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B-21 Top Recommendation Read More
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 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion was stunning from barrel, and now in bottle. It has a sublime bouquet of blackberries, briar and hits of dark chocolate and rose petals that gain intensity with aeration while maintaining ethereal delineation. It never steps on the accelerator too hard. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is still a veneer of new oak that will need to be assimilated over the coming years. This is a deep La Mission that caresses the mouth. Touches of graphite lingering on a finish that fans out gloriously. Is the 2016 up there with the 1955 or 1989? Nearly.
99 points, Neal Martin, Vinous (Jan 2019)
The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is just a little muted to begin, soon unfurling to reveal slowly growing scents of crushed blackcurrants, black cherries, dark chocolate and candied violets with nuances of crushed rocks, tobacco leaf, forest floor and fragrant earth plus a hint of bergamot. Medium-bodied and exquisitely elegant, the palate offers perfectly ripe, fine-grained tannins and tons of freshness with layer upon layer of perfumed fruit and a very long, ferrous-laced finish.
98+ points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (Nov 2018)
The 2016 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion checks in as a Merlot-heavy blend, 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. About as pure and seamless (yet sexy) as they come in the vintage, it offers awesome notes of dried flowers, sweet currants, cedarwood, forest floor, and exotic spices. With a flawless texture, medium to full body, and ultra-fine tannins, this beauty builds incrementally on the palate with terrific mid-palate depth and a stunning finish. It’s sexier and more charming compared to the more backward Haut Brion, yet I suspect it will age just as long.
98 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Feb 2019)