With Hart, YZ, Sloke, Sean and Tabs at mine. Common stash with YZ.

A random and unintended birth year treat! The 1989s have been doing well for me generally, although most of them are well into their tertiary development; often a little too much for me.

This GPL did well. Uncorked at 5pm and tasted over the course of 5ish hours. I also tried to be ambitious with a normal corkscrew. Needless to say, I mangled the cork and had to be rescued by the Durand.

In the glass: deep rich garnet, with a brightish glow around the edges showing its age. Core was still beautifully colored.

On the nose: at the 2.5 hours mark, the nose was very prominently leather, cedar and tobacco. Some tones of dried red fruits but fairly faint. I was a touch disappointed – there’s just this mix of fruit and tertiary development that I seek. That said, by the 4-5th hour mark (and with some air in the glass), this intense sweet dried red fruits started to really emerge. Saved by air and time! This was deeeeeply enjoyable by the end of the night.

On the palate: a surprisingly alive and energetic bottle! Acidity was surprisingly elevated and fresh. Like the CLG, this was more mid bodied, elegant, and not quite the dense power of the usual Pauillac. Decently long finish, and fully resolved tannins.

Really enjoyed the bottle.