Clos du Marquis 1989

Tasting notes and serving suggestions for Clos du Marquis 1989

Tasting

Appearance
The wine shows a deep, dark color with the beautiful intensity characteristic of the 1989 vintage.

Nose
The bouquet reveals complex aromas of ripe dark fruits, notably blackcurrant, alongside cedar and tobacco notes typical of Saint-Julien. Truffled and animal nuances enrich the whole, while hints of toasted oak add an extra dimension.

Palate
On the palate, this wine impresses with its richness and remarkable structure. The tannins are ripe and supple, creating an elegant, enveloping texture. Fruit flavors unfold with opulence and generosity, supported by a refreshing acidity that brings balance and freshness to the whole. Nuances of dark chocolate, dried herbs and licorice add complexity on the palate. The finish lingers harmoniously, reflecting remarkable balance and an elegance that promises excellent cellaring potential.

Food and wine pairings

Clos du Marquis 1989 pairs harmoniously with grilled or braised red meats, especially beef. It also pairs beautifully with game such as venison or pheasant, whose intense flavors resonate with the wine’s tertiary notes. Lamb preparations, whether simple or more elaborate with herbs and reductions, are also excellent choices. Seasonings based on thyme, rosemary and sage create particularly successful pairings with this wine.

Serving and cellaring

Clos du Marquis 1989 is best served at a temperature between 16 and 18°C. Decanting for one to two hours before serving is recommended to allow the wine to fully open and to separate any sediment. Produced in an exceptional vintage, this wine is now approaching its optimal drinking window and should continue to evolve well until around 2030 for bottles stored in ideal conditions.

A structured, complex Saint-Julien from an exceptional sun-filled vintage

The estate

Created in 1902 by the Delon family, Clos du Marquis takes its name from the Petit Clos, a walled vineyard adjacent to Château de Léoville, the residence of the Marquis de Las Cases. Clos du Marquis is not the second wine of Léoville Las Cases, but a distinct cuvée from a specific terroir. Now run by Jean-Hubert Delon and his sister Geneviève d'Alton, the estate covers around forty-five hectares in Saint-Julien. Clos du Marquis benefits from the same rigorous management as the family’s classified growths and produces wines recognized for reaching quality levels comparable to Third Growths, while remaining unclassified in the 1855 Classification hierarchy.

The vineyard

The Clos du Marquis vineyard occupies a privileged position on the Saint-Julien plateau, located five hundred meters west of the Grand Enclos de Léoville Las Cases. Surrounded by prestigious classified growths such as Léoville Poyferré, Léoville Barton and Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, it rests on older, finer Quaternary gravels than those of the Grand Enclos. The soils, composed of humic podzols over sandy-clay gravels, have a high organic matter content inherited from the site’s former forest use. This distinctive feature gives the wine a typically Saint-Julien style. The vines, averaging thirty years of age, benefit from increased hydrological sensitivity, encouraging later ripening and remarkable concentration.

The vintage

The 1989 vintage remains one of the most outstanding in the modern history of Bordeaux. After a wet spring, May saw exceptionally high temperatures, among the hottest ever recorded. Summer continued with extraordinary heat and generous sunshine, creating ideal conditions for grape ripening. Harvest began in late August, the second earliest in modern history after 1893. These exceptional conditions produced concentrated wines with silky tannins and an elegant structure, with considerable aging potential despite slightly lower acidity than in some vintages.

Winemaking and aging

The grapes for Clos du Marquis 1989 were hand-harvested and carefully sorted before vinification. Fermentation took place in temperature-controlled vats, allowing precise temperature management to preserve delicate aromas while extracting color, tannins and complexity. Maceration lasted several weeks to optimize extraction. The wine was then aged in French oak barrels for eighteen to twenty months, with a moderate proportion of new oak preserving the fruity character while refining the tannins through controlled oxidation. Regular rackings and rigorous analytical monitoring accompanied this aging phase.

Grape varieties

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.