Château La Mission Haut Brion, Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan, 2002

Name: Château La Mission Haut Brion, Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan
Brand: Château La Mission Haut-Brion
Price: 1901.47 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1990 1996 1997 1998 2000 2002 2005 2010 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

One of the wines of the vintage. 52% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon. Immediately classy on the nose, intense blackberry and damson, luscious ripeness and richness of fruit. Elegant minerals, dark chocolate and gravel complexity. At present La Mission tastes sweeter and more complete than Haut Brion.

critic reviews

92/100William Kelley,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

One of the better successes of this overlooked and misunderstood vintage is the 2002 La Mission Haut-Brion, a wine that's really beginning to drink well. Offering up a deep bouquet of cassis, burning embers and cigar ash, it's medium to full-bodied, with a sweet core of fruit and a rich chassis of tannin. Served blind, after a decant of a couple of hours to flesh out, it tends to pass for a more reputed vintage; it's only held back by a slight lack of mid-palate density to balance its structure and the fact that it tastes about a decade older than a top vintage for this address such as 1998.

DRINKING WINDOW 2018 - 2036

date of review 12/2023

88/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2002 La Mission Haut-Brion has never endeared itself to this writer. It has a conservative, earthy bouquet displaying touches of autumn bonfire and sous-bois; there is a gap where the fruit should be. The palate is medium-bodied with a dry entry, then starts to improve, tobacco and tea leaves infusing the slightly rustic black fruit on the somewhat austere finish. It's not a terrible wine at all, but it pales against other vintages.

DRINKING WINDOW 2021 - 2028

date of review 09/2021