Château Haut Brion, 1er Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan, 2022
More reserved than La Mission Haut Brion, this really requires some coaxing. Some floral hints emerge, followed by suggestions of cigar wrappers, pencil shavings and incense. The palate is immense. This is one of the most profound and concentrated Haut Brions we can recall. Its core is tightly bound, dark and brooding, but the balance is there underpinned by a rich framework of deeply mineral tannins. It's hugely impressive with lots of intrigue and huge potential, a real vin de garde built to last five decades or more. Finishes with highly attractive notes of cassis and crushed stones. A magical wine that will need considerable time to be anywhere near its best. 53.6% Merlot, 35.4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc.
critic reviews
The depth and concentration is clear. Cocoa bean, espresso, gingerbread spice, all as you would expect in this type of vintage, but given restraint and understated finesse by mint leaf, pomegranate, mandarin peel, a gathering of lightness, nuance and grace. Exceptional quality, give it plenty of time because these are muscular tannins, and this is a wine that will go the distance and then some. Jean-Philippe Masclef technical director, Jean-Philippe Delmas director.
The 2022 Haut-Brion retains captivating floral scents on the nose, with peony, violet and plenty of incense combining with intense blackberry and blueberry fruit. It builds in the glass over ten minutes, only then revealing its underlying <em>mineralité</em>. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, offering more substance and a tad more grip compared directly to the 2022 La Mission Haut-Brion. Alternating between the two, I am more drawn to the First Growth as the finish delivers greater complexity and precision. This is an awesome Haut-Brion for the ages.
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2022 Haut-Brion is a blend of 53.6% Merlot, 35.4% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 11% Cabernet Franc aging in 62.9% new oak. The nose is typically closed and broody, requiring a lot of shaking to wake up enticing notes of iron ore, red roses, lavender, mint tea, and forest floor, leading to a tantalizing core of plum preserves and blueberry pie. The medium to full-bodied palate is very tightly knit with vibrant black and blue fruit layers and red berry sparks, framed by very fine-grained tannins and a refreshing backbone, finishing long and minerally. A classic, breath-taking expression of Haut-Brion, I expect this to remain shy and restrained for the first 10 years so in bottle, and then watch it soar.
The 2022 Haut-Brion shows considerable promise, revealing aromas of dark berries and plums mingled with notions of pencil lead, licorice, tobacco leaf, spices and incense. Full-bodied, broad and seamless, it's rich and muscular, with a deep, layered core of fruit framed by an ample endowment of tannin. This blend of 53.6% Merlot, 35.4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc, the result is a lip-smacking exemplification of controlled power. Analytically, the 2022 possesses a similar level of tannins to the 2010, and a similar pH to the 2009, yet it is more suave and polished than the 2010 at the same stage, and seemingly more dynamic than the 2009.
product details
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