From a "quintessential Chenin Blanc year" (Michael Broadbent), the luminously orange-golden 1989 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Moelleux Première Trie displays a beautifully clear and intense yet not loud, nobly elegant and perfectly balanced raisin fruit with precise aromas of dried apricots and ripe peaches intertwined with subtly spicy, mineral and chalky notes on the nose. Sweet and superbly harmonious on the highly elegant, silky textured and well concentrated palate, this full-bodied, gorgeously fruit-concentrated and animated Chenin from the first picking of dried berries has a perfect, sensual flow and reveals an incredible generosity, finesse and delicacy. This is a gorgeously balanced sweet wine with an intriguing concentration of fruit and finesse. Great to drink on its own for a lifetime or with foie gras or lobster. According to Noël Pinguet, there was no botrytis in 1989, "the berries were dried on the vines in a vintage that is the best I have ever made and stands alongside with 1947." (145 EUR; 240 GBP for the Magnum) -Stephan Reinhardt

(95+) It had been a few years since I last crossed paths with the 1989 Le Haut Lieu Premier Trie, and the wine continues to drink at its youthful apex and shows every sign of continuing to evolve brilliantly for fifty or sixty more years to come. The deep, complex and supremely elegant nose is now blossoming beautifully, offering up scents of apricot, sweet quince, chalky soil tones, lanolin, a touch of honeycomb and a topnote of orange peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and still a touch youthful, with a great core of fruit, snappy acids, laser-like focus and absolutely wonderful length and grip on the pure and complex finish. A great wine in the making, this wine is still decidedly climbing in quality and its true apogee is still many years in the future. (Drink between 2015-2075)

(18/20) Orangey bright copper colour. Very clear. Surprisingly little nose but really admirable, gorgeous sweetness and purity on the palate with some botrytis. Very pure indeed. Would make a great, slightly nutty aperitif. Very pure indeed. But only medium weight.