Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting, the 2012 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.

– eRobertParker.com, Oct 2016

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 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.

(65.5% Merlot/32.5% Cabernet Sauvignon/2% Cabernet Franc)
Tight but brooding nose with mocha, baked plum and blackcurrant. A bright, lifted white flower note as well. Initial hit is tender, sweet fruit of great density but with a playful, flirty character. Highly polished, extremely classy, good mid palate and finish. Can’t believe it’s 14+% alcohol.

[65.5M/32.5CS/2CF] Rich to smell - ripe and mineral; rich and vigorous, ample and firmly, finely tannic, a balance of power, matter and sinew, but finesse too, an Haut Brion with an abundance of fruit and frame; to taste there is a marked minerality behind the very ripe fruit, a wine that is very long across the palate, with a flattering generosity allied to the clear complexity, and with a very long, warm finish, the only place where you do notice the 15% alcohol. A very grand Haut Brion, atypical in its proportions, level of alcohol, and very high proportion of two thirds Merlot, but no doubt this is an impressively complete wine …. if not Haut Brion as we (mostly) know it! Will its power make it a bit of a bruiser when mature ? Who knows. 2020-40+ [M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2013]

Plush for the vintage, with a lovely, caressing feel and lots of steeped plum, anise and blackberry fruit. Displays a lacing of tar through the finish, revealing a graceful tug of earth. Tasted non-blind. —J.M.

65.5% Merlot, 32.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc. Much less aromatic than La Mission. Dense and dark. Rich and sumptuous. Some spiciness. Very broad and rich. Very grand. And easy to see where it comes from and how it will proceed. Very pure. Much more forward than La Mission. Zesty but with grandeur and great persistence. Drink 2022-2045