A candidate for the wine of the vintage from this somewhat forgotten year, consumers should be seeking out wines from the Right Bank and Graves as 1998 was a great vintage in those appellations. La Mission’s 1998 exhibits a healthy, opaque blue/purple color with no lightening at the edge. Thirty minutes of aeration brings forth a sensational bouquet of chocolate, cedar, truffles, graphite, blackberries, cassis and incense. La Mission’s so-called scorched earth/charcoal/hot rocks characteristic has not yet appeared. Full-bodied with superb purity, a multilayered texture, sweet tannin, good acidity and a fabulously long finish, this great, young La Mission-Haut-Brion’s finest days are yet to come. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2040.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #202, Aug 2012)

The La Mission Haut-Brion was even better. It showed so much iodine, chili, and currants with a distinct warm stone character in the nose. It was full body with ultra-velvety tannins and a fabulous finish. Plenty of licorice also came out of the glass. It's a fabulous wine now.

The last 5 years have really added a lot to this wine. Now, you find more weight density and softness, as well as more nuances. Packed with smoke, cigar box, tobacco leaf, and spicy currants, the wine is full-bodied, concentrated, and rich, the mouth-filling layers of fruit, build and expand, only leaving you after a long finish. If you are seeking an LMHB that is just about ready to go, this is the wine to buy! Drink from 2023-2045. Tasted Dec 2022

Just a spectacular wine in every sense, the 1998 is now fully mature yet still youthful, with a vivid ruby hue and little in the way of any bricking. Offering a kaleidoscope-like nose of red and black currants, scorched earth, truffles, tobacco, lead pencil, and ample crushed stone-like minerality, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, sweet tannins, and a thrilling finish. It needs about an hour in a decanter, but this is magical juice, and the bottle was emptied in record time. Count yourself lucky if you have bottles and enjoy any time over the coming 20-30 years.

The 1998 La Mission Haut-Brion is the standout of the Nineties. It shows more purity and exuberance than the 1996, featuring sumptuous scents of black cherries, black olive, freshly rolled tobacco and hints of gravel, all wonderfully defined and quite precocious. The palate is likewise sweet and ripe, offering pliant tannins and layers of blackberry, blood orange, blueberry and tobacco. It tightens up toward the finish, as if to say, I'm in for the long haul. Give it a couple of hours’ decanting, or cellar it for longer if you wish. Tasted at dinner at Chez Bruce.

Quality 936 | Brand 989 | Economics 941 | buzz brand
Quality: Predicted life of 14 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group, which averages 9 years Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 33 of the world's top wine lists, including The River Café at Brooklyn Economics: Above its peer group average price of £70 for the 1998 vintage Production: Lower production than its peer group average of 92,455 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017