1966 Château La Mission Haut-Brion

Community Tasting Notes (71) Avg Score: 91.1 points

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  6/1/2023 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points

  A perfect bottle that showed so well. Haunting on the nose and palate with plenty of subdued smoky black fruits combined with an extraordinary graphite mineral flavor. Almost ethereal in texture and so light on its feet yet showing plenty of flavor definition with notes of aged tobacco, smoked leathers and scorched earth. A fabulous bottle of old Bordeaux and a testament to how well La Mission can age.

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  1/29/2023 - matage Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Garnet color with slight bricked rim.
  Classical Bordeaux markers - pencil shavings, rust, leather/Tobacco, some blackcurrant with sandalwood and oriental spice in the long finish.
  
  Complex palate but this bottle was on the decline with a slightly hollow fruit mid-palate and cranberry-like acidity that became quite pronounced sipping on its own.
  Not for everyone and I think some might think it was too far gone to be enjoyed but for those found of tertiary notes and fully mature wines, it's a treat!
  
  Great match with the lamb racks, potato gratin and concentrated lamb-just with Ras el Hanout - mounted with foie gras for good measure.
  
  Cork was more or less fully soaked so I guess the content had taken some punishment due to that fact. One bottle left..
  
  Decanted for 90 minutes.
  Glass: Riedel Veritas Merlot

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  3/12/2022 - sdr wrote: 90 Points

  This bottle more tired and less focused than the better examples. There’s a lot of bottle variation with the ‘66 La Mission Haut-Brion but at least there was no sign of the dreaded brett the worst ones have.

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  12/2/2021 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Beautiful La Mission nose. A fairly robust bottle.

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  9/18/2021 - sdr Likes this wine: 92 Points

  From a bottle I purchased long ago from Zachy’s or Christie’s auction. High shoulder ullage, cork soaked through but firm and came out in one piece. Instant blast of almost overwhelming hickory smoke which never faded even after several hours. It seemed like the wine was a victim of one of those awful California fires. On the palate, the tannins have totally receded so the impression is soft and smooth, rare for La Mission Haut-Brion at any age. Sound acidity, no hint of VA. It’s actually delightful if you enjoy Liquid Smoke. But for me, I yearned for more structure to offset the smoke. Enjoyed by Jack and Sally.

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