The titans of Chateauneuf-du-Pape… 1989
Denver, CO
November, 2009
Jeb Dunnuck
This dinner was arranged by the amazingly gracious Michael Weiss, and showcased the Crème de la Crème of the 1989 vintage.
Along with a number of tapas and appetizers, the evening started off with a surprisingly open and soft 1995 Krug Brut Champagne. Yeast and bread aromas as well as plenty of ripe fruit show up on the nose and the wine struts on the palate with a soft, mouth filling texture, beautiful cut and clarity and a great finish. I think the table was surprised at how approachable the wine was. Representative or not, the wine was stunning.
Next, we dove into a lineup of ‘89 Chateauneuf-du-papes and a better flight I’ve not had for… well, ever? Seriously, I felt like a kid in a candy store the whole evening. The 1989 Château de Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin was near perfect and displayed a meaty, smoky personality with mushroom, tree bark and perfectly ripe, cool dark fruit aromatics. The palate had so much length and staying power that I almost had to rinse my mouth out before trying another wine… the damn thing would just not quit! Full bodied, perfectly structured and with a prodigious, unbelievable texture, this has everything you could want in a wine and while I think this would make any warm blooded human giddy to drink, it’s still young. While I wouldn’t hesitate to pop another bottle tomorrow (if I was lucky enough to have any), based on this showing, it’s still 3 to 5 (or more) years out from full maturity.
The 1989 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins was surprisingly clean and almost civilized with massive garrigue, herbs, minerals and roasted meat juice aromas and flavors. Very full bodied and rich, the wine opened up in the glass and saturates the palate with ripe, exotic fruit and burly tannin. Long, structured and still young, this stunning wine has a long life ahead of it.
In complete contrast to the two heavyweights, the 1989 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve was slightly reserved at first and when compared to its ‘90 and ‘95 siblings, shows a slightly cooler profile with a licorice and garrigue character. Over the evening, more kirsch and sweetness emerged on the nose and the palate was pure Rayas with amazing sweetness, a seamless, lush and pure silk texture and killer finish. Can anything compare to the sheer seamlessness and drinkability of a mature (relatively) Rayas? Wow.
All of the wines went perfectly with a Lamb Shank & pasta dish and the bottles were drained over a roughly two hour period. They had been previously decanted and while drinking well, they all improved in the glass and probably fall on the early side of their maturity window. At 20 years of age, that’s saying something and I think these wines would stand up to and surpass anything out there.
The evening was capped with a monstrous 1995 Avignonesi Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice. Pouring out of the bottle like 40 weight motor oil, this wine smacks you in the mouth with thick, dense fruit. It literally has a heavy, tactile feel in the mouth and while a fork could be used, the wine is balanced, silky, amazingly concentrated and crazy long on the palate. Think PX but only better and this gets a serious Wow!
As always, thanks for reading!
- Jeb
Courses:
- Veal Sweetbreads with purple top turnips, roasted fall vegetables, Verde mustard greens
- Mussels with Chorizo, roasted tomatoes, red onion, tarragon
- Lamb Shank Tagliatelle
- Chocolate Chiffon Cake
Wines:
- 1995 Krug Champagne Brut - 95 pts.
- 1989 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin - 99+ pts.
- 1989 Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins - 98 pts.
- 1989 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve - 97+ pts.
- 1995 Avignonesi Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice - 97 pts.