The 1989 Petrus comes across much more backward than the 1990 on this occasion. It is still youthful on the nose considering its age, almost broody at first, intense and focused. If it were an actor, it would be the English actor Tom Hardy in the reboot of "Mad Max". The fruit profile leans more towards black than red, then it unfurls and reveals gorgeous scents of eucalyptus and wild hearth, iron rust and chestnut. The palate is medium-bodied and shows more weight and density than the 1990. What distinguishes this Pomerol is the structure and the symmetry, the manner in which it fans out on the finish with bewitching detail and precision. Fermented grape juice in its myriad of forms, does not get better than the 1989 Petrus when it is in full flight. Tasted at the Petrus dinner at the Épure restaurant in Hong Kong.

The 1989 Pétrus is the greatest vintage produced at this estate under Christian Mouiex's administration, and it's one of Winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet's best. It not only rivals but may even surpass Haut-Brion for the title of "wine of the vintage," though I have never drunk them side by side, and the two are so different in style and so high in quality that such a comparison would probably be as futile as it would be pleasurable. Unfurling in the glass with a rich bouquet of dark berries, black truffles, exotic spices, cedar and loamy soil, it's full-bodied, broad and enveloping, with a deep and layered core of fruit framed by beautifully refined tannins and an immensely long finish. Textural and seamless, this profound Pomerol delivers everything that one dreams about when one reads about Pétrus.