Deep, saturated ruby-red. Sweet, brooding aromas of cassis, coffee, minerals and licorice. Superconcentrated, voluptuous and seamless, with outstanding density of fruit and noteworthy precision to the compellingly sweet dark berry and mineral flavors. The broad, ripely tannic finish features extraordinary length and lingering violet and flint flavors. The best young La Mission I remember tasting at a similar stage of development. This is one of my three or four top wines of the vintage.

More subdued on the nose but with striking cinnamon and black pepper notes alongside the blackberry and spiced dark chocolate, this is concentrated and velvety and extremely high quality. Again it is the texture, the construction, that grabs you. There is a similar feel to Haut-Brion, in its weight and power, just a little less elongated stretching out of the tannins through the final furlong. But believe me, you'll enjoy this too. Drinking Window: 2025 - 2050
Tasted by: Jane Anson (at BI London, 30 Jan 2020)
Part of Bordeaux 2010: The top rated wines tasted 10 years on

Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. The Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 2010 is beginning to really show its class. Strangely, here it is more introspective and broody on the nose: intense blackberry and boysenberry aromas, fine mineralite, quite feminine and symmetrical. After 10 minutes it develops more intensity and volume. The palate is medium-bodied with firm and taut tannins. This is very linear and focused, very intense and backwards, with a compelling sense of symmetry and precision on the mineral-laden finish. Aristocratic. Tasted January 2014.

– eRobertParker.com, Mar 2014

Intense and engaging. Despite showing lots of heft and tarry grip, the singed apple wood and alder notes are well-defined in this red, accentuating a core of roasted fig, blackberry coulis and macerated red and black currant fruit. The long, bramble-edged finish sports showy ganache and Lapsang souchong tea notes, while the structure refuses to yield until everything has finally played out. Muscular and vivacious. Best from 2019 through 2040. 5,100 cases made.

– James Molesworth (WineSpectator.com, March 2013)

(62% cabernet sauvignon, 37% merlot and 1% cabernet franc; 15.1% alcohol) Deep ruby-purple. D eep, refined aromas of blackcurrant, cedar, minerals and wet stone on the reticent, cabernet sauvignon-dominated nose. Then very dense and powerful on the palate, with pristine blackberry, mineral and forest floor flavors and a supple touch that Haut-Brion doesn't yet show. The tannins are amazingly fine and polished, indeed among the noblest of the year, but this otherwise great wine lacks the sheer massive concentration of Haut-Brion. At 10,000 vines per hectare, La Mission almost always has 0.2% or 0.3% more alcohol than Haut-Brion, according to Jean-Philippe Delmas. But the exact measure of La Mission's success in 2010 is that its 15.1% alcohol is not at all obvious. Ian D'Agata

Cru Classé Pessac Léognan (47% harvest,42hl/ha, 15.1%) [62CS 37M 1CF] Full bodied, vivid, fairly potent wine with a fine, firm, long term tannin; very ripe and powerful flavour, long across the palate, but whilst the wine doesn’t lack freshness, it does lack the characteristic Graves, ‘gravelly’ aromatic character; the fresh-to-vital acidity prevents it from being heavy, but you cannot escape the warmth and weight of 15% alcohol. Long and sweet cored aftertaste, dominated by fruit rather than aroma. This may change with bottle age, when the terroir often comes to the fore in hotter vintages, and you can indeed taste the minerality in the Chapelle de La Mission, but I wouldn’t bet on it! Very atypical. 2022-40+ [M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2011]

Deep garnet colored, the 2010 La Mission Haut-Brion has a commanding, profound nose of baked blackberries, boysenberries and warm cassis plus suggestions of candied violets, red roses, chocolate box, cedar chest and smoked meats with a waft of iron ore. Full-bodied, powerful and hedonic, the palate bursts with expressive black fruits and floral sparks, framed by exquisitely ripe, grainy tannins and beautiful freshness, finishing with epic length. A real head-turner, this beauty is already very impressive, but for that full WOW experience I would give it another 3-5 years in bottle to blossom. LPB

This is crazy. The nose is so unique with the iodine, stones and currant aromas with wet earth and mushroom. Aromas like this don't usually come out until 10 years or so in the bottle. Classic nose for this estate. Full-bodied, with an amazing palate of firm yet polished tannins and a solid palate. So dense and gorgeous. It is really stunning. Try in 2020.

– jamessuckling.com, November 2013