An over-performer that can still make for a shrewd purchase at auction, the 1989 Cantemerle offers up inviting aromas of rich currant fruit, blackberries, loamy soil and cigar wrapper. Medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with a generous core of fruit, melting tannins, ripe acids and a sapid finish, it's drinking beautifully today.

Huge wine. Dark ruby-colored. Intense aromas of ripe fruit and game. Full-bodied and compacted, with masses of tannins and fruit, yet still closed and not giving much on the palate. Give this brute time. Best Cantemerle ever?--1989 Bordeaux horizontal. Best after 2004. -JS

A perfect success for Cantemerle and one of the most monumental wines of the last 40 years, the 1989 Cantemerle remains a dense ruby color with plenty of purple in its mid-section. The wine has the classic Cantemerle noise of flowers intermixed with black currants, blackberries, and mineral. Surprisingly opulent, lush, and very fragrant, this wine has supple texture and a gorgeous finish. Not a blockbuster by any means, but it is silky and beautifully pure. Anticipated maturity: Now-2010. Last tasted, 9/02.