Allen Meadows - Score: 91 (2017 Apr.)

The overtly ripe, indeed borderline roasted, nose has now gone largely secondary with subtle but not exuberant spice and mature black fruit notes. The exceptionally rich, robust and still somewhat structured broad-shouldered flavors possess a velvety mid-palate while offering good but not exceptional depth on the muscular finish where the overall sense of elegance is not enhanced by the slightly gritty texture of the supporting tannins. In my view the '89 RSV has reached its apogee and while I would expect the remaining tannins to soften over time, I don't see this improving from here. Multiple, and largely consistent, notes save for one bottle that displayed a slight lactic note. In sum, this is a perfectly good but not truly distinguished vintage for the DRC RSV; note that my scores have ranged from 89 to 91 over the years.