2015 La Mission Haut Brion
Buying options
Tasting Notes
The purity in this wine is really mindblowing. So perfect. Licorice. Stone. Blackberry, blueberry. Full body. The power is amazing. But then it finishes etheral and so agile and beautiful. I am lost for words. This will rank with the best ever from here including 1975 and 1929. 58% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. Mar 2016, www.JamesSuckling.com
Critic Scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
58% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon. Picked from 9 September to 1 October. Very dark and glamorous-looking. Fairly dumb nose but obviously great weight and intensity. A big brooding monster! Massive charge of tannins. Big and pretty alcoholic on the end. Not very communicative at the moment. Lots of palate-tanning tannins. After a while in the glass, a whiff of cordite emerged. Sorcery?! 15.1%. Apr 2016, www.JancisRobinson.com, Drink: 2030-2050
Marking a huge contrast with the cooler, more graceful 2014 (which I prefer), this is a muscular, even monumental red: tannic, concentrated and a little pruney. It teeters on the edge of excess, but it is pulled back by its acidity. I will watch how it ages with interest. Apr 2016, www.timatkin.com, Drink: 2025-2035
Taut and tense from the off: coffee, smoky almond and pulsing with vibrancy and energy. Reservations over the high alcohol at 15.1%abv but 3.74pH means you barely feel it. Such beautiful tannic grip and sense of forward motion, showing great ageing potential. Beautiful length of damson and loganberry fruits and fragrant heather and garden herbs. Lovely texture, structured and tannic hold. 78% new oak. Apr 2016, Jane Anson, www.Decanter.com, Drink: 2026-2040
About the producer
Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion – sister estate of Ch. Haut-Brion and part of the Clarence Dillon stable – is one of the greatest estates in all of Bordeaux. Based in Pessac-Léognan but not officially classified, it produces outstanding red and white wines.