2012 Château Haut-Brion
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Tasting notes
65.5% Merlot, 32.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc. Intense, very mineral nose with layers of slate and graphite. More complex and inviting than La Mission although at the same time more restrained. Ripe and broad but very fine on the palate. Mineral, savoury and understated. One of our wines of the vintage. FINE+RARE
Critic scores
James Suckling
FINE+RARE
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Haut-Brion is beginning to flex its muscles. The bouquet is perhaps one of the most backward of the five First Growths, the Merlot firmly in the driving seat. Blackcurrant mixes with pitted black olives and cedar, and light sous-bois scents percolate through with time. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins, very good weight, plummy and lightly spiced with plenty of weight on the slightly meaty finish. This is an excellent Haut-Brion, but it needs bottle age. Tasted blind in Bordeaux.
After a first bottle was slightly oxidized, a second bottle of the 2012 Haut-Brion was opened. This has a well-defined bouquet with blackberry, raspberry, cedar and subtle tobacco aromas that unfurl in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins, the most austere of the First Growths, yet fresh as a daisy with impressive tension on the finish. Classy. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.
About the producer
Ch. Haut-Brion is the only classified growth in Pessac-Léognan. One of the five First Growths, it is renowned for producing both exceptional reds and whites. Along with its sister estate, Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, it is part of the Clarence Dillon stable.