La Mission

Tasting Notes:
Rated 100 points in a blind tasting by Robert Parker in October 2009. Sent to subscribers by email.
Parker Points: 100
Drinking Period: 2013-2038

Tasting Notes:
Rated 100 points in a blind tasting by Robert Parker in October 2009. Sent to subscribers by email.
Parker Points: 100
Drinking Period: 2016-2048

Tasting Notes:
While La Mission Haut-BrionÕs 2004 is not one of this estateÕs top successes, it is an outstanding wine, no doubt because of this extraordinary terroir. Deep ruby/purple with notes of lead pencil shavings intermixed with black cherries, cassis, and a hint of scorched earth, medium body, sweet tannin, and a good, but uninspiring finish, this attractive, mid-weight La Mission should age nicely for 15 or more years. The Wine Advocate #171 Jun-07.
Parker Points: 90
Drinking Period: 2007-2022

Tasting Notes:
A superstar of this great vintage, the 2000 La Mission Haut-Brion is as profound as the 1989, 1982, and 1975. It is more structured and tannic than the 1989, more civilized and refined, but not as thick as the 1982, and sweeter as well as purer than the 1975. The 2000 is neither flamboyant nor accessible, but what upside potential it possesses! In time, one might have to return to the prodigious duo of 1959 and 1961 to find a La Mission with this much potential. While still tight from bottling, its inky purple color is accompanied by extravagantly sweet aromas of blackberries, blueberries, toast, scorched earth, coffee, asphalt, graphite, and smoke. Super-intense and unctuously-textured, with a sumptuous mid-palate and finish, this is an explosively rich, layered effort that possesses everything I could ever want from a terroir that has given me as much hedonistic and intellectual pleasure as any other wine in the world. It is an amazing achievement for administrator Jean-Bernard Delmas, his son, Jean-Phillipe, and the entire winemaking team. The phenomenal aftertaste goes on for over a minute. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2045. The Wine Advocate, #146 Apr-03.
Parker Points: 100
Drinking Period: 2011-2045

Tasting Notes:
The 1996 La Mission-Haut-Brion was closed and backward when I tasted it in January. The wine was bottled in summer, 1998, and should have had sufficient time to overcome any suppression from going from wood to glass. It possesses considerable potential, and I would not be surprised to see it merit an outstanding score after 2-4 years of cellaring. The color is a healthy plum/purple, and the wine exhibits some of the black fruit, smoky mineral character of La Mission, but it is medium-bodied and moderately high in tannin, with notes of cedar. The finish was totally closed, with the tannin in danger of dominating the wine's fruit. This muscular, structured La Mission will take longer to come around than I originally predicted. Wine Advocate #122 April 1999
Parker Points: 89
Drinking Period: 2007-2020

Tasting Notes:
The 1996 La Mission-Haut-Brion was closed and backward when I tasted it in January. The wine was bottled in summer, 1998, and should have had sufficient time to overcome any suppression from going from wood to glass. It possesses considerable potential, and I would not be surprised to see it merit an outstanding score after 2-4 years of cellaring. The color is a healthy plum/purple, and the wine exhibits some of the black fruit, smoky mineral character of La Mission, but it is medium-bodied and moderately high in tannin, with notes of cedar. The finish was totally closed, with the tannin in danger of dominating the wine's fruit. This muscular, structured La Mission will take longer to come around than I originally predicted. Wine Advocate #122 April 1999
Parker Points: 89
Drinking Period: 2007-2020

Tasting Notes:
An extraordinary effort that gets better with each tasting, this dark, murky, garnet/purple-colored 1982 exhibits a fabulously complex nose of hot bricks, asphalt, black fruits, tar, roast beef, and truffles, colossal concentration, super-ripeness, an unctuous texture, and low acidity. While still exceptionally youthful, this wine is powerful, dense, large-scaled, and intense. It is evolving at a snail's pace, but should continue to improve for another 10-15 years, and last for another three decades. A candidate for perfection!Wine Advocate # 129 Jun 2000
Parker Points: 99
Drinking Period: 2010-2040

Tasting Notes:
An extraordinary effort that gets better with each tasting, this dark, murky, garnet/purple-colored 1982 exhibits a fabulously complex nose of hot bricks, asphalt, black fruits, tar, roast beef, and truffles, colossal concentration, super-ripeness, an unctuous texture, and low acidity. While still exceptionally youthful, this wine is powerful, dense, large-scaled, and intense. It is evolving at a snail's pace, but should continue to improve for another 10-15 years, and last for another three decades. A candidate for perfection!Wine Advocate # 129 Jun 2000
Parker Points: 99
Drinking Period: 2010-2040

Tasting Notes:
100 points. The 1975 La Mission-Haut-Brion has been the most consistent wine of the vintage. Super-concentrated, and now beginning to shed enough tannin so that it can be fully appreciated, this enormously constituted La Mission-Haut-Brion has developed that fabulous Graves set of aromatics - tobacco, black fruits, minerals, roasted herbs, and cedar. Huge, massive, thick, and succulent, with moderate tannin, and some amber notes at the edge, this wine will reach full maturity by the turn of the century and last for 30-40 years. An extraordinary La Mission-Haut-Brion, it comes closest in style to resembling the 1945, with a hint of the sweet, ripe 1959. The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series I of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock. Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate 2/96.
Parker Points:  -
Drinking Period:  -

Tasting Notes:
100 points. The 1975 La Mission-Haut-Brion has been the most consistent wine of the vintage. Super-concentrated, and now beginning to shed enough tannin so that it can be fully appreciated, this enormously constituted La Mission-Haut-Brion has developed that fabulous Graves set of aromatics - tobacco, black fruits, minerals, roasted herbs, and cedar. Huge, massive, thick, and succulent, with moderate tannin, and some amber notes at the edge, this wine will reach full maturity by the turn of the century and last for 30-40 years. An extraordinary La Mission-Haut-Brion, it comes closest in style to resembling the 1945, with a hint of the sweet, ripe 1959. The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series I of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock. Robert Parker - The Wine Advocate 2/96.
Parker Points:  -
Drinking Period:  -

Tasting Notes:
Tasted 7 Times With Consistent Notes One of the greatest 1961s, La Mission-Haut-Brion has been fabulous to drink for the last 5-10 years. Where well-stored, this wine will continue to drink well for 10-20 years. More developed and drinkable than the 1959, it remains a thick, rich, super-aromatic wine with a textbook Graves bouquet of tobacco, barbecued meats, minerals, spices, and sweet red and black fruits. Dense, full-bodied, alcoholic, and super-rich, this soft, opulently-textured wine makes for a fabulous drink.
Parker Points: 99
Drinking Period: 1994-2014