Top 200 wines in 2024, #1, 99 points and wine of the year

Chateau Petrus 1990

I was lucky enough to start my fine wine pilgrimage more than 35 years ago when the Bank of England base rate was 15% and asset prices were in the doldrums. Fine wine prices were additionally depressed by Lloyds of London insurers going bust. As my income shot up fine wine became very affordable. My biggest regret - of course with the benefit of hindsight - was not buying more. 

In 1994 I acquired a case of Ch. Petrus 1990 from Farr Vintners for £2450 in bond. A couple of years earlier I acquired a few bottles of Le Pin 1990 from Berry Brothers for £98 each, for writing articles about the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, each of which took me less than ten minutes to write. The Le Pin was my wine of the year in 2021. 

The Petrus vs Le Pin theme became a recurring feature of my fine wine experience. The Petrus was stunning before it closed down, and it closed down hard for more than two decades. As recently as 2021 Le Pin '90 ran rings around Petrus '90 - it was late '60s/early '70s Mick Jagger at his raunchy exuberant best vs mid-90s Hugh Grant skulking in the corner. A bottle in 2013 was tannic and closed. 

Back in the late 2000s I traded three bottles of Petrus 1990 for a non-pristine bottle of La Tache 1980 and a pristine bottle of Romanee Conti 1980, which worked out well. This still left me with a few bottles of the Petrus, so in December last year I decided to give another one a run out. My mind set was that if this bottle didn't perform I would sell the remaining ones. It really was the last chance saloon for Petrus 1990. 

So it was wheeled out ceremoniously for our dinner at Elystan Street in mid-December, much to the delight of my dining companions. It was matched up against the formidable Ch. Cheval Blanc 1985, and my hope before the dinner was that it would not be embarrassed by St-Emilion's finest. The pressure ratcheted up another notch when the Cheval turned out to be an extraordinary bottle.  

When the Petrus arrived at the table in a decanter the young sommelier had a grim expression on his face, then rotated his head 45 degrees to look at me and give me the death stare. I knew what he was going to say before he said it. I think it is corked he solemnly declared. When I tasted it I begged to differ…as did my dining companions. It had that same minty top note as it did on opening several hours earlier, but it wasn’t corked. 

The rest as they say is history. This wine seems finally to have reached its maturity and proceeded to reveal all its glory as it unfurled majestically. There were flowers – red roses - cassis, red berries – strawberries and cherries – plums, white truffles, cigar box, and spices. It was ever so seamless, decadent and dense; so layered, long and glorious. Impeccably balanced and supremely elegant, so exotic and sensuous, as it fanned out like a peacock. The Cheval Blanc 1985 had finally met its match. And then some.

That night the Cheval Blanc 1985 (wine #4) once again showed itself to be magnificent, timeless and ageless in its remarkably journey through the Cosmos, but on that fateful occasion it was eclipsed by Château Petrus 1990, which waved as it went past in interstellar overdrive. I would say the Petrus, age 34, has just entered its drinking window. And it can get even better, my 2024 wine of the year.

Thanks for reading 

Top 200 wines in 2024, #2, 99 points

Chateau Haut-Brion 1989

Chateau Haut-Brion 1989 got the nod over Chateau Haut Brion 1990 for the runner up spot. How come? The reason is because the 1989, drank in our 'best of first growths' series of dinners back in April, was a nigh on perfect example of a wine which has hitherto been frustratingly variable. This bottle made me understand what all the fuss is about and why Ch Haut Brion 1989 commands such a premium over the 1990, and even over other legendary wines like Mouton ‘82. The 1990 Haut-Brion was about perfectly channeled power and concentration, the 1989 is about pure finesse. 

This was my note - short and sweet - like this post

Now we are talking. At last! A bottle of Haut-Brion 89 that lives up to its reputation. Some slight bricking, the surreal bouquet soars from the glass with scorched earth, gravel, graphite, herbs, olives, berries, cigar box and tobacco, and it follows through on the medium-bodied, taut, racy and seamless palate; a racehorse. It didn’t fall off as one or two naysayers were predicting and was riveting throughout. My wine of the night, and the group’s runner up … 99

Even though the group voted for Lafite 1996 as their wine of the night, the Haut Brion 1989 was in the sweet spot, whereas the Lafite is still at least a decade away from its peak drinking window. 

First among equals?

  

 Top 200 wines in 2024, #3, 99 points

Chateau Haut-Brion 1990

I have had this a few times over the years, and up until 2024 I found it to be a youthful wine with plenty of pent up energy and potential. Clearly a wine with the best years ahead of it - it was all about the future. One thing you could say was that it has been a bit more consistent than the 1989. This was the last bottle in a strong line up of wines that we had at a dinner at Cabotte in the summer, which also included Haut-Brions from 1966 and 1985, which I suspected might show better than the 1990, and already remarked on above (clearly then they didn't...marvellous as the 1966 was). The future has now arrived:

My tasting note: 

Saving the best to last Ch Haut Brion 1990 had a shattering effect; with soaring cedar and tobacco exuberance and searing scorched earth; it was ripe, with wild strawberry fruit, full-bodied and sexy, packing a lot of energy and power on the palate, but at the same time with exquisite balance, finesse and harmony. It drank ever so well – previous bottles I have had of this in recent years have been a bit tight and needed time, but not this one. This bottle also had laser like precision. This is now in its early drinking window and has the structure to last for many more decades. A gorgeous, sexy, complete, utterly brilliant wine, 99 pts. 

I wasn't expecting this to be that good. It is one of those rare occasions where you slump back in your chair and say 'wow'! In my tasting notes 99 point wines are exceedingly rare. The reason why this rates so highly is because of its sheer energy and exuberance, which is delivered with such utter precision. A good analogy would be a tennis player hitting the ball very hard, very accurately and consistently a few inches inside the base line.  

Haut-Brion 1990, second bottle from the right, the star among an elite cast:

Top 200 wines in 2024, #4, 99 points

Chateau Cheval Blanc 1985

If I remember correctly, this wine won the now defunct Wine magazine’s red wine Trophy around 1990 – as did Ch. Lynch Bages 1985 at about the same time, give or take a year – a testament to how early the 1985 clarets started to drink well. As a result, at the time, it was thought that they would not make old bones; but the vintage is now approaching its 40^th birthday, and many of the top wines show no sign of flagging and a few even go from strength to strength. None more so than Cheval Blanc. While one still encounters some outstanding bottles of Lynch '85, it is variable, while Cheval Blanc is consistently brilliant and frankly head and shoulders above the many other great wines in this vintage. 

As indicated it is a 99 point wine, nothing else goes above 95-6 in my experience, much as I love the 1985s from Mouton, Lafite and Leoville Lascases - the standout, and a stalwart, among the 'super seconds' - and a few of the other right bankers. But, let's be clear: in 1985 Cheval Blanc is in a league of its own. I drank my last bottle about five years ago, and at the time it was the best I had encountered. I have had it four times since then, and it has been even better on each occasion, and I was fortunate enough to drink it twice in 2024. My tasting note: 

Chateau Cheval Blanc 1985 has a stunning and divine bouquet of earth, truffle, smoke and soft red fruits, plums and damsons; it has an entrancing mellowness and a casual, polite decadence, which is a huge turn on.  Over time, rich tobacco notes emerge...imagine twiddling and smelling a Cuban cigar through thumb and forefinger. But it is on the palate where it really dazzles...it is full-bodied, dense and seamless and comes at you in dizzying waves and waves. It transports you into a utopian parallel universe. It is so perfectly resolved and mellow on the palate, with tilled earth, cool fruit, and a weightlessness...and a cashmere texture and luxurious finish. After time in the glass it pivots and becomes more intense, and richer, revealing a late twist and Machiavellian side to its personality. This wine is a timeless legend…seemingly unassailable…it can't get any better than this, surely? So why isn’t this the wine of the year? Watch this space…

Top 200 wines in 2024, #5, 99 points

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild 1996

Back in 2001 I attended a tasting of the first growth Medocs in the 1995-1998 vintages. Two wines stood out. The 1996 Ch. Margaux and the 1996 Ch. Lafite-Rothschild.  When we revisited the best of the 1996 vintage in 2021 on its 25th anniversary these two wines again stood out among the best of the rest.  Whereas the Margaux had been open for a few years, the Lafite was only just reawakening. It was already a magnificent wine, but  with the structure to last for many decades and eventually perhaps pull clear of the Margaux. 

Fast forward to April 2024, and while the Ch Margaux 1996 was not in the line up in the best of first growths dinner, the Lafite 1996, began to reveal more of its potential. It is difficult to put into words, but this wine sets a benchmark and the standard for which other predominantly-Cabernet Bordeaux wines should aspire. Such purity, such levity, subtle yet powerful. It has an expressive nose of red and black fruits, minerals and herbs; it is rich but racy and precise, with a such a refined texture and layered intensity on the palate, impeccable poise and a marvellous finish. 

The only reason for pause is because it is still at least a decade away from its plateau and will go on for decades after that. This is not the Lafite to pick to drink today; it is the Lafite for our children; and our children's children. For today, drink the 1978, or the 1983, or the 1988, reviewed above. But it is possibly the greatest Bordeaux ever made in the 20th century, but one which will not reach its plateau of maturity until is it is in its 4th or 5th decade. 

 Top 200 wines in 2024, #6, 98 points

Robert Jasmin Cote Rotie 1990

Many wine lovers have a single, memorable 'epiphanous' experience, which often explains why they become aficionados. But unforgettable experiences do not cease at the beginning of the pilgrimage, and some other bottles you encounter along the way can also leave an indelible imprint. Indeed, one or two might leave such a profound impression that you can't stop thinking about them and you obsess about seeking them out. Almost invariably these are bottles that are extraordinarily difficult to track down. Around late 2011, MEK to her credit, sourced some mature bottles of Robert Jasmin Cote Rotie from 1980 to 1990. For me these came to define the essence of unadulterated mature Cote Rotie. It was notable that the so-called off vintages, like 1980 and 1984, performed conspicuously well, but the 1990 stood out above the rest. It was the one which made the ground shift beneath your feet. Over subsequent years it became my nominated desert island wine, but I resigned myself to the possibility of never crossing paths with one ever again. So it was with great excitement that Jonathan P listed a magnum of the Jasmin 1990 for the wine-pages Northern Rhone 'wimps' lunch in the summer of 2023. Sadly, in a bitter twist of fate, it was somewhat corked - but it still tasted magnificent I tried to convince myself - and I stood there crestfallen, forlornly clutching this magnum while others, oblivious to my grief, gaily moved on. 

However, soon after, I had managed to track down two bottles from Berry Brothers at considerable expense, a case of the heart over-ruling the head; and in mid-February 2024 I finally had the chance to open one of them, with roast beef on the bone. To my relief it was on top form.  The memories came flooding back with this untainted bottle. It had a captivating nose of smoky November bonfire and embers, with raw smoked cured bacon, Mediterranean olives, subtle East African cocoa notes, mineral slate notes encapsulated in the descriptor <<wolframite>>, as we did more than a decade ago, when we were drinking these and 1990s vintages of Noel Verset Cornas. But what made the Jasmin '90 that little extra bit special  - both in the early teens and in 2024 - was its ethereal and beguiling weightlessness, a sign of true greatness and the other end of the spectrum to the full-bore assault on the olfactory senses of Guigal La-Las. Much as I loved our gladiatorial encounter with mature La-Las at a lunch in June 2023, and much as I admire the compelling, dazzling, flamboyance of great vintages of full-fledged Jamet, mature Robert Jasmin, with the 1990 vintage at the apotheosis, trumps them all and is the pinnacle of Cote Rotie in my book….six stars?

 Top 200 wines of 2024, part ten, 98 point wines, #8 and #7

Ch. Mouton-Rothschild, 1982, #8, is an icon and a poster child for the greatest 'modern' Bordeaux vintage of our times, especially for those of us born after 1961. There is always a sense of occasion when you encounter this wine, which hushes the room, which can be variable, but at its best is full-bodied, rich, powerful, exotic and racy with a flamboyant swagger and pent up energy. The bottle we had in April, at our 'best of firsts' dinner at La Trompette, showed a new facet to this wine's personality. It has finally grown up and is fully mature: We meet again. Dark and inky. Tad of high-toned volatility, with a trademark Mouton nose of soy; rich red berry fruit and coffee notes, and on the palate initially uncharacteristically lean, austere and somewhat brooding, with the acidity coming to the fore. Then it began to unfurl, showing a new side to its personality that had a captivating elegance and finesse, whereas good bottles of younger versions of this wine in the past were defined by their energy, drive and fireworks and could be described as 'epic'. The middle-aged, grown up version of Mouton 1982 has a seamless texture and just got better and better as the night wore on, good bottles have decades to go…magnificent…

Ch. Cheval Blanc 1990, #7, is still remarkably youthful despite its age, and the best is yet to come; but this bottle did show a bit more evolution than the one we had a year earlier in April 2023 at Chris's Cheval Blanc vertical. As well as being much less evolved, the 1990 is noticeably sweeter, riper and more powerful than other Cheval Blancs from the 1980s, like, for example, the legendary 1985; it is grippier and more primary. It is blue-fruited with floral and mocha notes; it is rich, dense, multi-layered and opulent, with a signature green note despite its ripeness, and fine line of acidity, to keep it all in harmony and balance. Over the evening it keeps on improving in the glass as it fans out; it has boundless energy as it builds and builds. A wine for the ages, but which already delivers enormous pleasure. It is leaves you awe-struck and will sit in the pantheon of the greatest wines ever produce at this illustrious address.