Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1989

18.5 RENÈ GABRIEL´S BX TOTAL: "Samtenes, dichtes, würziges Bouquet, Cassis, Zedern, Nougat, Moccacreme. Samtener, dichter, vielschichtiger, eleganter Gaumen mit dichtverwobener Struktur, dunkler Aromatik, gutem Tannin, langer, kräftiger Abgang. 19/20 trinken - 2034 " 18 JANCIS ROBINSON: "More ruby still in the colour and deeper than the Langoa. Perfumed cigar box nose, very slightly herbaceous but not at all green and less so than the Talbot. Light notes of undergrowth and possibly liquorice. Mouthfilling fruit still there, spreading beautifully across the palate and finishing very long. Fine density and roundness suggesting it still has plenty of time to go though it is drinking very well now. Later: still very sweet on the nose and finely balanced. (JH)" 96 WINESPECTATOR: "Very ripe, with raisin and dried fruits on the nose. You can smell the sun-dried grapes. Full-bodied, delivering firm tannins and a very fresh palate. Long and flavorful, offering currant, berries and all sorts of dark fruits, but turns lightly earthy and floral. This is a thoroughly complex wine. Just starting to really open into the mature 20-year-old wine it is, but such a great life ahead of it. Muscular.--´89/´99 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2009). Drink now." 91 THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Fully mature, medium bodied wine, blending classic character with elegance and austerity, the wine has a cassis, sweet and tart cherry, cedar, tobacco and hint of green in its character. The tannins are softened making the wine fun to drink, but the short finish and lack of depth stop the score from going higher." 90 THE WINEADVOCATE: "Dark ruby (a far less saturated color than the 1990, for example), this wine offers up a somewhat internationally styled nose of new oak and ripe black currant fruit, with a hint of mineral and graphite. The wine is a medium weight, relatively elegant style of wine without nearly the power, density, and layers of concentration that the 1990 possesses. Like so many 1989s, there is a feeling that the selection was not as strict as it could have been, or that the harvest occurred perhaps a few days earlier than it should have to achieve full phenolic ripeness. This wine will continue to improve for at least another 15 or more years, and while it is an outstanding wine , it is hardly a profound example of Leoville Las Cases. Anticipated maturity: Now-2016."