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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.4 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 48 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by dchain on 1/26/2024 & rated 80 points: Opened for N's birthday dinner but was beyond tertiary and sadly undrinkable. I had high hopes for this but that is a gamble with these old wines from less heralded vintages! (338 views) | | | Tasted by Vinnut on 10/22/2023 & rated 92 points: Dark garnet in color with clearing at the edges. Full, forward & attractive nose of mature, ripe fruit aromas of cherries, blueberries, & cassis with classic cigar box overtones of tobacco & cedar, floral notes of violets, earthy/dusty & vegetal notes, leather, coffee, gravel, iron, herbs, spices, minerals & a hint of smoke & menthol in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of balanced & smooth textured, mature, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries & cassis with mushrooms, coffee, herbs, minerals & a hint of oak. Lingering smooth finish. Drinks quite well at present and at 44 years of age, it is at or past its peak of development & would drink up if you have any. Fill was at bottom of neck right up above the shoulder level; cork was stained 1/2 the way up but intact upon opening. (644 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 2/28/2023: Birthday Bonanza (Ai Fiori (Langham Hotel on 5th Ave)): Overshadowed by the Margaux served alongside. This is a good old Bordeaux. Cigar box and a bit more of that secondary style but drinking well. (1599 views) | | | Tasted by RockinCabs on 4/18/2022 & rated 94 points: This is a wine that captures the essence of La Mission Haut Brion wonderfully.
Heady perfume of red berries, cherry, spicy wood smoke, brick, rosemary and olives. Very pessac in its approach and the palate is even more so. Silky and fine tannins that only age can accomplish. Clearly there was vigor when the wine was young as the entry of blackberry, cherry skin and mineral is intense, yet the subtlety unfolds as this sits in the decanter and grows longer in the mouth. Inner mouth perfume of tobacco, smoking embers and baked bricks lies beneath the slightly browning red fruit.
A La Mission of elegance and class that can only be accomplished from the best terroir of Pessac. I adored this wine not for hitting the highs of a great vintage, but for its character and ability to show the nature of the property. (2012 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 10/18/2021 & rated 89 points: A lot of green going on here on the nose and palate. The perfume, with its array of tobaccos, leaves, herbs and earth is the best part of the wine, which is a bit stern and drying out in the finish. If you have this in your cellar, it is time to drink up. (4065 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 9/11/2021 flawed bottle: Epic Bordeaux for an Epic Birthday!; 9/1/2021-9/12/2021 (Paris & Bordeaux): Unfortunate but they do happen when you are drinking old wine. (3321 views) | | | Tasted by RKatzDO on 5/1/2021: Quite pleased with this bottle. Cork was saturated but solid and had seeped at some point in the past long ago. Fill was above base neck. Decanted and filtered out the fine sediment for clarity. Pleasant old Bordeaux nose upon opening, but a bit restrained and light brown, garnet color. Decanted for 2.5 hours before opening. Was singing at the time, classic aged classy Graves, most thought it was at least 15 years younger. Great acid balance, cedar/dried tobacco, dried red fruit and fruit leather/tanned leather-like palate. 30 second finish. Very happy with the bottle. Tried again 9 hours after decanting and it hadn't lost much. Could easily be enjoyed for another 10+ years. (2162 views) | | | Tasted by _water.into.wine_ on 7/28/2020 & rated 94 points: A real success for the vintage. Dark ruby. Great fruits, especially blackcurrants. Some structure. The best 79 I've had (2337 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 6/14/2020 & rated 88 points: Pleasant, without much depth, complexity or length, the wine is more about its earthy, tobacco and cedar secondary characteristics today, as it continues its slow decline. If you are sitting on this, you should consider drinking this sooner than later before it drops the remainder of its fruit. (4017 views) | | | Tasted by JS79 on 12/12/2019 flawed bottle: Very sadly completely gone. (1971 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 9/27/2019: There was some concern that this was corked but to be fair there was that same concern on the HB which then everyone thought was the best wine of the evening. I only had a small taste of this, but to me this was prob the most vibrant of the three from the start. Didn't get to follow it's evolution as it was finished by the time it came back around. More secondary/tertiary, but the vibrancy was nice. (2238 views) | | | Tasted by mouton45 on 9/19/2018 & rated 92 points: Brought my last bottle of the 1979 to our biweekly wine group dinners at Two Chefs; previous one opened at our dinner in 2010.
Not sure how much life it had left, I decided to decant shortly before going to dinner. When I removed the capsule, the top of the cork looked solid with no sign of seepage . But when I started to pull it with an ah-so, it began to come out in pieces, which I double-screened out along with some sediment. The nose was slightly muted and the color had a brownish, earthy look, but a quick taste reassured me it was drinkable, albeit a nondescript Bordeaux at that moment.
A different -- and better -- story at the restaurant, and this is what I love about collecting and drinking fine wines. After starting with two excellent champagnes (Vilmart Cuvee Rubis rose and J Vineyards) and four whites (including two top-notch grand cru Alsatians, a white Bordeaux and a 2009 Mount Eden chard many of us mistook for a Corton Charlemagne in our double blind format), I finally poured the 79 La Mission with the first of the two red-wine courses.
The nose was now more complex with the lovely scents of tobacco and cedar, and the wine had gained some weight and depth and was no longer nondescript. It was medium bodied and earthy and smoky on the palate with some fruit still discernible.
I was pleased how well it showed, and it served a great kickoff for the three younger, bigger reds that followed - 1997 Ch. Margaux, 1995 Phelps insignia and 2008 Viader proprietary blend. While all the champagnes, whites and reds were terrific, the WOTN for me was the closer - 1996 d'Yquem, thanks to Bob Muraro, who also brought the Margaux.
Thanks too to owner-chef Jan Jorgensen and Chef Oscar Pajares, who cooked for us last night. For years, they have been creating special off-the-menu feasts (two courses for whites, two for reds) just for our group. Always great wines, great food, great times. (3098 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 7/30/2018 & rated 93 points: Weekly tasting group RWP #296: A beautiful mix (@ RW): Very mature, but still very complex and beautiful bouquet with oak, cedar and horse stable. On the palate chocolate, graphite and still some dark berries. Mature, but a beautiful and complex wine. Great to taste this! Has probably been a bit better when it was a few years younger, but tonight I still score the wine 93. (3023 views) | | | Tasted by Bacchus&Ceres on 8/27/2017 & rated 94 points: tremendous throw, decanted for an hour and a good looking for a 38 year old wine shiny clear semi-opaque. Aromatics of a moderate oxidation, warm, brown, earthy, powerful nose of stewed fruits, meaty; strong but fast tears bordering on sheet like flow; medium bodied, dry earth, finish of gripping tannins. An aristocrat in a Saddle row bespoke tweed suit with a paisley silk purple pocket square, rat catcher Bates hat on the table, smoking a cigar in an old wooden panelled gentleman's club. Cheers boys; Claret at its finest. (3259 views) | | | Tasted by Comte Flaneur on 4/29/2016 & rated 92 points: The best bottles are smokey, gravelly and sublime. This bottle was more subdued than sublime, and austere with dark, smokey earthy tones, gravelly notes and a fairly curmudgeonly personality. Surprisingly it came fourth in this flight, but still a wine to savour. (4998 views) | | | Tasted by MEKWINE on 11/24/2015 & rated 95 points: RSJ 'IAN A's Greatest hits of the 1970s': Immaculate bottle. All of the three '79s were perfect on the night (Cheval Blanc and Haut Brion). Intense, gravelly, smoky-filled and tobacco. Sublime. (5274 views) | | | Tasted by NoTrollingerPlease on 11/14/2015 & rated 88 points: Best bottle (@Schmiede, Kirchheim): Glass: Schott Zwiesel Red Wine
Served from a mid-shoulder bottle.
Clear, impressive medium deep purple color. Clean nose, with menthol notes. Dry, intense acidity, a bit drying out tannin, medium intense on the palate and medium length. Not that appealing to drink solo but goes well with food. Drink up, it won’t improve. (4907 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 10/6/2014 & rated 90 points: Smoky, earthy, intense tobacco, forest floor and fresh, cherries, slightly rustic tannins, fresh, but fading dark red fruits. (6297 views) | | | Tasted by ricknat1 on 11/19/2013: nice but not up to its usual snuff or perhaps mine was gone too quickly to let it come to itself (6377 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 12/18/2012 & rated 88 points: 1979 La Mission Haut Brion sports cherry pipe tobacco scents with hints of forest floor and mushroom. Light in style, this elegant, soft wine ends with cherry flavors and a hint of tartness. This wine needs to be drunk up. 89 Pts (6487 views) | | | Tasted by WST on 8/10/2012 & rated 91 points: A reward after a brutal two weeks of work. Surprised by how alive this was out of a .375. More brown than red, but still showing nice fruit, with sweet cherries and cassis on the palate. Pipe tobacco, mushrooms, dust and leather on the nose. Held up well 2 hours into the large glass. (6547 views) | | | Tasted by Serge Birbrair on 7/1/2012: Slowly but surely the wine just started falling off the plateau. Gets better with air, lots of fruit left very small sediments, enjoy to the fullest, it won't get any better than this! (6523 views) | | | Tasted by winecowboy on 5/28/2012 & rated 90 points: Tobacco and wet leather. Not as open as the 78 but still a charming wine. (5382 views) | | | Tasted by ricknat1 on 4/18/2012 & rated 92 points: Part of a dinner at Bouley pairing 79, La Mission and HB, 82 Barton and Las Cases, 93, Palmer and Margaux and 89 Pichons.
Rounder than the HB, it evolved in the glass even though both had been open 2 hours. Foresty in a nice way. (5427 views) | | | Tasted by mwanasheria on 3/10/2012 & rated 92 points: La Mission Haut Brion; 3/9/2012-3/10/2012 (Burg Staufeneck): From magnum. Nose of cassis, tobacco, chocolate, wood. On the palate dense with dark fruit, vanilla. Quite tannic and for the long run. (5487 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Neal Martin
Vinous, A Century of Bordeaux: The Nines (Sep 2019) (9/1/2019)
(La Mission Haut-brion La Mission Haut-brion Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Jan/Feb 2015, Issue #55, Château La Mission Haut-Brion One of the Graves’ Greatest Estates- Changing For the Better?
(Château La Mission Haut-Brion) Login and sign up and see review text. | The World of Fine Wine, December 2008, Issue #22
(Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/23/2008)
(Ch La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, May/Jun 2006, Issue #3, The 1979 Vintage in Bordeaux: Not Consistently Excellent, But Some Truly Fine Wines
(Château La Mission Haut Brion) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (4/18/2008)
(Château La Mission Haut-Brion) Brick red color with pale to clear meniscus; reticent, slightly pruney, plum and leather nose; tangy, mature, dry cassis and iron palate, starting to dry out; short-medium finish 87 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and View From the Cellar and The World of Fine Wine and JancisRobinson.com and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château La Mission Haut-Brion Producer website - Read more about Chateau La Mission Haut Brion
Château La Mission-Haut-Brion is the greatest Graves wine after Haut-Brion and in some vintages is considered the superior wine of the two. La Mission-Haut-Brion is situated just across the road from Haut-Brion in the commune of Talence in the southern suburbs of Bordeaux. Since 1983, both properties have been under the same ownership, Domaine Clarence Dillon S.A. La Mission-Haut-Brion's vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon 48%, Merlot 45%, Cabernet Franc 7%) lie on a large (up to 18 metres deep in places) gravel bank interspersed with clay. The wine is fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats and then matured in oak barriques (100% new) for 18 months. The wines of La Mission Haut Brion are rich, oaky and powerful and need at least 10 years of bottle ageing before they should be broached.
Jancis Robinson on La Mission Haut Brion.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanGraves Vins de Graves (Conseil des Vins de Graves) - Read more about Pessac Leogan Graves and its winesPessac-Léognan Pessac-Leognan reds:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Soil: Predominantly gravel and sandy rock, with varying proportions of clay and sandstone
Surface Area: 1,491 ha
Pessac-Leognan whites:
Grape Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon
Soil: Gravel and rocks covered with sand, sandstone, and clay
Surface Area: 275 ha |
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