Wine Advocate
byRobert Parkerthe4/30/1995
The 1989 is the most well-balanced of the 1988, 1989 and 1990 vintages, but its fruit does not appear to be sufficient to stand up to the wine's high alcohol and aggressive style. The close to 15% alcohol made the wine taste very hot. The wine does not offer much delineation, so cellaring should prove beneficial as it does have admirable levels of extract. Suduiraut can make powerful, rich wines that are often rustic and excessively alcoholic and hot when young. I am told they become more civilized with age, and certainly older, classic Suduiraut vintages have proven that to be true. I feel this estate's propensity to produce a luxury cuvee (Cuvee Madame) in vintages such as 1989 tends to have a negative impact on the regular cuvee.