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B-21 Top Recommendation
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From two legendary Bordeaux estates, these rare cellar selections from Chateau Haut-Brion and its sister property Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion boast a plethora of perfect scores and rank among the most long-lived and highly sought after collectibles, delivered in perfect provenance at best on the market pricing while they last. Lots of treasures here so let's dig in.
As part of Domaine Clarence Dillon, First Growth Chateau Haut-Brion and "Super Second" Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion have shared the same winemaking team in Pessac-Leognan for nearly two decades, crafting blends that uniquely reflect each estate's exceptional terroir, La Mission offering bigger, more concentrated flavors with Haut-Brion displaying greater length and finesse according to renowned third generation winemaker Jean-Phillipe Delmas. Described by James Suckling as "already breathtaking" with "enormous aging potential," the extravagant 100 pt. 2009 Haut-Brion offers the estate's signature ripe, opulent fruit elegantly balancing massive tannins and declared "one of the most compelling examples of Haut-Brion ever made" by Robert Parker Jr. Describing it as "pure perfection and one of truly legendary wines out there," the powerful 100 pt. 2010 Haut-Brion is "a massive wine in every sense" according to Jeb Dunnuck that Inside Bordeaux's Jane Anson declares "ready to power through the ages," certain to be a focal point in any collection in original wooden cases of one. The Wine Spectator's James Molesworth calls the impressive 100 pt. 2015 Chateau Haut-Brion "a brick house of a wine," while Antonio Galloni describes the massive 100 pt. 2016 Chateau Haut-Brion as a "nearly indescribable beauty," exclaiming "What a wine!" Describing it as "a hugely captivating wine," Inside Bordeaux's Jane Anson declares the opulent 98 pt. 2017 Chateau Haut-Brion "one of the contenders for red of the vintage," while the Wine Enthusiast's Roger Voss names it a Cellar Selection that's destined to be "a magnificent wine." According to the Wine Advocate's Lisa Perrotti-Brown, "Domaine Clarence Dillon pretty much nailed it across the board in 2018," with James Suckling calling the elegant 100 pt. 2018 Chateau Haut-Brion "a classic beauty in the making."
Called "a beautifully dense, ripe wine" with "an opulent structure and gorgeous fruits," by the Wine Enthusiast's Roger Voss, the powerful 100 pt. 2010 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion is described as "a real head turner" by the Wine Advocate's Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robustly structured to evolve over the next five decades. "A total knockout," Antonio Galloni of Vinous calls the 99 pt. 2016 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion "absolutely delicious and the kind of wine that is so suggestive of a very bright future," while he describes the "gracious and wonderfully nuanced" 97 pt. 2017 La Mission Haut-Brion as "a positively stunning wine" that "simply has it all." Naming it one of the wines of the vintage, the 100 pt. 2019 La Mission Haut-Brion is "already showing its class," according to Inside Bordeaux's Jane Anson and is summed up by Jeb Dunnuck as "one of the few 2019s that will make your eyes roll back in your head," available exclusively in cellar-ready magnums.
A treasure trove of top scoring Bordeaux blends that will make it hard to choose, these outstanding releases from the iconic Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion offer an excellent foundation for a new Bordeaux collection and a golden opportunity for seasoned collectors to fill in a few holes in the cellar, all guaranteeing patient Bordeaux lovers decades of enjoyment ahead. |
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The 2009 Haut-Brion is deep garnet colored and slightly closed and shy to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal sensuous notions of warm blackberries, plum preserves, mulberries and blackcurrant cordial with touches of star anise, mocha and damp soil. Full-bodied, taut and tightly wound in the mouth, the palate delivers mouth-coating black fruit and mineral layers with a very firm frame of ripe, grainy tannins, finishing long and earthy. This needs time!
100 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (Mar 2019)
Extravagant and exotic, but still lively, this is a super-concentrated and elegant wine that's already breathtaking, yet has enormous aging potential. Plenty of wet earth and mushroom character alongside the cassis and blackberry aromas. Super-long, perfectly balanced finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)
100 points, James Suckling (Oct 2019)
This enormous young wine is among the most backward of the vintage at this early stage, with iron-clad grip holding the broad, deep core of blackberry, cassis and roasted fig notes in check for now. The finish is a torrent of dense, almost compressed layers of tobacco leaf, hot paving stone, singed bay leaf and tar that will take at least a decade to massage together fully. This one is for the kids born in 2009. Best from 2020 through 2040. 10,500 cases made.
98 points, James Molesworth, Wine Spectator (Mar 2012)
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