P.M. BRIEFING : Bordeaux ‘Sensational,’ Costly

The best wines produced in France’s Bordeaux region in 1989 will rival the leading vintages of the postwar era, and prices for the selected bottles are expected to go through the roof on the U.S. market, Wine Spectator magazine said today.

“The 1989 Bordeaux vintage will be sensational--and the corresponding price tags possibly even more so,” said the bimonthly trade publication in its April 30 issue to be available at newsstands later this week.

“If 1982 was reckoned to be among the top three vintages of this century, it now appears to have been dethroned by the 1989,” said the magazine, which has subscribers in 70 countries.

Magazine senior editors James Laube and James Suckling went to the Bordeaux vineyards earlier this month to sample 140 wines directly from the barrel.