($1; 495) Full medium red. Grilled nuts and maple syrup on the nose, along with a whiff of old wood; slight suggestion of maderization. Vinous but on the lean side, with a slight hardness. A less-than-stellar bottle that losing its fruit. ($1,395-$1,475): Old aromas of plum, marzipan and nutty oak. Lovely sweetness and mellow fruit enlivened by superb vinosity. Complicating note of tobacco. Very much an old wine but still with considerable appeal and length, if a trace of finishing dryness. But not a great bottle of this wine, which I've scored in the recent past as high as 98 points.

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The 1959 Haut-Brion did not live up to expectations. I have had nearly perfect examples of the 1959, often preferring it ever so slightly to the 1961 when tasted side by side. That was not the case in Munich. Although the 1959 was outstanding, it seemed less concentrated, more disjointed, and more evolved than the 1961, displaying a more roasted aromatic profile, and less sweetness and unctuosity than previous bottles. The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series IV - Flight D of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock.

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Sensational. Mature, generous and deep, a many-layered wine that shows sweet berry and chocolate flavors under a layer of slightly scratchy tannins. A second bottle was more supple, with a sweeter finish.--Haut-Brion vertical.

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