89 Canon and 90 Magdelaine

Had two excellent bordeaux recently, both fully mature. I scored them the same, 93 points in my famous 100-pt scoring system, though the differences between the vintages were on full display.

1989 Canon
Spectacular bouquet, sweet and wintergreeny with a hint of cedar. Ethereal, but electrified by tangy menthol and savory soy. Fully mature but holding. Drink now, don’t sit on these.

1990 Magdelaine
Beautiful nose, so aromatic, scorched earth and brown sugar with notes of lemon and roasted fruits. The attack has good intensity, sappy and bright yet roasted and dark, fresh on one hand and ripe on the other. Tart, tangy, grippy, lingering finish. Bouquet freshens up with air, showing minty and floral notes and a sweeter essence like dried strawberries. Fully mature, resolved and silky.

[David M. Bueker]

I've been served several 1989s blind in recent months, most notably the Beychevelle twice, and they have all been in a great spot, with no reason to hold - just pop corks and enjoy!

What a classic pair! I love both, though there seems to be a little bottle variation to the Magdelaine (from varied sources). Never not very good, just variable

The note on the Magdaleine inspires me to pull a 95 soon to see how it is doing! And also to pull out my last bottle of 1993 which has always shown well above expectation for that vintage in general, so is a slam dunk in a blind tasting because no one ever thinks it might be a 93.

Definitely let us know how the 95 Magdelaine shows. I have 5 or 6 bottles of that, but every time I think about pulling one, my fear of the 95 structure rears up and I decide to wait.

I opened a bottle of the 95 soon after I bought it and went "Oops!" and haven't looked at it since, but I checked CT and the recent reviews are good, so I may start in on the remaining 11 bottles soon.