Chateau Haut-Brion 2016

Complex, floral-fruity aromatics with notes of herbal tea; juicy, full-bodied palate with great density and surprising length; combines freshness and richness, with real class.

Large and in charge, this has a prodigious core of steeped plum, black currant and loganberry fruit flavors that show both compote and coulis aspects. While that steeps, this delivers a sturdy frame of roasted mesquite, smoldering tobacco and incense, surrounding a muscular spine of worn cedar and tar. Still rather backward, this will be showing well when most others from the vintage have had their day. Best from 2025 through 2045. 11,600 cases made.

97–99. Barrel Sample. Structured and serious, this is complex and dense. Dark black-plum fruits are covered by powerful tannins and ample acidity. It is destined for long, slow aging.

Another glorious wine from the Dillon group. Massively dark in colour, the palate is a wonderful mix of dark fruit, exoticism, violet and lilac flowers on the nose, supremely glossy tannins and polished oak. Some meaty, red earth notes are just starting to emerge. This full-bodied first growth still feels very young but will undoubtedly be a great Haut-Brion for drinking over the next 30+ years.

Aromas of graphite and delicate red currants with an aromatic lift. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, showing energy and intensity, with concentration and round, enveloping, silky tannins that envelop the fruit and persist through the finish. Accessible now, but it deserves more time. Try from 2028. 10 Years On retrospective.

The 2016 Haut-Brion has a ripe, delineated and focused bouquet, exquisite black fruit laced with graphite that gains intensity in the glass, and just a background hint of Valrhona chocolate. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a keen line of acidity and gentle grip, cashmere-textured, with a composed and very harmonious, mineral-rich finish that displays just a little alcohol. But the balance and poise feel uncompromised and result in a sublime creation. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting.

The nose, with its knockout sensations of smoke, mint, cigar wrapper, tobacco and crème de cassis, is off the hook. For many wine-lovers that would be enough. But for me, it is the elegance, concentration, complexity, endless length and sensuous textures that hits the bulls-eye. This is one of those dream wines that if you can afford it, it belongs in your cellar!

Dark ruby, opaque core, subtle brightening on the rim. Still restrained on the nose with a hint of dark chocolate, ripe cherry, tobacco notes and candied orange zest. Complex, blackberry fruit, tight and closely meshed, vivid, well-integrated tannins, fresh with some delicate nougat on the finish. It still needs time, but has potential for greatness.

On the nose, slightly darker fruit than La Mission, with crushed cassis, plum, leather and tobacco, alongside fine oak, mocha and gravelly notes with a floral hint—very layered and inviting. The palate is dense and voluminous, with digest dark fruit, very fine extract and polished tannins. Incredibly pure fruit with no oak flavour showing; fresh and digest despite a firm concentration. Very long, grippy finish with remarkable freshness and purity. Superb.

56% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.5% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple with a garnet rim. A complex blackberry bouquet with violet, cooled fruit tea and an After Eight touch. What a regal wine! First, that suppleness and creamy texture on a powerful palate, then it virtually explodes, revealing blackcurrant, Dominican tobacco, plum skin and blackberry pulp. It finishes with an endlessly long, multifaceted finale that underlines its outstanding, singular class. The finest wine from Pessac-Léognan – clearly trending toward a top score! 19.5/20

Kunz Fassprobe 17: (56% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 37.5% Cabernet Sauvignon) A deep, elegant, complex, still-closed bouquet with black berries, blackcurrant, cedar, dark tobacco, mocha and dried plums. A tightly knit, elegant, multi-layered palate with plenty of very fine tannins, a compact, diverse aromatic profile, velvety fruit, a concentrated structure, and a very long, full, aromatic finish with many flavors on the back palate.

(56% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 37.5% Cabernet Sauvignon) Deep, elegant, complex, tightly wound bouquet: black berries, blackcurrant, cedar, dark tobacco, mocha, dried plums. Dense-knit, elegant, multi-layered palate with plenty of very fine tannins, compact and diverse aromatics, velvety fruit, concentrated structure; a very long, full, aromatic finish with many lingering flavors. 20/20 2025 - 2060

Composed of 56% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6.5% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Haut-Brion is deep garnet in color. The nose beings with simple licorice notes before slowly unfurling to deliver growing scents of creme de cassis, plum preserves, dark chocolate, and lilacs, followed by suggestions of crushed rocks, tar, black truffles and cardamom. The full-bodied palate is a tightly coiled spring, taut with black fruit preserves and earthy layers and framed by very firm, grainy tannins, delivering a burst of freshness to carry the long, long, long finish. This will need a good 7-10 more years to fully blossom, and it will be well worth the wait.

Admirable breadth and structure, with plenty of energy and tension despite the grapes’ very high ripeness; the quality of extraction and ageing remains at the very top level in Bordeaux.

While the wine has plenty of drive and potential, the 2016 is currently in a closed phase. The substance is there—very ripe and full-bodied—but still compact and very energetic. Let’s give it time to come together.

Garnet-red with violet highlights. What aromatic intensity! The bouquet sets the tone from the outset. It wants to carry you off into dreamlike realms, yet dreams anchored in the reality of Haut-Brion—quality that is hard to surpass. Such intensity, and an exceptional ability to leave room for something delicate and subtle. Naturally, a nose that lays down markers like this shapes the palate. The palate is not overawed and delivers brilliantly. The wine builds in a crescendo, gradually revealing its tannins on the finish. They are precise, perfectly integrated, and fully in harmony with the structure. That structure brings tension and very promising ageing potential. Patience will be required. We are very close to the grail… I’ll take stock again in a few years :-)

Logo on the cork: an inverted T (Trescases) A dark, intense and beautiful colour. A truly great nose—complex, subtle, delicate and deep. Ultra-refined on entry, especially silky throughout its progression, complex on the mid-palate, flavoursome, juicy, fresh yet also powerful; the wine just keeps gliding across the palate—refined, full-bodied, noble—into an immense, sap-filled finish. Oh là là, it’s so good.

Muscular tannins, fresh acidities—this has less generosity than La Mission, yet it is still almost primary at ten years old. Focused and vivid, it is riven with sage, wild rosemary and fragrant toasted spice, with a glorious lift through the palate; bilberry and cranberry fruit, and an austere architecture that needs a good few more years.