A good friend was married in '89. He's looking for about 2 cases worth of something of the caliber of Opus, Dominus, Montelena, Pahlmeyer, etc. Not many standouts from California that year from what I know. Bordeaux a possibility (certainly better wines from '89!) but CA preferred. Around $200 a bottle. Any ideas?
Thank you! Eric snipped-for-privacy@aol.com
One I just drank over the weekend was a Dunn Howell Mountain '89 Cabernet. Still a bit young in the bottle. Deep color no turbidity. Notes of cedar, black pepper and blackberry in the nose, great mouth feel but still a bit tannic, long fruity finish with tannins but little heat. Still an excellent wine that may have another 10-15 years aging potential as with all Dunn Howell Mountains. They get excellent wines even in what are considered off years. Tanzer rates this wine 92-94. It should be $200-225 US per bottle.
Lawrence,
You beat me to the punch on this one, or nearly so. I was going to mention the Beringer Howell Mtn, Bancroft Ranch Merlot. Though not normally a big fan of CA Merlots (really broad paintbrush applied here), I've been drinking this one for many years now and down to my last five bottles. I had the '89 Dunn Cab, about three years ago, and felt its youth, even with about 45 min in the decanter. For a CA '89, either of these would drink nicely.
Another good '89 is Diamond Creek from any of the three vineyards. IIRC, Al did not do a Lake that year. A real treat, if one could find them, would be a mixed case (or two) of the VH, GM and RRT. It seems that I saw some at K&L (
Hunt
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