Pichon Baron - Pauillac 1989

Jamessuckling.com

99 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe1/24/2023

This is glossy and sophisticated, with so much graphite, ink, pencil shavings, blackberries, blackcurrants and blackberry leaves on the nose. Classy and powerful with very sleek tannins. Dark chocolate and blackcurrants. So long and deep. Drink or hold.

Wine Spectator

98 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/28/2005

Gorgeous aromas of currants, berries and minerals. Full-bodied, with juicy tannins and a long, long fininsh. Same as ever. This will age for decades to come. Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year in 1992. Super quality. '89/'90 Bordeaux non-blind horizontal. Drink now.

Wine Advocate

95 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe2/28/1997

Both the 1989 and 1990 vintages exhibit opaque, dense purple colors that suggest massive wines of considerable extraction and richness. The dense, full-bodied 1989 is brilliantly made with huge, smoky, chocolatey, cassis aromas intermingled with scents of toasty oak. Well-layered, with a sweet inner-core of fruit, this awesomely endowed, backward, tannic, prodigious 1989 needs another 5-6 years of cellaring; it should last for three decades or more. It is unquestionably a great Pichon-Longueville-Baron.

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe8/31/1993

The 1989 is this property's finest wine in at least three decades. One of the most opaque wines of the vintage, with a black/purple color suggesting exceptional extract and super-ripeness, its aroma reminded me of essence of cassis and plums intertwined with the scent of smoky new oak. Spectacularly rich and ripe, with layer upon layer of compelling extract, this well-balanced, full-bodied wine has the requisite tannin and depth to age well for three decades. Anticipated maturity: 1998-2030. Last tasted, 5/93.

Wine Advocate

94 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/30/1992

Wine Advocate

93-96 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe2/28/1992

This black/purple-colored wine offers super ripeness and exceptional concentration and richness. Like all eight of the wines in this report, I have kept it open for as long as seven days without seeing any oxidation or deterioration - amazing, as well as a sign that these wines, in spite of their opulent, velvety textures, will be uncommonly long-lived. 1989 is the first vintage I can remember where Pichon-Baron has made a wine that is superior to Pichon-Lalande. It combines power and richness with a sense of grace and balance - not an easy task to achieve. Again, this wine should begin to offer wonderful drinking in the mid to late nineties and last through the second decade of the next century. I have consistently rated Pichon-Baron between 93-96.