Haut-Brion started picking on August 31, 1989, one of the earliest harvest dates in its history, after a growing season so warm, sunny and dry that the estate still compares the resulting wine to its own 1959. The blend is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, from the only First Growth outside the Medoc: an urban estate in Pessac where gravel deposits run up to eight meters deep, capturing and releasing heat to create the hottest meso-climate in Bordeaux. Grapes grew here in Roman times, the Pontac family established the vineyard in the 1530s, and on April 10, 1663 Samuel Pepys recorded drinking "Ho Bryen", the first known mention of a specific wine estate in English. The Clarence Dillon family has owned it since 1935, and the property pioneered stainless steel fermentation in 1961 along with its own double-skinned temperature-controlled vats. Nearly four decades on, the 1989 is at full maturity but in no hurry at all: powerful and smooth at the same time, with the ember-and-tobacco perfume that only Pessac gives. Decant an hour ahead and pour it into big glasses.