Tasting Notes

98
The Wine Independent Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 16 Feb 23
The 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion is medium to deep garnet colored. It sashays out with showy scents of Morello cherries, blackcurrant pastilles, and black cherry preserves, plus hints of cinnamon toast, clove oil, candied violets, and licorice. The full-bodied palate is rich and seductive, with plush, velvety tannins and loads of spice and mineral nuances on the long, long finish. This is a classic, stunning La Mission. The blend is 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc.
Drinking Date: 2022 - 2052
96
Inside Bordeaux Jane Anson - 30 Mar 22
A wine that vibrates with life, generous, juicy, full of momentrum and pulsing minerality, ripe red and black fruits, with orange peel, saffron, clove, sage, complex and studded with succulent appeal. Interesting to note the high alcohols, showing even as far back as 2012 its location in the thermal corridor of urban Bordeaux was having an impact, but they are well balanced, adding flesh to the texture rather than heat. 75% new oak.
Drinking Date: 2022 - 2040
96
Robert Parker Wine Advocate Neal Martin - 28 Oct 16
Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting, the 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion showed brilliantly. It has an intense, floral bouquet with rose petals and strawberry preserve, hints of sous-bois and tobacco gently unfolding in the glass, gaining more earthiness as it aerates in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, broad and spicy with hints of bell pepper suggesting high quality Cabernet Franc. It fans out gloriously with a sustained tertiary finish that completes what is a wondrous La Mission Haut-Brion from Jean-Philippe Delmas and his team. Tasted January 2012.
Drinking Date: 2020 - 2050
94
Vinous Neal Martin - 27 Sep 22
The 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion has a very classy bouquet with cedar and graphite infused black fruit. It is not dissimilar to the 2012 Latour in many ways (in fact, nosing between my two glasses they are almost indistinguishable!) The palate is quite different though - quite precocious and fleshy on the entry, silky smooth with a caressing, irresistible finish, there is a sense of completeness here. Wonderful. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.
Drinking Date: 2023 - 2048
18
Jancis Robinson Jancis Robinson - 03 Mar 22
Classic La Mission with Cabernet plus warm bricks and a really distinctive appeal with some liquorice notes. Long and really rather glorious! (JR)
Drinking Date: 2024 - 2045
Pessac-Léognan Fine Wine

Pessac-Leognan

Pessac-Léognan, an esteemed Bordeaux appellation in the Graves region, is renowned for both red and white wines. The reds are elegant and complex, with earthy notes, blackcurrant, plum, tobacco, and graphite, supported by refined tannins and excellent ageing potential. The whites, primarily from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, are fresh, aromatic, and balanced, with citrus, tropical fruit, and floral notes, plus a creamy texture from barrel ageing. Top producers include Château Haut-Brion, Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Château Smith Haut Lafitte, and Château Pape Clément.