Château Haut-Brion Reviews
Learn More About Château Haut-Brion through its Reviews.
2021 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
Futures Pre-Sale Price $560.00
Ships After November 2024
A blend of 50% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 12% Cabernet Franc.
98 Pointz James Suckling
A very structured young Haut-Brion with blackberry, blackcurrant, black-olive and mushroom character. Medium to full-bodied with a driving balance of firm and ripe tannins and gorgeous fruit.
98 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
A candidate for the title of wine of the vintage, the 2021 Haut-Brion unwinds in the glass with aromas of rich red and black fruit mingled with notions of cigar wrapper, licorice, black truffles, loamy soil, and burning embers. Full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it’s elegant and multidimensional, with superb depth at the core, lively acids and ultra-refined tannins. Combining the classical proportions of the vintages of two decades ago with the viticultural and winemaking of today, it’s a timeless classic in the making, but it’s difficult to find an obvious analogy with an older vintage.
When pressed, Jean-Philippe Delmas suggests a superior version of the 2014 vintage, and to me, a more concentrated, serious version of the 2012 vintage also comes to mind. What is clear, however, is that this is one of the real high points of 2021. The blend is 50% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Cabernet Franc, and it attained 13.8% alcohol—a percentage point or so lower than in 2020 or 2019.
97 Pointz Decanter
One of the absolute stand out wines on 2021 with an electric appeal almost unrivalled in the vintage. Blackcurrant leaf, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, rose petals, sweet cherries, and bramble fruits on the nose. Incredibly lively and energetic on the palate with a burst of sharp, sweet, and sour fruits that just fills the mouth coated by chalk, slate, and pencil lead mineral tannins that give a intensity while the fruit persistency lingers above and through to the long finish. Such delicacy yet multi-layered and full of concentration, clear ripeness, and power, though delivered with suaveness and style.
Tannins are firm and robust, mouthfilling, no doubt about that, but they give the structure and frame to the plush and plump fruit which also has such a crystalline purity to it. I love the intensity and also these spicy bitter dark chocolate and liquorice elements on the finish which give nuance.
97 Pointz Vinous
The 2021 Chateau Haut-Brion is all class, all finesse. Naturally the overt intensity of recent vintages is replaced by a more understated style in 2021. Silky tannins caress a core of dark cherry/plum fruit. Hints of lavender, new leather, cloves, and menthol gradually open. The trademark Haut-Brion aromatics are going to need a number of years in bottle to develop. The 2021 is hardly a blockbuster, and yet in many ways it is so primary.
97 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
This wine is rich with structure and serious intent. The black fruits are spicy, backed by solid tannins and powerful berry flavors and structure. Here is an impressive wine—dense and complex.
2020 Chateau Haut-Brion Reviews
A blend of 42.8% Merlot, 39.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.5% Cabernet Franc.
100 Pointz James Suckling
This is a superb Haut-Brion with incredible tannins that are wonderfully fine-grained. It’s really powerful. This is very primary with so much grape-generated tannin structure. Very, very long, going on for minutes. Seductive and friendly at the start and then takes you on at the finish with so much structure. Wine of the vintage?
100 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
The 2020 Chateau Haut-Brion is a blend of 42.8% Merlot, 39.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.5% Cabernet Franc, harvested from 7th to 29th September, with an estimated alcohol of 15% and a pH of 3.8. Opaque purple-black colored, it leaps from the glass with a first wave of vibrant black raspberries, ripe blackberries, and mulberries scents, followed by a powerful core of warm cassis, dark chocolate, and violets, before bursting into an array of crushed rocks, iron ore, tree bark, and black truffles notes.
The concentrated, densely packed, full-bodied palate is not in the least bit heavy, delivering a refreshing backbone of red berry and dried herbs suggestions, framed by seamless acidity and very finely grained tannins, finishing on an epically long, fragrant earth note. Simply stunning.
99 Pointz Vinous
The 2020 Haut-Brion is shaping up to be one of the wines of the year. Substance, depth, and textural intensity elevate Haut-Brion into the realm of the sublime in 2020. All the elements are so wonderfully balanced. Inky dark fruit, gravel, lavender, violet and dark spice build as the 2020 gradually opens with some aeration. Wow.
96 Pointz Decanter
Concentrated, powerful and precise; this takes a grip and holds on, layers of licorice, grilled coffee bean, chocolate, blackcurrant pastille, cassis bud, and a more steely wet stone edge that gives a much needed balance to the richness of the overall feel of this wine. Gunsmoke curls out of the glass after half an hour – this is going to need serious aging, impressive and powerful stuff.
2019 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
100 Pointz James Suckling
The is very refined and elegant with a fine-tannined line running through the center of the palate. It’s very intense and precise. Full-bodied with great, tight fruit. This is subtle and complex, then it opens on the palate and shows incredible depth and intensity. Great length, going on and on for minutes.
99 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
The 2019 Haut-Brion is a blend of 48.7% Merlot, 43.2% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.1% Cabernet Franc, harvested from the 10th of September to the 3rd of October. The estimated label alcohol degree is 14.5%. Displaying a deep garnet-purple color, it comes off incredibly shy and reticent to begin, needing considerable coaxing to reveal notes of dark chocolate-covered cherries, blackberry preserves, woodsmoke and sandalwood, before launching into a full-scale fireworks display of iron ore, cumin seed, redcurrant jelly, red roses, oolong tea and Sichuan pepper scents plus a waft of cardamom.
The medium to full-bodied palate delivers the most exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins with a lively backbone of freshness supporting the tightly wound, earth-laced black fruit layers, finishing very long and minerally. This is one of the most finely structured, tightly knit wines of the vintage. Given time, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it goes atomic and eventually takes top place for the vintage.
97 Pointz Decanter
Powerful and confident, there is no mistaking this concentration of ripe damson and black cherry fruits, set against coffee, earth, sage, and black chocolate. Tons of tannins on display but extremely fine, to the point that you almost don’t notice them, then once the wine has left your mouth you suddenly realise how many there are, and how they are still exerting a pressure. Great persistency, slowing everything down and asking you to stop and think. Clear aging ability here. Harvest September 10 to October 3.
2018 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
A blend of 49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11.9% Cabernet Franc.
100 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chateau Haut-Brion is composed of 49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11.9% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, the wine needs a lot of swirling before it begins to release a whole complex melody of notes, one at a time to begin: tilled earth, followed by pronounced licorice, then crushed rocks, then the preserved plums.
Eventually, it all comes together into a fascinating crescendo of intense crème de cassis, rose oil, wild blueberries, and kirsch notes, giving way to quiet, persistent leitmotif scents of cinnamon stick, truffles, and redcurrant jelly. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers all this and more, revealing tightly wound black fruit, red berry, and exotic spice layers within a solid, wonderfully plush frame and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length and loads of earth and mineral sparks.
99 Pointz James Suckling
Aromas of currants, leaves, fresh mushrooms, oyster shell, tobacco, and dried flowers, following through to a full body, yet ever so refined and polished and it grows on the palate. Lovely, energetic finish. Subtle and driven at the end of the palate. Drink in 2026 and onwards.
98 Pointz Decanter
A beautiful Chateau Haut-Brion that combines generosity and elegance. It’s rich, and velvety, with a vibrant ruby rim, all conveying structure and a sense of power. The flavour floods in through the mid-palate, displaying wonderfully vibrant blackberry, blueberry, slate, touches of blond tobacco, freshly cut herbs and exotic spicing. You can feel in the texture that it’s a warm year, not holding back. It’s powerful but elegant and unforced at the same time, with some brambled edges that give a welcome sense of acidity and a touch of bitterness.
98 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
This wine has an immense structure that’s powered by tannins, yet backed by a dry core and bright acidity. The black currant flavor is very fine and concentrated while also having a juicy freshness that marks the vintage. It has all the structure that should be expected from this estate.
98 Pointz Wine Spectator
Waves of cassis, cherry puree, and blackberry paste roll through in this showstopper, with notes of tea, sandalwood, iron, and anise providing an entourage for the fruit. A subtle warm earth accent underscores the finish without intruding on the texture. A large-scaled yet eminently refined wine. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2045.
2017 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
A blend of 53% Merlot, 40.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6.3% Cabernet Franc.
98 Pointz James Suckling
This is extremely aromatic and perfumed with crushed-berry, flower, currant, and orange-peel character. Full-bodied, very tight, and focused with fabulous depth and density that brings you down through the wine. Deep and serious. Very classic wine that reminds me of top Haut-Brions of the mid-1980s. Try after 2025.
97 Pointz Decanter
A hugely captivating wine, one of the contenders for red of the vintage. There’s an incredible plush, dense texture to the fruit here, with just the slightest pulling back on the final section that suggests the damson, cassis and black cherry fruit is not at the full extent of ripeness seen in 2016 and 2015, but there is absolutely no question that this is a successful, rich and well-expressed wine. It’s extremely powerful and well constructed, with great tannins and a succulence which grows through the palate. 3.73pH.
97 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
A blend of 53% Merlot, 6.3% Cabernet Franc and 40.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Haut-Brion sashays gracefully out of the glass with fragrant notions of black raspberries, kirsch, dark chocolate, star anise and candied violets with a core of warm red and black currants and a touch of pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, the palate bursts with red and black fruit layers, superbly supported by firm, ripe, finely grained tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing very long and mineral-laced.
96 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
This perfumed wine shines with black fruits. Against this, the wine’s tannins are solid and firm, promising long-term aging. The wine’s structure black fruits against tannins is a classic for this estate. Drink from 2024.
96 Pointz Wine Spectator
Features red and black currant fruit flavors, laced with bramble, apple wood, and anise notes, backed by a powerfully rendered finish. Despite the heft and density, this comes off as refined, with streamlined tannins, buried acidity, and a long finish of incense and red tea elements. Not as dense and backward as the top years, but still exhibits pedigree. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2040.
2017 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
A blend of 53% Merlot, 40.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6.3% Cabernet Franc.
98 Pointz James Suckling
This is extremely aromatic and perfumed with crushed-berry, flower, currant, and orange-peel character. Full-bodied, very tight, and focused with fabulous depth and density that brings you down through the wine. Deep and serious. Very classic wine that reminds me of top Haut-Brions of the mid-1980s. Try after 2025.
97 Pointz Decanter
A hugely captivating wine, one of the contenders for red of the vintage. There’s an incredible plush, dense texture to the fruit here, with just the slightest pulling back on the final section that suggests the damson, cassis and black cherry fruit is not at the full extent of ripeness seen in 2016 and 2015, but there is absolutely no question that this is a successful, rich and well-expressed wine. It’s extremely powerful and well constructed, with great tannins and a succulence which grows through the palate. 3.73pH.
97 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
A blend of 53% Merlot, 6.3% Cabernet Franc and 40.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Haut-Brion sashays gracefully out of the glass with fragrant notions of black raspberries, kirsch, dark chocolate, star anise and candied violets with a core of warm red and black currants and a touch of pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, the palate bursts with red and black fruit layers, superbly supported by firm, ripe, finely grained tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing very long and mineral-laced.
96 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
This perfumed wine shines with black fruits. Against this, the wine’s tannins are solid and firm, promising long-term aging. The wine’s structure black fruits against tannins is a classic for this estate. Drink from 2024.
96 Pointz Wine Spectator
Features red and black currant fruit flavors, laced with bramble, apple wood and anise notes, backed by a powerfully rendered finish. Despite the heft and density, this comes off as refined, with streamlined tannins, buried acidity and a long finish of incense and red tea elements. Not as dense and backward as the top years, but still exhibits pedigree. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2040.
2016 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
While Supplies Last
Suggested Retail Price $810.00
A blend of 56% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6.5% Cabernet Franc.
100 Pointz James Suckling
Stunning black fruit with plenty of forest berries in there, the whole picture cool and very delicate, also on the concentrated and highly structured palate. The tannins are very fine-grained, but decisively austere and, together with the vibrant acidity, they propel the finish out towards infinity and leave a breathtaking final impression. A blend of 56 per cent merlot, 37.5 per cent cabernet sauvignon and 6.5 per cent cabernet franc. Very long aging potential, but you could try it in 2023.
100 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
Cellar Selection
#55 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2019
Immensely tannic, this is a great Chateau Haut-Brion, one of the finest for many years. It shows the severe side of this estate, with a dense structure to match the powerful black fruits. Rich with berry flavors and lifted by enough acidity, the wine will age for many years. Drink from 2026.
100 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chateau Haut-Brion is blended of 56% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6.5% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the nose is at once profound and arresting, offering drop-dead gorgeous Morello cherries, lilacs and red rose scents with a core of Black Forest cake, warm blackcurrants and blueberry preserves plus wafts of sandalwood and underbrush. Medium-bodied, the elegantly crafted palate is completely packed with intense floral, mineral and cassis-laced flavors with a firm frame of very finely pixelated tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and achingly stunning.
100 Pointz Decanter
This has a little more reticence initially on the nose than La Mission, but after a few minutes the rich texture begins to reveal itself, with charcoal, tobacco, dark plum, and damson fruits that are straining at the leash. It has hidden power and subtle oak toasting – this clearly feels no need to shout about its presence, but there will be plenty to discover over time. You can feel those tannins licking around your teeth, building up one layer at a time. A great wine En primeur that has settled into greatness.
98 Pointz Wine Spectator
Large and in charge, this has a prodigious core of steeped plum, black currant and loganberry fruit flavors that show both compote and coulis aspects. While that steeps, this delivers a sturdy frame of roasted mesquite, smoldering tobacco and incense, surrounding a muscular spine of worn cedar and tar. Still rather backward, this will be showing well when most others from the vintage have had their day. Best from 2025 through 2045.
2015 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
A blend of 50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc.
100 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
A blend of 50% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Chateau Haut-Brion is reticent to begin, languidly revealing crushed black cherries, ripe black plums, and wild blueberries with sparks of cinnamon stick, cloves, nutmeg, espresso, unsmoked cigars, tapenade, crushed rocks, and lavender.
The full-bodied palate possesses wonderfully complementary contrasts of bold black and blue fruit richness and delicately nuanced cherry fruit, baking spices, and floral accents, strutting ripe, finely pixelated tannins and seamless acidity that is placed firmly in the background, finishing very long and with plenty of attitude. This impeccably poised, exquisitely perfumed 2015 Chateau Haut-Brion possesses the most alluring yet seemingly effortless beauty.
While it bears only a passing resemblance in its opulent personality to the now legendary 1989, like that vintage the 2015 cannot fail to hedonically satiate and intellectually edify all lovers of great Bordeaux who drink it. What’s more, it also has the blue-blooded tenaciousness to remain this jaw-droppingly impressive, throughout its many guises over time, and for a very, very long time.
98 Pointz James Suckling
A structured and powerful Chateau Haut-Brion with so much finesse and beauty. Complex and long. It’s full and ultra-refined. Super length and polish. A formed and sexy Haut Brion.
98 Pointz Wine Spectator
A brick house of a wine, loaded with roasted fig, warmed currant compote, and plum reduction flavors that are as broad as they are deep, carried by warm tar, ganache, and smoldering bay leaf and charcoal notes. A swath of tobacco through the finish pulls everything together and ties it up with a bow of roasted mesquite. The core shows lean, muscular strength in spades. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2045.
97 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
Cellar Selection
Direct and concentrated, this wine is powered by tannins and a firm texture. Dense, it has the potential for plenty of fruit as it matures. That will take time, because this impressive wine is powered by its structure. Wait until 2028.
97 Pointz Decanter
The Graves wine of the vintage (along with Haut-Bailly). Taking the highest proposition of first wine (55%) for several years and a good yield of 45hl/ha. The fruit and tannins reached full and perfect ripeness and the structure shows incredible cohesion, easily approaching the quality of the 2010 but with softer tannins. Beautifully complete with great integrity of coffee grounds and rich damson fruit.
Opens up in the glass, the personality and complexity ripples through. A touch lower alcohol than La Mission at 14.9% abv and with 3.73pH for fresh balance. 58% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 78% new oak. May well be scored upwards when in bottle.
2014 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
A blend of 50 % Merlot, 39 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 11 % Cabernet Franc.
100 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
Cellar Selection
Full of ripe fruit, opulent and concentrated, this is a fabulous and impressive wine. It has a beautiful line of acidity balanced with ripe fruits. The wood aging is subtle, just a hint of smokiness and toast. This is one of those wines, from a great white wine vintage, that will age many years. Drink from 2024.
97 Pointz James Suckling
Beautifully perfumed with rose petals, violets, and currant bush. Full body, very silky tannins, and bright acidity. Tannins are super fine-grained. Goes on for minutes. Racy and refined. Persistent. Drink in 2025.
97 Pointz Vinous
One of the stars of the vintage, the 2014 Haut-Brion is an exceptionally beautiful and vivid wine. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, tobacco, and menthol are some of the notes that run through the 2014. Just as it did from barrel, the 2014 boasts tons of opulence, intensity, and richness. Dried flowers, tobacco, menthol, licorice, and smoke wrap around the huge, baritone-inflected finish. Readers should not be in any rush with the 2014, as it is likely to require a number of years before it even starts to drink well. The blend is 50 % Merlot, 39 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 11 % Cabernet Franc.
96 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
The 2014 Chateau Haut Brion is a blend of 50% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 39% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 11 September and 10 October, cropped at 42.9 hectoliters per hectare and raised in 70% new oak. As I observed when I made the comparison in barrel, the Chateau Haut Brion exudes more red fruit than La Mission Haut Brion, adorned with wild strawberry, bilberry, tobacco, and again, just that hint of menthol in the background. The palate is very fresh and taut on the entry. The acidity is very nicely pitched and there is a touch of marmalade and blood orange that is tangible at the back of the mouth.
There is real frisson to this Haut Brion, not quite as seductive and as smooth as its sibling over the road, but very persistent in the mouth. I noticed that over 15 to 20 minutes that the Haut Brion just gained more and more complexity, putting a small distance between itself and La Mission, as if determined to mock my opinion in barrel that La Mission would have the upper hand! Be my guest. Haut Brion has an inch, just an inch ahead of its “rival” sibling.
96 Pointz Wine Spectator
Loaded with warm tar, singed juniper, plum reduction, and cassis notes that are perfectly melded, giving this a remarkably supple edge. The finish lets tobacco, bay leaf, and incense accents glide in. Shows lovely mouthfeel and superior refinement overall. Best from 2020 through 2035.
95 Pointz Decanter
From a blend of 50% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a full and deep expression of the vintage. The fruit leads with damson and plum, with black pepper spicing, lovely smoked grilled notes, touches of bramble, with a beautiful tannic hold and life on the finish.
Deft and elegant, clearly successful, rich complexity, and deceptive in terms of aging because the tannins are fine but there are plenty of them, gently building up in your mouth over the course of the tasting. Such confident handling of the vintage, as you would expect, relatively high alcohol for the year at 14.25%abv, but barely discernible.
2013 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
A blend of 50% Merlot, 45.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4.5% Cabernet Franc.
97 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
The production is tiny, yet the potential of this wine is enormous, with its tight, textured structure that is still so young. It is opulent and generous while still keeping a tight rein on its emotions. A steely core is surrounded by fruit that has hints of apricots as well as citrus. This will be a very fine wine but it needs many years, so wait until 2022.
95 Pointz James Suckling
This is very, very long and intense with velvety tannins and plenty of sweet tobacco, cedar, and dark berry aromas and flavors. Already open and delicious to drink. This is difficult to say it’s 2013. Fantastic for the vintage. Only 45% of the normal production.
94 Pointz Decanter
Superb colour, lovely earthy black fruit spices nose, wonderful texture of velvety fruit in the La Tâche style, with tannins for the future, undeniable depth, and class.
94 Points Vinous
Smoke, tobacco, incense, and game meld into a core of black stone fruits as the 2013 Haut-Brion shows off its personality. Like most of the reds in this range, the 2013 really needs time in the glass to blossom. Violets, lavender, and melted road tar develop over time in a striking, vivid wine endowed with class as well as considerable potential. Haut-Brion is one of the more overtly muscular, broad-shouldered wines of the year. It will be interesting to see what time in barrel brings, but there is a lot to look forward to. The 2013 is 50% Merlot, 45.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4.5% Cabernet Franc.
92 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
The 2013 Chateau Haut Brion has perhaps a little more complexity on the nose compared to the 2013 La Mission Haut-Brion at the moment. There is more depth and plenty of attractive fruit: cranberry, wild strawberry, hickory, and a scintilla of scorched earth that becomes quite peaty with time. It is well defined and shows impressive focus.
The palate is very well balanced with tensile tannin, a keen thread of acidity, lively in the mouth with more weight and presence than La Mission, though perhaps without quite the same precision at the moment. It still cuts away just a little short on the finish, but this is a decent Haut-Brion that may pull ahead of its ‘sibling’ with bottle age.
91 points Wine Spectator
This has a lovely core of lightly steeped plum, blackberry, and black currant fruit, which has already melded with tar and sweet tobacco notes to gain a rounded feel. Presents an ample spine for structure and length, with a hint of warm paving stone at the very end. Best from 2017 through 2025.
2012 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
A blend of 65.5% Merlot, 32.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Cabernet Franc.
97 Pointz Vinous
A big, powerful wine, the 2012 Haut-Brion possesses stunning richness and intensity, with all of the depth that is lacking in so many other wines in this vintage. Not here. The 2012 possesses remarkable depth and tons of raw, animal power that is going to require considerable time in bottle to soften. Readers should be in no rush; the 2012 Chateau Haut-Brion is a wine for the ages. Smoke, graphite, dried herbs, and blue/purplish stone fruits grace the exotic, alluring finish.
96 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting, the 2012 Chateau Haut-Brion has an open and generous bouquet with blackcurrant pastille, cassis and briary aromas the exude very pure Merlot.
The palate is medium-bodied with a sumptuous opening that is rare in 2012: rounded and generous, caressing in the mouth with black plum and blackcurrant towards the finish, residues of truffle and white pepper lingering on the aftertaste that turn very savory after 15 minutes—bacon fat or Italian cured meats.
There is a lot to love about this Haut-Brion although in this blind showing I scored it the same as La Mission Haut-Brion. Who will stick their neck out as the two wines mature? Tasted January 2016.
96 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
Cellar Selection
Firm and solid, this is one of the successes of 2012. It’s properly dark and tough at this stage, with that serious intent that’s a hallmark of Haut-Brion. Layers of firm tannins are interspersed with blackberry fruits and juicy acidity. The wine is dense and concentrated, with the wood aging still showing. This powerful wine will need many years. Drink from 2024.
96 Pointz James Suckling
Amazing aromas of wet stones, earth, currants and berries. Subtle and complex. Full body and a beautiful core of ripe fruit on the palate and the finish. Round, light, chewy tannins. Needs at least four or five years to open. This is the most merlot ever in Chateau Haut-Brion. Rich too. One of the wines of the vintage. 65.5% Merlot, 32.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Cabernet Franc. Better in 2020.
95 Points Wine Spectator
This combines power and refinement, with a singed alder frame around a dense core of red and black currant, plum, and blackberry fruit. Notes of bay, black tea, and tar line the finish. Has a lovely, fine-grained feel that lets the dark, hefty fruit drape beautifully. The tobacco element hangs in the background. Sneakily long. Best from 2018 through 2030.
2011 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
A blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and 19% Cabernet Franc.
96 Pointz James Suckling
Lots of subtle redcurrant and berry character, with flowers and sweet tobacco on the nose. Full body, super-integrated tannins, and a light shaved-chocolate, berry, and cedar character. A decadence and beauty to this that wakes you up. Better in 2018.
95 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
The unbelievably superb 2011 Chateau Haut-Brion (a tiny production of 7,600 cases from a blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and 19% Cabernet Franc) exhibits a classic nose of subtle smoldering embers, warm rocks, black currants, new saddle leather, spice box, and high quality, unsmoked cigar tobacco. The color is a dense ruby/purple to the edge, and the wine cuts a serious as well as broad swath across the palate.
The most amazing aspect of this terroir is that the wine, despite all its power and richness, literally dances on the palate, as if it were a 90 pound ballerina. This brilliant 2011 should evolve quickly, hitting its prime in 7-8 years, and drink beautifully for 20-25 years..
95 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
This wine has an intense herbaceous quality, with fruit and nutmeg flavors. It feels and tastes powerful, with alcoholic warmth and a taut and nervy character.
95 Pointz Wine Spectator
This packs some serious density for the vintage, with layers of braised fig, blackberry pâte de fruit, and dark currant paste, all inlaid with lively briar, tobacco leaf, and roasted apple wood notes. Shows lots of energy through the finish, with the grip generating a mouthwatering feel. One of the stars of the vintage. Best from 2018 through 2035.
2010 Chateau Haut Brion Reviews
100 Pointz Robert Parker’s
Wine Advocate
As for the 2010 Chateau Haut-Brion, it does not have the power of Latour’s 2010 or the intense lead pencil shavings and chocolaty component of Lafite-Rothschild, but it is extraordinary, perfect wine. It has a slightly lower pH than the 2009 (3.7 versus the 2009’s 3.8), and even higher alcohol than the 2009 (14.6%). The wine is ethereal. From its dense purple color to its incredibly subtle but striking aromatics that build incrementally, offering up a spectacular smorgasbord of aromas ranging from charcoal and camphor to black currant and blueberry liqueur and spring flowers, this wine’s finesse, elegant yet noble power and authority come through in a compelling fashion.
It is full-bodied, but that’s only apparent in the aftertaste, as the wine seems to float across the palate with remarkable sweetness, harmony, and the integration of all its component parts – alcohol, tannin, acidity, wood, etc. This prodigious Chateau Haut-Brion is hard to compare to another vintage, at least right now, but it should have 50 to 75 years of aging potential. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2065+.
99 Pointz Wine Spectator
Sappy, tongue-coating pastis, blackberry coulis, and loganberry fruit starts this huge wine off, followed by a parade of licorice snap, violet, tar, black tea, roasted alder, wood spice, and steeped black cherry fruit notes. A beam of pure cassis drives through this, and the finish pulls everything together with a mouthwatering brambly edge that should soften slowly over time. A riveting display of brawny power, unbridled energy, and high-level terroir. Best from 2020 through 2040.
98 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
A firm and serious wine, complex and complicated, one of the finest wines from 2010 vintage. It has a rich undertow of black fruits, while the tannins dominate at this stage. To add to the powerful range of flavors, the wine has an edge of severity that bodes well for its long-term future.
97 Pointz James Suckling
This is very spicy with dried mushroom aromas with dark fruits and plum undertones. Sweet tobacco as well. This is full-bodied, with lots of tannins that are chewy and firm. This is muscular for HB and flexing it. Try in 2020.