2018 Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan

Tasting Note

Nicholas Jackson, MW 
A lot more purely fruit driven on entry than the La Mission.  You want to surrender to the wave of velvety, deep, dark fruits.  But then the signature of the place creeps up on you on the finish with that cohiba cigar taste. The tannins here are wonderfully integrated and enveloped by fruit; already the wine is seamless and plush.  This is totally velvety and all consuming. Really wonderful and harmonious. 

Victor Rabot 
A concentrated, powerful wine with good structure, silky tannins and dark berries shining on the palate. A successful Haut Brion that is built to age.  

The 2018 Haut-Brion is composed of 49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11.9% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, the wine needs a lot of swirling before it begins to release a whole complex melody of notes, one at a time to begin: tilled earth, followed by pronounced licorice, then crushed rocks, then the preserved plums. Eventually, it all comes together into a fascinating crescendo of intense crème de cassis, rose oil, wild blueberries and kirsch notes, giving way to quiet, persistent leitmotif scents of cinnamon stick, truffles and redcurrant jelly. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers all this and more, revealing tightly wound black fruit, red berry and exotic spice layers within a solid, wonderfully plush frame and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length and loads of earth and mineral sparks. This is a profound, highly intellectual, multilayered baby, which will require a good 7-8 years to begin to sing its incredible song, then should cellar a further 40 years at least. By way of reference, think 1989 with more restraint and even greater purity. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate