Red Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 2019

Captures the essence of the vintage as well as possible, with a lovely swath of cassis, plum purée and cherry compote flavors that glides along, showing just enough buried spine in the form of alder and iron notes to give this form. Features alluring red tea and savory details that add range on the lengthy finish. Approachable already, but there's no rush here. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023 through 2038.

Spice notes and floral characters abound on the nose. A very complex, refined and slightly reticent wine on first tasting. Dark berry and blackcurrant fruit, powerfully structured with fine-grained tannins and new oak to provide structure for ageing. Despite the 14.5% alcohol there is great elegance with La Mission in 2019 – not as showy as Haut-Brion but potentially even more rewarding in the longer term.

Blackcurrants and crushed stones with violets and roses. Earthy and black truffle notes, too. Medium to full body with firm, silky tannins that are layered and attractive, in a muscular and toned fashion. Iodine, ink, earth and bark with wet-vine undertones to the fruit at the end. Reserved and impressive. Best after 2025.

The 2019 La Mission Haut-Brion has a beautiful, floral bouquet with touches of pressed violet infusing the black fruit, exquisite delineation and focus; the new oak is seamlessly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-boned tannins, pixelated, hints of blood orange and graphite towards the beautifully framed finish that lingers long in the mouth. Exceptional. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.

A serious, age-worthy vintage of La Mission Haut Brion here. With a deep, dark, rich hue, the wine pops from the glass with its smoky essence made even better by its layers of black currants, black plums, tar, herbs, cigar box, and tobacco accents. The palate is full-bodied, powerful, rich, intense, mouth-filling, and long. Everything is in balance, meshing power with precision, purity, freshness, length, and complexity. Like all the great vintages of La Mission Haut Brion, this is going to demand time in the cellar before it unfurls and displays all it has to offer. Drink from 2036-2060.

Dark ruby, purple reflections, subtle edge brightening. Fine herbal savouriness, black forest berries, fresh cherry, a hint of lime zest, fresh bouquet. Juicy, structured, ripe heart cherry, integrated tannins, mineral-salty finish, already well developed, delicate, gluggable style characterised by freshness and precision.

Good notion of freshness with fresh red currant, cassis, fine wood and a well-stocked humidor. A powerful and well-built example, still appearing youthful but with all parts in place, with a persistent and potent finish.

The 2019 Château La Mission Haut-Brion is Merlot-dominated, checking in at 53% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc. It’s a more opulent wine compared to Haut-Brion, and the Merlot takes center stage here, with ripe, sexy black cherry and redcurrant fruit as well as licorice, scorched earth, cedar pencil, and graphite aromas and flavors. Rich, exuberant, and straight-up sexy on the palate, it’s full-bodied, with a deep, layered mid-palate, building tannins, and a heavenly finish. Simply a prodigious, powerful, off-the-charts expression of this terroir, it actually reminds me slightly of the 2005 (or 1998?) with its mix of sexiness and opulence. This is one of the few 2019s that will make your eyes roll back in your head. It will need 10–15 years of cellaring, but it’s a sensational wine on every level and will offer 40+ years of prime drinking.

Kunz barrel sample 2020: (53% Merlot, 39.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.5% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% alc. vol.) Concentrated, velvety, profound, complex, dark bouquet: prunes, fine woods, currants, dark tobacco, a delicate hint of eucalyptus. Multi-layered, powerful, elegant palate with dense, refined, vigorous dark fruit, concentrated dark aromatics, a great deal of fine tannins, an elegant, finely muscled, creamy structure, and a very long, powerful, aromatic finish with persistent afterflavors.

(53% Merlot, 39.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.5% Cabernet Franc, 14.5% alc./vol.) Concentrated, velvety, profound, complex, dark bouquet: prunes, fine woods, currants, dark tobacco, a hint of eucalyptus. Multi-layered, powerful, elegant palate with dense, fine, powerful dark fruit, concentrated dark aromatics, lots of fine tannins, an elegant, finely muscular, creamy structure, and a very long, powerful, aromatic finish with plenty of lingering flavours. 20/20 2026 - 2060

Fully knitted down but already showing its class, with a nuanced, complex mix of cassis, blackberry and black cherry fruits shot through with bitter orange peel, crushed stones and sage leaf. The most gorgeous juicy freshness runs through the muscular tannins, with the same violet flower freshness that was found in La Chapelle this year. Just so full of enticing campfire and gunsmoke on this finish, this is a wine that will go for years. Love it, one of my wines of the vintage. Bottled May. This is an upscore.

The 2019 La Mission Haut-Brion, made from 53% Merlot, 39.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7.5% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-purple in color. Initial oaky overtones soon give way to notes of crushed black and red currants, fresh boysenberries, and pencil lead, followed by wafts of truffles and tapenade. The full-bodied palate delivers mouth-coating black fruits with a grainy texture and long earthy finish.

[ En Primeur 2019 notes: 90–91 ] Not very deeply colored, a bit too soft but fleshy and very pleasant. We still expect more from a second wine of Mission, especially at its price. Clarence is closer to the grand style typical of the Dillon vineyards.

A luxurious, opulent nose typical of La Mission, with fruit full of elegance—racy and delicate. Highly perfumed sandalwood notes evoke the fleeting sight of a Siamese cat. Melodious, refined, supple and shimmering on the palate, with gentle notes of fresh blackberry and bramble, unfolding into more complex, warmer swirls of café au lait and roasted seeds.

Dark, intense, beautiful purple color. Very aromatic nose, delicate, pure, fruity, subtle and complex. Soft on the attack, flavorful mid-palate, caressing and ample on the decanted bottle; the wine rises on the finish with a beautiful blackberry aroma. Great, complex, long-lasting persistence and impossible to spit out, with fine grain. The bottle is more expressive decanted than non-decanted.

53% Merlot, 7.5% Cabernet Franc, 39.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% ABV, harvest from September 11 to October 2. Dense purple with ruby highlights. What a beguiling bouquet of Alpine blueberries, blackberry jelly, and dark cherries. On the second nose, licorice, perfumed pipe tobacco, and nougat pralines. On the palate, a silky texture, cocoa-like tannic frame, and caramel-like extract carried by a magical breed. In the cascading, long-lasting finish, a fireworks of blue berries, Brazilian tobacco, and deep-seated minerality. “The soul of a Premier Grand Cru! Since the start of the barrel aging process, this incredibly charming wine, reminds us of the outstanding 2000 vintage, but with more density. A 2000+!” notes Jean-Philippe Delmas proudly. For me, the best wine from Pessac this year!

96–98. Barrel Sample. Showing a stylish face to the world, this wine has a wonderful combination of dark fruits and rich tannins. It is full, with ripe Merlot revealing a dense structure and opulent potential. The wine is set for a long, slow aging.