The claret vintage series: part fourteen 1990

Overall vintage rating: *****

Nineteen-ninety is undoubtedly one of the greatest modern day vintages, and was the product of extreme weather conditions. It was the second hottest (after 1947) and the second driest (after 1949) year of the 20^th century. Widely and rightly regarded as being an outstanding vintage across the board, the hallmarks of 1990 clarets are opulence, richness and low acidity.

A surprising number of 1990s are not fully mature yet. Wines like Chateau Margaux, Lafite, Montrose and Chateau Petrus for example. These wines will last for many decades. In some isolated cases the combination of low acidity and a certain roasted quality gives the impression of a lack of balance and poise. This is evident in wines like Lynch-Bages and an atypical Leoville-Lascases. But they are nevertheless still delicious wines. Moreover the impression of heat damage is nowhere near as prevalent in 1990 and it is in 2003, an even hotter year.

Picking winners in this vintage is more difficult than usual, given the quality of the field and the abundance of contenders jostling for attention. According to some highly respected experts Chateau Margaux has no peer in this vintage. Among the cognoscenti it is the wine that tends to come out on top in horizontal tastings of 1990. I have only encountered it twice, and both times it came across as brooding, powerful and ever so backward. It is very much a vin de garde.

At the New York Chateau Margaux vertical referred to in previous threads in this series, it was voted the wine of the night. Arguably it combined the class of the 1982 with the power of the 1986. On the night, however, I preferred the 1996 and the 1986. Still it is a very serious contender for my wine of the vintage. Staying in the Margaux appellation, the much more forward Chateau Palmer is gorgeous and surprisingly under-rated. It is in a much better place for current drinking than Chateau Margaux. I prefer it to the more celebrated 1989 and 1983 Palmers, but it is probably not quite wine of the vintage material.

That accolade goes to the exuberant and at the same time celestial Le Pin, which I have tried twice, once next to Petrus 1990. In that comparison Le Pin strutted its stuff like Mick Jagger in his prime,  while Petrus skulked in the corner. Le Pin is often derided for not being as serious a wine as other Pomerols like Petrus and even its neighbour Vieux Chateau Certan. But whenever I have tried it I have always been enthralled and dazzled by it. Like Chateau Margaux, Chateau Petrus will develop in to a very great wine in time, but it is 15 years away from its drinking window. I tried it last month, and it is dense, brooding and oh so backward.

There are several other stunning wines in Pomerol and St-Emilion. La Conseillante and L’Evangile are two that spring to mind immediately, as do Cheval Blanc and Figeac. Cheval Blanc seems to be following in the footsteps of the 1982, but I have only had it once and that was a while ago, while Figeac is a significant improvement on the 1982. Back in Pomerol two other outstanding wines I have enjoyed are L’Eglise Clinet and Certan De May, the latter this year. I have never been enthralled by Vieux Chateau Certan a fully mature wine lacking somewhat in personality and structure.

The most serious challenger to Le Pin for the wine of the vintage accolade is Latour. I last tried it in 2011 in San Francisco and I was absolutely gobsmacked because I was expecting it to be tight and backward.  But to my surprise it was fully resolved, gorgeous and captivating. It is a more forward and Epicurean wine than the more stoical by comparison Latour 1982. It is certainly the most ‘hedonistic’ Latour I have ever tried, an adjective one rarely associates with this estate. And certainly not with Chateau Lafite, where the  1990 is a very different animal and is evolving slowly. Another vin de garde it arguably combines the best of the 1988 and 1989 Lafites, more generous than the former, more backward and structured than the latter. It too is a serious contender for wine of the vintage. It is as backward as Chateau Margaux, but I do however prefer it in 1990.

Elsewhere in Pauillac things get really interesting. Pichon Lalande is not a bad wine but surprisingly weak in he context of the vintage and a big let down. It is difficult to understand what went wrong. Pichon Baron, on the other hand, made a brilliant 1990, which is still evolving. It probably shades the outstanding 1989. Likewise Grand Puy Lacoste made a great wine in 1990, on a par with its 1982, 1995 and 1996.One would have thought all the stars were aligned for a great Mouton Rothschild, but the wine is controversial and widely regarded as a huge disappointment. I agreed with these sentiments until I revisited this wine in October 2013, and I finally get it. Clearly the winemaker was going for finesse and balance rather than extract and power, and this wine is now finally starting to blossom.  It is beautifully delineated and restrained with a captivating balance and karma, attenuated with age. 

Still on the left bank Leoville-Lascases and Lynch Bages have already been mentioned. In St-Julien Gruaud-Larose is very highly regarded, but I prefer other vintages like the 1986 and 1996, as is Leoville-Poyferre, which I have not tried. Leoville-Barton has evolved into a very good wine and took its time getting there, while Langoa Barton has always been much more accessible. I recently polished of a case of halves, which were impossible to resist.  Ducru Beaucaillou is very good in 1990... but only when it is not blighted by cork taint, which sadly is too often the case. The problem in the cellar afflicted the 1988-90 vintages but was resolved by the early 1990s.

Two of the strongest wines are the St-Estephe pair of Montrose and Cos D'Estournel. I have had Montrose three times, and while it is streets ahead of the 1989 in my opinion, it is still pretty backward. The Cos, by contrast, has been drinking extremely well from a young age (in stark contrast to the 1989 Cos) and I prefer it to the Montrose. Further up the Medoc Sociando Mallet made  a super 1990 in a full-bodied, fleshy style. Last but not least Pessac Leognan was strong in 1990. Haut Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion are outstanding and can stand shoulder to shoulder with their respective and more illustrious 1989s. Pape Clement also made a good wine, but is well down the overall pecking order.

Ten runners up

20. Sociando Mallet

19. L'Eglise-Clinet

18. Grand Puy Lacoste

17. Certan De May

16. L’Evangile

15. Cos D'Estournel

14. Montrose

13. Pichon Baron

12. La Mission Haut-Brion

11. Mouton Rothschild

My top ten wines in 1990

10. Palmer

9. Figeac

8. La Conseillante

7. Cheval Blanc

6. Haut Brion

5. Margaux

4. Petrus

3. Lafite

2. Latour

1. Le Pin

Notable wines not tried

Calon Segur, Lagrange, Leoville Poyferre, Angelus, Ausone, Le Tertre Roteboeuf, Clinet, Trotanoy

Disappointments

Mouton-Rothschild, Pichon Lalande