Château Haut-Brion, 1er Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan, 2016
As is often the way, Haut Brion requires a leap of faith. The terroir is almost identical to that of Mission, but whereas its stablemate is sumptuous and transparent, Haut Brion is introverted, a closed book. History tells us that a metamorphosis takes place between barrel and bottle. At the moment this is all coiled power. With aeration there are notes of kirsch, tayberry, white stones and flowers, but by comparison to the extroverted Mission, this is positively mute. The fruit is darker on the palate, deep sweet cassis and mulberry interspersed with crushed rocks. At this stage, Haut Brion is showing more reserve and lacks the vibrancy and luxurious fruit of La Mission, but in ten or twenty or thirty years' time when this comes out of hibernation, we expect it to turn the tables... The Grand Vin accounts for 50% of the production and is made from 56% Merlot, 6.5% Cabernet Franc and 37.5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
critic reviews
The 2016 Haut-Brion has a gorgeous bouquet with red berry fruit, camphor, wild heather and hints of truffle, all beautifully defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, exquisitely balanced, silky smooth and with a very persistent finish. The Merlot is very expressive here at the moment, shaping this Pessac-Léognan. Utterly seductive.
Muscular tannins, fresh acidities, this has less generosity than the Mission, still almost primary at ten years old, focused and vivid, riven with sage, wild rosemary and fragrant toasted spice, a glorious uplift through the palate, bilberry and cranberry fruits, austere architecture that needs a good few more years.