Wine Advocate
byRobert Parkerthe12/31/1992
Last Tasted 8/92 This vintage merits more attention from consumers looking for a good buy. Just about every merchant in America is discounting their 1988s, making it one of the more attractively priced Bordeaux vintages. Haut Brion's 1988 is a more structured and tannic wine than the 1989, without the latter vintage's sweetness and sheer essence of jammy fruit. Nevertheless, there is plenty of concentration, a tight yet promising nose of black fruits, earth, tobacco, and minerals, as well as a medium-bodied, long, moderately tannic finish. This wine continues to reveal more personality and character now that it is in the bottle. Although drinkable now, the wine ideally needs another 3-4 years of cellaring and should easily last as long as the 1989 (25 years) .