Léoville Poyferré 1989

The 1989 Leoville-Poyferre performed well in this tasting. It has always been a very good wine, but somewhat abrasively tannic, with a coarser structure and degree of toughness that has been slow to subside. In this tasting, the wine exhibited a youthful color, as well as attractive, sweet, cherry and black-currant notes in its nose intermingled with a touch of earth and spice. The 1989 does not possess the body, weight, and richness of the 1990, coming across as more of a mid-weight, leaner style of wine. It is more austere, and the tough tannin that has been a worrisome component since its birth is still present. This wine could turn around and come close to being an outstanding example, but I suspect it will be a struggle for the fruit to overcome the tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2018.