Château La Mission Haut Brion, Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan, 2023
Tasted next to Haut Brion, so comparisons are inevitable. We love the 2023 La Mission. At this stage it is perhaps less serious than Haut Brion, but makes up for this with its charm and refinement. Opening with an impressive, deeply mineral bouquet with hints of stones, iris, potpourri and fragrant cassis. Very pure and detailed, vertical but with breath, this fans out with noble flavours and mysterious, deep, dark, mulberry fruit and lovely dry, earthy notes, fine salts and a wonderful precise intensity. A ravishing Mission full of class! 52.7% Merlot, 29.6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.7% Cabernet Franc.
critic reviews
Surpassing the expectations formed at the en primeur stage, the 2023 La Mission Haut-Brion unfurls in the glass with aromas of cassis, dark berries, spices, licorice, burning embers and pencil shavings. Medium- to full-bodied, ample and velvety, it is suave and seamless, built around a perfectly controlled, dense core of fruit framed by powdery, structuring tannins and lively acidity, extending into a long, seemingly endless and ethereal finish. The blend comprises 52.7% Merlot, 29.6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.7% Cabernet Franc.
Fragrant, kicks off with clear grip and energy, plump fruits underneath, edges of campfire smoke and grilled caramel, ripe ruby fruit, with the signature florality, charm and luscious edge of La Mission. Harvest through to October 5. 69% new oak for ageing, Jean-Philippe Delmas director, Jean-Philippe Masclef technical director, no outside consultant.
The 2023 La Mission Haut-Brion, which according to Jean-Philippe Delmas contains the highest contribution of Cabernet Franc ever (17%), has closed up a little since bottling, yet it gradually unfolds with mainly black fruit, black olive, touches of gravel and tobacco in the background. Quite complex, yet discrete. The palate is framed by edgy but finely chiselled tannins. Lovely balance and focus, quite strict and linear with just the right amount of grip on the finish. Sophisticated and persistent, this is a superb La Mission Haut-Brion.
A blend of 52.7% Merlot, 29.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 17.7% Cabernet Franc, La Mission Haut-Brion 2023 has a pH of 3.7 and a deep garnet-purple color. It slowly emerges from the glass with fragrant notes of ripe plums, boysenberries, and Morello cherries, opening out to a wonderfully evocative nose of Indian spices, fragrant soil, iron ore, and rose oil. The full-bodied palate is laden with ripe, opulent black fruit and exotic spices layers, lifted by red berry accents and ferrous sparks, framed by velvety tannins and finishing with epic length.