March 3, 2023 - Very funky nose on pnp. After an hour, the nose blew off and was drinkable. Palate is clearly a high quality producer - balanced and elegant. Notes are mint, olive, little fruit left. The production quality is evident, but ultimately not worth the cost. Likely a vintage specific issue...
December 20, 2021 - 11x Bdx & Bdx Blends from around the World: Tasted double blind. This is a solid wine but even Haut Brion can’t work a miracle in such weak vintage. The wine had still a nice fruit component but overall had a subpar precision and medium complexity. My guess was either a big name in a weak vintage or a small name in a weak vintage. Still the group voted it as number two out of ten wines (but I suspect the reveal of the label might have influenced the scores a bit).
TN: Expressive nose, not hyper clean with tertiary aromas, dark and dark red fruit shining through. Much better on the palate. Expressive, intense with dark red fruits, red fruits, and some more blue fruits on the attack, ripe but not too ripe, medium sweetness, herbs and minerality. The structure is without fault with fine tannins, a good freshness, a slightly creamy texture and a medium long finish with herbs, red fruits and minerality. This lacks a bit of depth but mostly the definition and the nose are subpar.
Decanting: I don’t think that this has been decanted (but I don’t know it). It didn’t change a lot in the glass and my guess is a short decant is sufficient for this vintage.
Group rank (9 ppl.): 2nd out of 10 wines
December 4, 2021 - very tertiary, with tobacco and leather plus some barnyard. fruit almost gone but still here.
on the palate very nice drink flow, high and balanced acidity. this is ready now. full of finesse and elegance. absolutely my style.
December 4, 2021 - Weinkongress 2021 (Restaurant Sonne Leuggern): - tasted blind (next to Gruaud Larose 2000 and Mandotte 1998).
- Nose: Less intense (medium) in the fruit spectrum, mainly red fruit can be detected. Is marked by a lot of tobacco and meaty aromas. Not super structured on the nose.
- Palate: nice mouthfeel, velvety tannins (medium) and good acidity (medium +)), nice to drink!
The very tobacco nose dissipates a bit here. Medium + on the finish, however, is still fresh and awesome to drink. Not too structured and complex.
-93 points
December 4, 2021 - Tasted double-blind as part of a random mixed Bordeaux-blend line-up. Tobacco and spices, a bit of Williams, dry leaves. Good tension, fresh acidity and nicely integrated aging notes, but was lacking layers and fruit and the texture has thinned out quite a bit. Clearly the weakest performance of the off-vintage Haut-Brions in that decade with less structure and more past its prime than 1980 or 1985.
November 12, 2021 - Getting the gang together @ Wus (plus birthdays!) (Wu's Wonton King): Pleasantly surprised with this wine. I know HB is always good in every year but this was very very very good and I don't think of '87 as a even decent year in Bordeaux. It's spice rack and a kindof woodsy and probably what I liked the most is just pretty fresh in style.
February 17, 2021 - Truffle, mushroom, black tea, very smooth and elegant, pronounced nose intensity, despite weak vintage, it’s performing at its peak. No decant, medium+ acidity and medium tannin. Tannin fully integrated. From OWC, pristine condition.
September 20, 2019 - A the lovely HB. This wine was just spot on and possibly my WOTN. It's got that more spice cabinet side that a good HB should have. Background notes of black fruits. A very complete and well balanced wine in a perfect drinking window. Hope the others are similar to this.
October 24, 2014 - Bordal chez PG (100% Bordeaux) (Collex-Bossy (Genève)): Le seul vin qui n'a pas été dégusté à l'aveugle ce soir.
Robe assez tuilée et nez très impressionnant sur la fumée, l'âtre froid.
En bouche, le vin est facile à boire, sans grande complexité mais avec de la vivacité encore.
A boire.
August 9, 2013 - Start bottle breath from noon and serve at 7:30pm. Better than the one I had in 2010. It is more complex and enjoyable. A long finish for that vintage. Nose of earhly,leather and tobacco.