Tasting Notes

99
The Wine Independent Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 12 Mar 23
The 2020 Haut Brion is a blend of 42.8% Merlot, 39.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.5% Cabernet Franc, with a pH of 3.78. Deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with profound blackcurrant cordial, baked plums, and boysenberry preserves notes, leading to an undercurrent of graphite, iron ore, black truffles, and wood smoke, plus a hint of cardamom. The full-bodied palate is tightly knit with black fruit and mineral layers, supported by a rock-solid backbone of grainy tannins and seamless acidity, finishing long and savory.
Drinking Date: 2028 - 2068
97
Vinous Neal Martin - 12 Nov 24
The 2020 Haut-Brion has a well-defined, quite cerebral nose—a mélange of red and black fruit, black olive, subtle estuarine scents. The oak is very well integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with a succulent, almost viscous, very concentrated entry. There's enormous depth here, and though very ripe on the finish, it's perfectly controlled and focused. To use a phrase that I occasionally roll out...controlled decadence. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
Drinking Date: 2032 - 2065
96
Inside Bordeaux Jane Anson - 15 Feb 23
Where usually Haut-Brion feels rooted in the Left Bank, this is almost Pomerol in its fleshy fruits. Strikingly powerful layers of plum, damson, cocoa, crushed rocks, bitter black chocolate. Easy to see the brilliance of this wine, one to stand back and admire, wiat for those muscular tannins and fresh acidities to melt together over the next few decades. Harvest from 7th to 29th September, 77% new oak.
Drinking Date: 2027 - 2048
Pessac-Léognan Fine Wine

Pessac-Leognan

Pessac-Léognan, an esteemed Bordeaux appellation in the Graves region, is renowned for both red and white wines. The reds are elegant and complex, with earthy notes, blackcurrant, plum, tobacco, and graphite, supported by refined tannins and excellent ageing potential. The whites, primarily from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, are fresh, aromatic, and balanced, with citrus, tropical fruit, and floral notes, plus a creamy texture from barrel ageing. Top producers include Château Haut-Brion, Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Château Smith Haut Lafitte, and Château Pape Clément.