EP23 Release: Haut-Brion "an exceptional Haut-Brion" 98-100pts Jane Anson and La Mission Haut-Brion “One of the finest wines in the vintage" Jeb Dunnuck

CHÂTEAU Haut-Brion, Premier Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan 2023

The 2023 vintage at Haut Brion is a true success and numbers among one of the wines of the vintage – receiving a potential 100pts from Jane Anson. Like so many wines this vintage, it is the Cabernet that really sings in the blend, profiting from the late September sun. While the 2023 Haut Brion shows thrilling power and intensity, it also shows a brooding classicism and suppleness which suggests this will be a very long lived Haut Brion. This year the blend comprises 52.3% Merlot, 38.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 9.1% Cabernet Franc.

“an exceptional Haut-Brion, offering juice and elegant balance alongside classically structured layers, generous but restrained, sense of architecture and building blocks of a truly great Left Bank wine.” Jane Anson

Managed under the auspices of Domaines Clarence Dillon, owned and run by Prince Robert of Luxembourg, Haut Brion has continually delivered excellence for many decades. Arguably it is the sheer consistency of Haut Brion that sets it apart from its peers. It can be relied upon to deliver a distinctive personality; it is naturally a restrained, cerebral wine which delivers layer upon layer of complexity as it ages. However in strong vintages it transports the drinker to new heights with its textural magic and freshness – and in the very best years, it creates a wine that can do all the above, and live for an unimaginably long time.

“There is real pedigree to this First Growth, and it will certainly give 30 to 40 years of drinking pleasure.” Neal Martin

Add Haut-Brion 2023 to my cellar

98-100pts Georgina Hindle, Decanter “A stand out wine from Haut-Brion this year and one of the most charming Primeur samples from the estate. A little sombre on the nose, quiet with dark fruit, blackcurrant and brambles. Not so open on the nose, but this wows on the palate - rich, dense for the vintage, weighty in the mouth, clearly ripe and so filling. Chewy and alive, this is brilliant with a buzz of acidity, a sharp, sour, tartness but all so excellently delivered. So charming and so cuddly, this wine wants you to adore it. Bright and voluptuous, and not many can say that in this vintage. Really so great and still with chocolate, mint, pepper, raspberries, and floral notes all the way through. A complete knock out because it has flesh, juice, brightness and style. 3.7ph 4.3 acidity 80 IPT - second highest year after 2010 for the concentration. 42% grand vin production. A potential 100-point wine.”

97-99pts Robert Mathias MW, Bordeaux Index “A serious and supple Haut-Brion, this opens with a hum of gravel and graphite. A little coaxing brings crushed violets and liquorice root too. The texture on the palate is extraordinary - chewy, firm, sinewy, and real saline grip to the tannin here. Brooding and intense there is a vertical structure to the wine, all the while clothed in cassis and black cherry fruit. This edges on the side of mineral for the moment with subtle ember notes on the end. Athletic and sinewy this really builds on the palate - it will be an extraordinary Haut-Brion in the decades to come.”

98-100pts Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux “This is an exceptional Haut-Brion, offering juice and elegant balance alongside classically structured layers, generous but restrained, sense of architecture and building blocks of a truly great Left Bank wine. Rippling with sinewy muscles, juicy and controlled, packed with cocoa bean, espresso, liquorice root, but none of these flavours dominate, knitted together, with a vertical lift. 100% new oak, Jean-Philippe Delmas director, Jean-Philippe Masclef technical director, no outside consultant.”

CHÂTEAU La Mission Haut-Brion, Premier Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan 2023

As is ever the case, while some opt for Haut-Brion in any given vintage, others will opt for La Mission. In this vintage La Mission shows the characteristic perfume of this estate, with creamy and caressing tannins. This wine shows the highest IPT level (density of tannin) at the estate since 2010 – a strong comparison! – and without doubt this is a vintage of La Mission that will require time in bottle to show its full potential.

“One of the finest wines in the vintage…and it’s incredible to find this level of quality in the vintage.” Jeb Dunnuck

This year La Mission represents just 47% of the production of the estate. Tasting at the estate a few weeks ago, what was most striking about the wine was the juxtaposition between the density at the core of the wine and the seamless, caressing feel to the tannins. This year a blend of 52.7% Merlot, 29.6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.7% Cabernet Franc, this is a La Mission Haut Brion that shows its pedigree with effortless finesse.

“this is savoury, concentrated, full of lift and vibrancy, with layers of lush ripe red and black fruits, with the inky stamp of the Cabernet in the vintage, and the caressing tannins that La Mission does so well” Jane Anson

It’s been said a million times but it bears repeating: if ever there was a revision of the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, then La Mission Haut Brion would surely be on the roll call for First Growth status. Boasting more 100 (RP) pointers than either Lafite or Margaux, the Dillon family can feel extremely proud that their work on La Mission has put it on a par with the very best wines of the region, and the world. Indeed, in the panoply of great vintages, especially during the last 30 years, La Mission exceeds almost all other Chateaux! A feat that is nothing short of extraordinary.

Add La Mission Haut-Brion 2023 to my cellar

96-100pts Jeb Dunnuck “One of the finest wines in the vintage, the 2023 Château La Mission Haut-Brion is based on 52.7% Merlot, 29.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc. It's one hell of a gorgeous wine offering a massive nose of black raspberries, graphite, liquid flowers, scorched earth, and chocolate-like aromas and flavors. It delivers remarkable purity, full-bodied richness, no hard edges, and fine-grained, sweet tannins. The overall balance paired with opulence here is something to behold, and it’s incredible to find this level of quality in the vintage.”

97pts Georgina Hindle, Decanter “A generously scented nose, very floral and perfumed, lovely high aromatics and fully expressive. Blue fruits, red cherries and some plum. Weighty and full, this really leaves a lasting impression on the palate, juicy but not too much, a tiny hint of sourness in the back gives the zing while the structure and the tannins do most of the talking, really putting the structure at the fore with a powdery, chalkiness that lingers. It’s serious, but in no way austere. Weighty but still streamlined. Chocolate, cherry and blackcurrant, feels very calm and confident, polished and sophisticated. It’s not trying too hard and feels settled in the glass. Delicious. 3.8pH. 4.4 acidity. 80 IPT. 47% grand vin production.”

96pts Jane Anson “Red roses, powdery chalky tannins, grip and lift, this is savoury, concentrated, full of lift and vibrancy, with layers of lush ripe red and black fruits, with the inky stamp of the Cabernet in the vintage, and the caressing tannins that La Mission does so well. Harvest started early and finished late, through to October 5.”