Château Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Cru Classé de Graves 1989

A warm vintage where you get some standout successes still going strong at 35 years old, and others that have really hit the law of diminishing returns. Smith Haut Lafitte is just about holding on – plenty of caressing tannins, cloves, black pepper and turmeric spices, balanced with soy and tar notes. Very much tertiary, I would begin drinking up over the next three to eight years, but it remains a crowd pleaser at this stage.