion if well-stored!

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.

Both La Mission-Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion hit home runs in this vintage, which did not produce as many profound wines as the Bordeaux publicity machine suggested. 1989, the 200th anniversary of the French revolution, was an incredibly hot year (surpassed only by 1990 and 2003). Even from barrel the seamless 1989 La Mission revealed a special elixir aspect, tasting like it had been designed by Chanel. It still possesses a blue/purple color with only a hint of garnet creeping in, and the explosive aromatics offer up notes of licorice, creme de cassis, blueberry liqueur, smoky barbecue meats, truffles and graphite. If that’s not enough to get one salivating, the palate has never disappointed either. Full-bodied with extraordinary opulence as well as sweet, well-integrated, velvety tannins, this fresh, lively, blockbuster La Mission appears to be one of those rare wines that never goes through a closed, unfriendly stage. It has been a compelling, multidimensional effort from barrel, in its infancy, and as it heads into late adolescence. A remarkable tour de force in winemaking, it is one of the all-time profound La Mission-Haut-Brions. Anticipated maturity: now-2050.