Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2025

Gorgeous floral fragrance on the nose, perfumed with blackcurrants and black cherries, delicate but with real purity. Supple, round and generous, filling the mouth – chewy and grippy yet with fleshy and ripe red fruit, nothing drying, underpinned by liquorice and salty stones giving a chalky grip on the finish. Structured and intensely concentrated with energy, focus, depth and layering of texture. Full of mass, vibrancy and character. Not pristinely perfect but fun, plump and hedonistic.

Burning campfire embers, smoke, flowers, black cherries, blackberries, and licorice are on display in the aromatics. Texturally, you find a creamy-freshness that hits all the right notes. Concentrated, long, deep, and voluptuous, the wine is almost palate staining in its delivery, coating your palate, yet, somehow it remains energetic, and vibrant. Packed with ripe, powerful fruits, the finish builds as it lingers, and expands seamlessly on your palate. For <a href="https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/graves-pessac/la-mission-haut-brion/">La Mission Haut Brion</a>, this should start drinking well with just 5-7 years of age, yet, it promises to age for decades. The wine blends 58.3% Merlot, 38.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3.4% Cabernet Franc, 13.6% ABV, 3.73 pH. Harvesting took place, September 1-September 18. Yields were low at 23 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2030-2075. 98-100 Pts

Signature finesse coupled with clear intensity and concentration, muscular with a juicy frame and crushed red rose petals on the finish. Huge ageing potential, this stretches out through the palate and delivers finesse and hidden power. 69% 1st wine. 27hl/ha yield. Harvest August 27 to September 19. 59% new oak. 3.73ph

Such precision in this bouquet with its many nuances, each one as detailed as the next. Freshness comes through with notes of violets and a touch of raspberries, followed by spicy accents. Creamy on the attack, the wine unfolds seamlessly, without any rough edges. Its silky tannins bolster the mid-palate, supported by a precious structure that reinforces them with freshness and vibrancy. A savory, elegant wine with perfectly contained power that it reveals gradually. On the finish, the wine shows a renewed burst of energy, suggesting it still has plenty in reserve—but it doesn’t like to be rushed. And rightly so: it has time on its side!

Deep black-purple color. The nose is intense, refined, subtle, noble and highly complex, becoming exquisitely perfumed as the glass is swirled. Broad on the attack and immediately very full, with insane power matched by a thousand dazzling aromas, the wine vibrates on the palate. It moves forward, conquering, deep and solid, into a very long, powerful, fragrant finish, followed by a beautiful retronasal expression. It’s madness. Blend: 58.3% Merlot, 38.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.4% Cabernet Franc. Alcohol: 13.6%. pH: 3.73. Yield: 23.2 hl/ha. For the record, the first vats filled on August 28 and 29 were at 14.6%. The subsequent lots harvested after the rains dropped back to 13.3–13.6%. This alcohol level for La Mission 2025 is comparable to that of the 2000 vintage. The wine’s power is explained both by its aromatic concentration and its tannic concentration. Usually, tannin suppresses aromas; here, the dynamic is different. Although the wine was vinified more gently than usual, some vats showed a record IPT of 100. La Mission Haut Brion 2025 breaks out of its familiar frame!