the tannins are fully resolved and I guess this is pretty much as good as it gets in this vintage - a soft and relatively quite delicate wine - easy drinking!
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A rare find at the Emirates business lounge in Dubai as most Bdx seems to be second wines from mid tier producers nowadays. Must have found it’s way from the First Class lounge somehow. Almost full bottle so potentially only recently opened and takes some time to balance out in the glass. Still a fairly dark garnet with a very thin translucent rim. Initially dominated by cedar and wood spices which integrate with more air. Medium body, fine to medium tannins well integrated. Not particularly long. Nice but I recall this being a touch better when trying 5 years ago. Perhaps a proper but short decant would make it even better. 91-92
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surprisingly ready to drink with the tannins largely resolved, this really shows the weakness of the vintage - not a big wine and I'm not sure it will improve but nice enough
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It needed an hour to open up but then there were beautiful notes of cedar, tobacco, soft tannins. Fruit very present from start with wonderful long finish. Ready for drinking now. Could also age for another 5 years and would be even softer.
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This kind of wine can be magic in a great vintage, unlike 2007... Nevertheless, after an appropriate aeration of 4-5 hours, it comes to a good level of pleasure. Finally, this wine is a classic Pessac Léognan, with refined aromas of cherry and silky oak tanins. Does not worth the price whatsoever.
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Wine night @ wcc’s: Black berries, liquorice, truffle, smoked tobacco leaves, with a nice long warm finish. Sweet tannins. There is this opulence but not overbearing. This is in a good place now. One of the best Bordeaux 2007s I’ve tasted.
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Just a treat despite the rumblings about a bad vintage and my own musings. This wine has many more years left to mature and improve. Sadly I have no more.
The nose is more fruit forward than the palette as I found tobacco, some leather in the nose. On the palette the wine is still undeveloped as I found bright notes of unripened cherry, plum, and light cedar closing the initial palette. The finish is certainly closed with tannin dominating the fruit. Improved throughout the night as things softened. This is a wine I believe will come through but it needs another 5-7 years. Finish improved after 2-3 hours with leather and tobacco beginning to emerge.
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Younger and richer than it sems for a 2007. I like the richness here but it is rustic and a bit leafy. Unripeness cannot be fully hidden. Tannins are soft enough though. Decent but not more on today’s showing.
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Enormously exceeded expectations for the vintage, as well as what others have noted here. I was stunned. Notes of smoke, charred earth, cherries and blackberry. Layers of juicy red fruit and tobacco magnify on the generous finish. Fine grained tannins.
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I find this wine to be a great example of what Bordeaux can be in a lesser vintage.
On the nose Clean fruits, with a fine mix of red and dark berries, but also a presence of quite Young oak, in a very positive sense as it helps to give the wine more body. Also a presence of leather and lead pencil, with some mild notes of licorice. On the palate quite full bodied, with a fine and very elegant set of mostly dark fruits, with fresh herbs and tobacco. Great length with fine acidity and somewhat soft tannin. I don´t Think this is a wine for the ages, but it has at least another five years of positive development ahead of it. I found it deleicous already and as I pointed out above, this is the best -07 I have had and it is a testimony to the great wines Bordeaux can make even under dificcult circumstances.
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Clearly one the top wines of the vintage. There is a nice ripeness to the dark red fruits. You find all those wonderful, smoky, earthy, burning campfire embers here too, with elements of wet forest floor, black cherries and blackberry. Medium/full bodied, with most of the tannin melted away, but not completely, as there is still some improvement to be gained with a few more years of cellaring. There is a nice, fresh bite of juicy cassis and tobacco in the finish to round things out. The wine was produced from a blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc.
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Opened the bottle in the morning and put the cork back in as it seemed quite open, and then brought the wine to our anniversary dinner. The sommelier took out the cork upon arrival but did not decant and hence the wine got only a little bit more air over the next hour as we started with white before moving to a number of main courses with the red.
This is a very clear/clean garnet in the glass with a 2-3mm wide transparent rim already. A fragrant and pretty Bordeaux nose is followed by a wonderfully delineated palate, which is very Graves with the evident leafiness, red and dark fruit and the usual touch of toasted oak. Tannins are nicely integrated already. While the flavor profile is very Graves / Bordeaux, the style is almost like a young Burgundy with a beautiful brightness and clarity to all the different flavors of the wine. The only downside of such strict delineation is a certain hardness on the mid palate. Hence I initially thought the wine might still have some upside, as this would certainly soften with more age / air. When it did soften though, towards the end of our dinner, with more leather and tobacco notes now coming through, the wine also lost its distinct delineation somewhat, and the relative weakness of the vintage became more evident as this is not a wine of depth but rather of clarity.
Overall I think this is a great success in the context of the vintage, thanks to the team at La Mission taking a gentle approach when working with the vintage and material at hand and not trying to force it into becoming something else. This 07 is certainly good for another decade or two but as mentioned, I doubt it will improve, it will just change in appearance and might become somewhat less special in my eyes. If you have this in your cellar, would definitively try now with only a short decant.
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Red Fruits, slight herbaceous, good extraction and firm tannins. Aroma and tannins really demand more time. I think in 2 to 4 years revisit. I think it's still fresh and capable of longer term aging.
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Fresh red berries, smoke and hints of eucalyptus on the nose. Palate a bit tight and unforgiving with silken red fruits, smoke, oak and tar. Closed phase.
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Bordeaux & San Sebastian Trip; 3/6/2015-3/13/2015: Nose: Gorgeous Black Cherry, Red berries, smoke and some perfumed tobacco. An extrovert on the nose compared to the Haut Brion. Palate: Silky feel with nice Red Fruits, Oak and Brick/Clay notes. Still evolving and coiling up some complexity. Finish: Moderate, slight drying oak and red berry notes.
For a 2007 this was showing reasonably well, and had a nice layered palate. Will evolve, but an early drinker for LMHB. Shown at the chateau.
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2014 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/14/2014-10/21/2014 (New York City, NY): Like its vintage-equivalent from Haut-Brion, this wine is medium red/garnet in color; however, it is significantly more rich and structured. Dark currant fruit is flanked by aromas and flavors of pipe tobacco, anise, graphite and saddle leather. Freshly acidic and medium-bodied on the palate, it has nicely integrated alcohol and a backbone of medium-weight, rustic tannins. The middle palate is solid and the dusty finish is medium-to-long. Although drinkable now, I suspect that this wine will not reach plateau until it is a decade old. Drink 2017-2030.
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Första kontakten med la mission, upplever den som lite sluten forfarande. Något bittra tanniner mot slutet men en mycket trevlig smak som är väl värd besväret. Ge den två år till så är den nog färdig. Vacker färg men ganska mycket fällning i flaskan. Medeldoft typisk Pessac.
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Im probably scoring too low to counteract the price. It is a wonderful wine. At this point still closed and tannic but probably not a long term ager either. Old world flavors for sure. Forest mustiness. It sure looks beautiful next to the bottle in your decanter though. Not a buy at the retail price but a buy at half off.
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Dissappointed by this wine. Somehow, I was under the impression of drinking a Valpolicella. Maybe it needs time, but I'm not going to take a chance of this one as it retails over 500$.
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Tasted at the New York Wine Experience 2013 Deep dark ruby color, wood and tannins on palate;more toned down than the 2009 tasted that same morning. Polished and refined but still essentially closed. really too young to judge.
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Deep ruby core, fading to slightly brickish rim. Melange of red and dark fruit, rose, hint of meat and cedar on the nose. On the palate, medium plus acidity, powdery tannins, long finish with dark chocolate note. Medium bodied. Well-balanced and posed. Tasted side by side with Haut-Brion 2007, this is lighter style than the latter. The blend is 43%, 48% and 9% of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and and Cabernet Franc respectively.
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Sweet red fruit, forest floor, liquorice, cedar, spices, mineral - very nice. Palate: some nice fruit, but tannins quickly kicking in, integrated but quite drying. Quite acidic. Long, persistent finish. Not too balanced in my view, almost a bit austere and not too much fun to drink at this occasion.
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Académie des Cinquante Bordeaux visit; 9/26/2012-9/29/2012: Paired with Haut-Brion 2007. Black fruit and earth, some toasty oak but this disappears with air, perfume, darker notes than Haut-Brion; just a bit light on the palate, better than the bottle tasted in December 2011; good length, touch of vanilla. Does not justify its price tag this vintage.
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Tasted at LMHB. Smokey, animal, chocolate, backed brick - so beautifully typical to LMHB. Not quite so persistent on the palate, but I think this will probably flesh out a bit with time. I think there's the same level of quality here as the HB, but they're both true to their usual stylistic differences in 2007.
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2012 CellarTracker Bordeaux Trip; 5/21/2012-5/24/2012 (Bordeaux, France): 48% Cabernet Sauvignon / 43% Merlot / 9% Cabernet Franc. This displays an expressive yet elegant nose of cassis, dark plums, red cherries, graphite, chocolate, roasted coffee beans, a hint of graphite, and some tart red currants. The flavors proved more subtle and almost a bit thin on the palate, with black cherries, charred oak, red plums, chocolate, cassis, and a bit more ground coffee beans. Tons of chalky tannins in this, with a lot of acidity giving this a crisp bite on the palate. A medium+ length finish round this out with notes of red cherries and tart cranberries. This wasn't close to as expressive as it was when tasted at the Chateau a year ago, and seems to be clearly starting to shut down. You still get a sense of the complexity and richness this wines does possess, but its hiding behind its layers. Give this some time. Very good+
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Bordeaux Region - Tasted at Chateau: Tasted at Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion. Tasted side-by-side with 2007 Chateau Haut-Brion: La Mission: Brilliant nose of dark berries, tobacco, prunes, earth and flowers. On the palate though, the wine lacked the depth and the punch that was apparent on the nose. It was an elegant and velvety wine though, with bright, forward flavors of dark fruits, cassis, earth and tobacco. Approachable today, but tannins still need years to resolve.
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Bordeaux First Growth Trip; 3/7/2012-3/9/2012 (Bordeaux): In a side by side tasting with Haut Brion. At first there seemed to be some jammy fruit but this disappeared quickly and left a more complex nose. Quite structured with dark fruit and dark chocolate backed by relatively coarse tannins still. I say relatively as this was showing quite well with the tannins noticeable but behaving themselves. The acidity was quite high (not just because it was the first drink of the day) and this seemed to help with the angular tannins. Could be drunk now but should be left another 5 years.
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Bordeaux Trip, 4 days, 1st and 2nd Growths; 6/14/2011-6/17/2011 (Bordeaux): Very dark red color. A blend of 48%M, 43%CS, and 9%CF. This has a gorgeous nose, oozing chocolate, tobacco leaf, cedar, cassis, ripe berries and earth. I find the palate equally inviting, well structured with sweet, integrated tannin, dark red berries, cassis, tobacco, and a subtle scorched earth element. Showing much better right now than the '07 Haut Brion. 94pts.
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CellarTracker Bordeaux Trip; 5/23/2011-5/26/2011 (Bordeaux, France): This opens with a huge nose, showing a good layer of spice and tar, along with a dose of plum, back cherry, prune, and a subtle hint of coffee bean. I found the nose was much more open than the '07 Haut Brion which we tasted along side this. Moving on to the palate, which was showing even bigger than the nose. Lush dark plum, a coating of chocolate, dark cherry, a bit of prune, and a touch of tartness to cap it off. Very dry, with medium acidity, and a moderate amount of dusty tannin. Medium+ finish, ending with notes of chocolate, spice, and plum. Very good.
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-- tasted a single glass non-blind over 5-10 minutes -- -- 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc --
NOSE: Italian sour ale or Flanders red ale (sweet and a touch of balsamic); expressive; hint of oak; complex. Nose on this LMHB was much showier and of the “hey, look at me!” ilk than that of the HB.
TASTE: more open than the HB; cherry fruit supported by ample tannins; 13% alc. not noticeable. A stark departure from the other (middling) ‘07’s tasted on this trip.
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CT Bordeaux Trip, Day 2 (Graves & Sauternes): Still a pretty good wine, but I thought this was one of the poorer La Missions in recent years. It was more or less blown away by the 2007 Haut Brion that we tasted alongside. What a beautiful nose on this though - lush scents of plums and dark berries, toasty tobacco notes, a whiff of chocolate fondant, some warm earth with a little flowery accent, such a lovely bouquet. Unfortunately, the palate lacked a bit of the weight and depth you normally get with a La Mission. It excelled in its precision and focus, with a lovely sense of elegance and a beautiful freshness in its bright flavours dark berries and cherries, all framed with silky tannins, however there seemed to be less than usual substance underpinning the mid-palate and the wine finished a bit shorter than I would have liked. Someone was saying that it would be prefect if you could synthesize the nose on this wine with the much more impressive palate of the Haut Brion. This was still very young, but it was already giving quite a bit of pleasure. There is plenty of room to develop of course, but this seems set to be an early drinking, easy vintage rather than one for the ages.
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4/19/2024 - f95masv Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely but a bit on the thin side. Blackberry, leather, forest floor, sandalwood, hints of pencil shavings, and red cherry.
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4/3/2023 - hargy Likes this wine: 91 Points
the tannins are fully resolved and I guess this is pretty much as good as it gets in this vintage - a soft and relatively quite delicate wine - easy drinking!
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6/4/2022 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 92 Points
A rare find at the Emirates business lounge in Dubai as most Bdx seems to be second wines from mid tier producers nowadays. Must have found it’s way from the First Class lounge somehow. Almost full bottle so potentially only recently opened and takes some time to balance out in the glass. Still a fairly dark garnet with a very thin translucent rim. Initially dominated by cedar and wood spices which integrate with more air. Medium body, fine to medium tannins well integrated. Not particularly long. Nice but I recall this being a touch better when trying 5 years ago. Perhaps a proper but short decant would make it even better. 91-92
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1/7/2022 - hargy Likes this wine: 91 Points
surprisingly ready to drink with the tannins largely resolved, this really shows the weakness of the vintage - not a big wine and I'm not sure it will improve but nice enough
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11/30/2020 - christ80 Likes this wine: 93 Points
It needed an hour to open up but then there were beautiful notes of cedar, tobacco, soft tannins. Fruit very present from start with wonderful long finish. Ready for drinking now. Could also age for another 5 years and would be even softer.
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6/12/2020 - Brevetti wrote: 92 Points
This kind of wine can be magic in a great vintage, unlike 2007...
Nevertheless, after an appropriate aeration of 4-5 hours, it comes to a good level of pleasure. Finally, this wine is a classic Pessac Léognan, with refined aromas of cherry and silky oak tanins. Does not worth the price whatsoever.
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2/27/2020 - dnnk88 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wine night @ wcc’s: Black berries, liquorice, truffle, smoked tobacco leaves, with a nice long warm finish. Sweet tannins. There is this opulence but not overbearing. This is in a good place now. One of the best Bordeaux 2007s I’ve tasted.
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2/14/2020 - SergZr wrote: 94 Points
Wine is very good,but you must drink now or 2 years without decanter
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2/9/2020 - Blauweiss Likes this wine: 93 Points
Same as my note from 2018.
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8/21/2019 - tomoem Likes this wine: 93 Points
Just a treat despite the rumblings about a bad vintage and my own musings. This wine has many more years left to mature and improve. Sadly I have no more.
The nose is more fruit forward than the palette as I found tobacco, some leather in the nose. On the palette the wine is still undeveloped as I found bright notes of unripened cherry, plum, and light cedar closing the initial palette. The finish is certainly closed with tannin dominating the fruit. Improved throughout the night as things softened. This is a wine I believe will come through but it needs another 5-7 years. Finish improved after 2-3 hours with leather and tobacco beginning to emerge.
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4/2/2019 - Collector1855 wrote: 90 Points
Younger and richer than it sems for a 2007. I like the richness here but it is rustic and a bit leafy. Unripeness cannot be fully hidden. Tannins are soft enough though. Decent but not more on today’s showing.
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1/22/2019 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 95 Points
Enormously exceeded expectations for the vintage, as well as what others have noted here. I was stunned. Notes of smoke, charred earth, cherries and blackberry. Layers of juicy red fruit and tobacco magnify on the generous finish. Fine grained tannins.
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12/13/2018 - Blauweiss Likes this wine: 93 Points
I find this wine to be a great example of what Bordeaux can be in a lesser vintage.
On the nose Clean fruits, with a fine mix of red and dark berries, but also a presence of quite Young oak, in a very positive sense as it helps to give the wine more body. Also a presence of leather and lead pencil, with some mild notes of licorice.
On the palate quite full bodied, with a fine and very elegant set of mostly dark fruits, with fresh herbs and tobacco. Great length with fine acidity and somewhat soft tannin. I don´t Think this is a wine for the ages, but it has at least another five years of positive development ahead of it. I found it deleicous already and as I pointed out above, this is the best -07 I have had and it is a testimony to the great wines Bordeaux can make even under dificcult circumstances.
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5/12/2018 - sbajaj10 wrote: 90 Points
Smooth, medium bodied, some tannins,
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8/29/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
Clearly one the top wines of the vintage. There is a nice ripeness to the dark red fruits. You find all those wonderful, smoky, earthy, burning campfire embers here too, with elements of wet forest floor, black cherries and blackberry. Medium/full bodied, with most of the tannin melted away, but not completely, as there is still some improvement to be gained with a few more years of cellaring. There is a nice, fresh bite of juicy cassis and tobacco in the finish to round things out. The wine was produced from a blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc.
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6/9/2017 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened the bottle in the morning and put the cork back in as it seemed quite open, and then brought the wine to our anniversary dinner. The sommelier took out the cork upon arrival but did not decant and hence the wine got only a little bit more air over the next hour as we started with white before moving to a number of main courses with the red.
This is a very clear/clean garnet in the glass with a 2-3mm wide transparent rim already. A fragrant and pretty Bordeaux nose is followed by a wonderfully delineated palate, which is very Graves with the evident leafiness, red and dark fruit and the usual touch of toasted oak. Tannins are nicely integrated already. While the flavor profile is very Graves / Bordeaux, the style is almost like a young Burgundy with a beautiful brightness and clarity to all the different flavors of the wine. The only downside of such strict delineation is a certain hardness on the mid palate. Hence I initially thought the wine might still have some upside, as this would certainly soften with more age / air. When it did soften though, towards the end of our dinner, with more leather and tobacco notes now coming through, the wine also lost its distinct delineation somewhat, and the relative weakness of the vintage became more evident as this is not a wine of depth but rather of clarity.
Overall I think this is a great success in the context of the vintage, thanks to the team at La Mission taking a gentle approach when working with the vintage and material at hand and not trying to force it into becoming something else. This 07 is certainly good for another decade or two but as mentioned, I doubt it will improve, it will just change in appearance and might become somewhat less special in my eyes. If you have this in your cellar, would definitively try now with only a short decant.
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12/30/2015 - Winemaker51 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Red Fruits, slight herbaceous, good extraction and firm tannins. Aroma and tannins really demand more time. I think in 2 to 4 years revisit. I think it's still fresh and capable of longer term aging.
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5/21/2015 - Yme wrote:
Fresh red berries, smoke and hints of eucalyptus on the nose. Palate a bit tight and unforgiving with silken red fruits, smoke, oak and tar. Closed phase.
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3/11/2015 - RockinCabs wrote: 93 Points
Bordeaux & San Sebastian Trip; 3/6/2015-3/13/2015: Nose: Gorgeous Black Cherry, Red berries, smoke and some perfumed tobacco. An extrovert on the nose compared to the Haut Brion. Palate: Silky feel with nice Red Fruits, Oak and Brick/Clay notes. Still evolving and coiling up some complexity. Finish: Moderate, slight drying oak and red berry notes.
For a 2007 this was showing reasonably well, and had a nice layered palate. Will evolve, but an early drinker for LMHB. Shown at the chateau.
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10/16/2014 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 91 Points
2014 New York Wine Experience Trip; 10/14/2014-10/21/2014 (New York City, NY): Like its vintage-equivalent from Haut-Brion, this wine is medium red/garnet in color; however, it is significantly more rich and structured. Dark currant fruit is flanked by aromas and flavors of pipe tobacco, anise, graphite and saddle leather. Freshly acidic and medium-bodied on the palate, it has nicely integrated alcohol and a backbone of medium-weight, rustic tannins. The middle palate is solid and the dusty finish is medium-to-long. Although drinkable now, I suspect that this wine will not reach plateau until it is a decade old. Drink 2017-2030.
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9/20/2014 - ThomasL Likes this wine: 92 Points
Första kontakten med la mission, upplever den som lite sluten forfarande. Något bittra tanniner mot slutet men en mycket trevlig smak som är väl värd besväret. Ge den två år till så är den nog färdig. Vacker färg men ganska mycket fällning i flaskan. Medeldoft typisk Pessac.
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6/15/2014 - jeffreylubowski Likes this wine: 90 Points
Im probably scoring too low to counteract the price. It is a wonderful wine. At this point still closed and tannic but probably not a long term ager either. Old world flavors for sure. Forest mustiness. It sure looks beautiful next to the bottle in your decanter though. Not a buy at the retail price but a buy at half off.
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12/28/2013 - martcouz wrote: 88 Points
Dissappointed by this wine. Somehow, I was under the impression of drinking a Valpolicella. Maybe it needs time, but I'm not going to take a chance of this one as it retails over 500$.
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10/25/2013 - Bandreas wrote: 88 Points
Tasted at the New York Wine Experience 2013
Deep dark ruby color, wood and tannins on palate;more toned down than the 2009 tasted that same morning.
Polished and refined but still essentially closed. really too young to judge.
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7/4/2013 - Libiamo! wrote: 90 Points
Deep ruby core, fading to slightly brickish rim. Melange of red and dark fruit, rose, hint of meat and cedar on the nose. On the palate, medium plus acidity, powdery tannins, long finish with dark chocolate note. Medium bodied. Well-balanced and posed. Tasted side by side with Haut-Brion 2007, this is lighter style than the latter. The blend is 43%, 48% and 9% of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and and Cabernet Franc respectively.
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6/11/2013 - rossi.wine wrote: 90 Points
Sweet red fruit, forest floor, liquorice, cedar, spices, mineral - very nice. Palate: some nice fruit, but tannins quickly kicking in, integrated but quite drying. Quite acidic. Long, persistent finish. Not too balanced in my view, almost a bit austere and not too much fun to drink at this occasion.
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9/28/2012 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 91 Points
Académie des Cinquante Bordeaux visit; 9/26/2012-9/29/2012: Paired with Haut-Brion 2007. Black fruit and earth, some toasty oak but this disappears with air, perfume, darker notes than Haut-Brion; just a bit light on the palate, better than the bottle tasted in December 2011; good length, touch of vanilla. Does not justify its price tag this vintage.
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5/28/2012 - englishman's claret wrote: 95 Points
Tasted at LMHB. Smokey, animal, chocolate, backed brick - so beautifully typical to LMHB. Not quite so persistent on the palate, but I think this will probably flesh out a bit with time. I think there's the same level of quality here as the HB, but they're both true to their usual stylistic differences in 2007.
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5/24/2012 - MattTM wrote:
2012 CellarTracker Bordeaux Trip; 5/21/2012-5/24/2012 (Bordeaux, France): 48% Cabernet Sauvignon / 43% Merlot / 9% Cabernet Franc. This displays an expressive yet elegant nose of cassis, dark plums, red cherries, graphite, chocolate, roasted coffee beans, a hint of graphite, and some tart red currants. The flavors proved more subtle and almost a bit thin on the palate, with black cherries, charred oak, red plums, chocolate, cassis, and a bit more ground coffee beans. Tons of chalky tannins in this, with a lot of acidity giving this a crisp bite on the palate. A medium+ length finish round this out with notes of red cherries and tart cranberries. This wasn't close to as expressive as it was when tasted at the Chateau a year ago, and seems to be clearly starting to shut down. You still get a sense of the complexity and richness this wines does possess, but its hiding behind its layers. Give this some time. Very good+
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5/22/2012 - cliffkol wrote: 92 Points
Bordeaux Region - Tasted at Chateau: Tasted at Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion.
Tasted side-by-side with 2007 Chateau Haut-Brion:
La Mission: Brilliant nose of dark berries, tobacco, prunes, earth and flowers. On the palate though, the wine lacked the depth and the punch that was apparent on the nose. It was an elegant and velvety wine though, with bright, forward flavors of dark fruits, cassis, earth and tobacco. Approachable today, but tannins still need years to resolve.
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3/9/2012 - RayOB wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux First Growth Trip; 3/7/2012-3/9/2012 (Bordeaux): Drank at Château La Mission Haut-Brion
Very big nose of cassis, chocolate, earth, forest floor and spice. Complex mouth with tannins still young and harsh. Nice long length
Come back in 5 years.
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3/9/2012 - DonalOB wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux First Growth Trip; 3/7/2012-3/9/2012 (Bordeaux): In a side by side tasting with Haut Brion. At first there seemed to be some jammy fruit but this disappeared quickly and left a more complex nose. Quite structured with dark fruit and dark chocolate backed by relatively coarse tannins still. I say relatively as this was showing quite well with the tannins noticeable but behaving themselves.
The acidity was quite high (not just because it was the first drink of the day) and this seemed to help with the angular tannins. Could be drunk now but should be left another 5 years.
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12/11/2011 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 89 Points
Annual Grand Cru Tasting (Wijnhandel De Gouden Leeuw, Voorschoten, NL): Very beguiling aroma but seriously lacks weight, relatively light and dry - as most 2007's are unfortunately.
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6/14/2011 - rocknroller wrote: 94 Points
Bordeaux Trip, 4 days, 1st and 2nd Growths; 6/14/2011-6/17/2011 (Bordeaux): Very dark red color. A blend of 48%M, 43%CS, and 9%CF. This has a gorgeous nose, oozing chocolate, tobacco leaf, cedar, cassis, ripe berries and earth. I find the palate equally inviting, well structured with sweet, integrated tannin, dark red berries, cassis, tobacco, and a subtle scorched earth element. Showing much better right now than the '07 Haut Brion. 94pts.
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5/24/2011 - MattTM wrote:
CellarTracker Bordeaux Trip; 5/23/2011-5/26/2011 (Bordeaux, France): This opens with a huge nose, showing a good layer of spice and tar, along with a dose of plum, back cherry, prune, and a subtle hint of coffee bean. I found the nose was much more open than the '07 Haut Brion which we tasted along side this. Moving on to the palate, which was showing even bigger than the nose. Lush dark plum, a coating of chocolate, dark cherry, a bit of prune, and a touch of tartness to cap it off. Very dry, with medium acidity, and a moderate amount of dusty tannin. Medium+ finish, ending with notes of chocolate, spice, and plum. Very good.
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5/24/2011 - grafstrb wrote:
-- tasted a single glass non-blind over 5-10 minutes --
-- 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc --
NOSE: Italian sour ale or Flanders red ale (sweet and a touch of balsamic); expressive; hint of oak; complex. Nose on this LMHB was much showier and of the “hey, look at me!” ilk than that of the HB.
TASTE: more open than the HB; cherry fruit supported by ample tannins; 13% alc. not noticeable. A stark departure from the other (middling) ‘07’s tasted on this trip.
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5/24/2011 - Paul S wrote: 91 Points
CT Bordeaux Trip, Day 2 (Graves & Sauternes): Still a pretty good wine, but I thought this was one of the poorer La Missions in recent years. It was more or less blown away by the 2007 Haut Brion that we tasted alongside. What a beautiful nose on this though - lush scents of plums and dark berries, toasty tobacco notes, a whiff of chocolate fondant, some warm earth with a little flowery accent, such a lovely bouquet. Unfortunately, the palate lacked a bit of the weight and depth you normally get with a La Mission. It excelled in its precision and focus, with a lovely sense of elegance and a beautiful freshness in its bright flavours dark berries and cherries, all framed with silky tannins, however there seemed to be less than usual substance underpinning the mid-palate and the wine finished a bit shorter than I would have liked. Someone was saying that it would be prefect if you could synthesize the nose on this wine with the much more impressive palate of the Haut Brion. This was still very young, but it was already giving quite a bit of pleasure. There is plenty of room to develop of course, but this seems set to be an early drinking, easy vintage rather than one for the ages.
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