Tasting Notes
Colour: Dark ruby garnet, violet reflections, delicate brightening of the edges.
Aroma: Rose petals, sandalwood and currants with some plums and fruit tea.
Palate: Full-bodied, tight and focused. Incredibly straight and minerally. Toned muscles here. Tannic. Traditional and unwavering. Try in 2024.
Grape Varieties: 58% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon
Awards: 100pts – James Suckling
History of Château La Mission Haut-Brion
Château La Mission-Haut-Brion is the greatest Graves wine after Haut-Brion and in some vintages is considered the superior wine of the two. Its near-neighbor and sister estate Château Haut-Brion, situated just across the road in the commune of Talence in the southern suburbs of Bordeaux, was the only estate from the region featured in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, but La Mission Haut-Brion (rated a Graves Grand Cru in the 1959 rankings) is often judged and priced as the equal of Haut-Brion and the other first growths.
Since 1983, both properties have been under the same ownership, Domaine Clarence Dillon S.A. La Mission-Haut-Brion’s vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon 48%, Merlot 45%, Cabernet Franc 7%) lie on a large (up to 18 metres deep in places) gravel bank interspersed with clay. The wine is fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats and then matured in oak barriques (100% new) for 18 months.
The wines of La Mission Haut Brion are rich, oaky and powerful and need at least 10 years of bottle ageing before they should be broached.