CHÂTEAU LA MISSION HAUT BRION

2017 Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan

EN PRIMEUR

The 2017 La Mission Haut-Brion was picked from 4 to 29 September and matured in 68% new oak with 14.1° alcohol. It has a more broody bouquet than previous years: dark berry fruit, brown spices, warm gravel and later, a touch of orange rind. This can sometimes be sultry out of barrel and the 2017 falls into that category. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin. This La Mission Haut-Brion is built around a wonderful structure and symmetry. It feels precise with a detailed, saline finish that lingers in the mouth. I can see Jean-Philippe Delmas’s comparison with the 2001 though I find the tannins finer in the 2017. Superb. Drinking range: 2023 - 2050 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2018)

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56% Merlot, 39.6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4.4% Cabernet Franc. Perfumed nose, some restrained red fruit, some pure black currant juice too. More nuanced, more angles, more intensity a super-fine texture. But this is not dark and mean - no, there is a lovely spring to it. A gorgeously balanced push of just such elegant restrained fruit it keeps on driving, not glossy, not perky - just spot-on feel and gentle, fine tannins - really almost seems to be a push-over and yet this is so far from simple, it is just easy to love and admire - yet there is power lurking too. A fine and really enjoyable wine to taste. Rating: 95 L&S (Jun 2018)

The 2017 La Mission Haut-Brion, blended of 56% Merlot, 39.6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4.4% Cabernet Franc, is very deep garnet-purple in color and scented of crushed blackcurrants, blackberries and chocolate-covered cherries with suggestions of cigar box, bay leaves, Indian spices and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied with very firm, grainy tannins and a racy backbone supporting the taut, muscular fruit, it has bags of mineral and earthy suggestions layering the very long finish. Rating: 95-97 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2018)

The 2017 La Mission Haut-Brion is a wine of total finesse and class. Pliant and expressive, the 2017 is beautifully layered from start to finish. Bright red cherry, plum, mocha, pomegranate and blood orange all add to an impression of grace and freshness. This is one of the most refined, understated recent vintages of La Mission I can remember tasting. Rating: 92-95 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2018)

56% Merlot, 4.4% Cabernet Franc, 39.6% Merlot. Deep cassis colour. Gorgeous restraint of fine dusty dark fruit. Definite graphite/mineral aroma undergirded by fragrant cassis and a light herbaceous note. Delicious pure black fruit, super-fine texture, the tannins fine and supple. Juicy even with its serious elegance. Succulent, long and precisely balanced. Persistent, too. Intensity without weight. All waiting in the wings. On second tasting, the oak shows a little more on the finish but it is in place, not dominating. Drinking range: 2027 - 2042 Rating: 18 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2018)

This is a very tight and focused young La Mission with a pretty center palate of dark fruit and flavors of oyster shell and hints of fresh tobacco. Serious and precise on the finish. 56% merlot, 40% cabernet sauvignon and 4% cabernet franc. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2018)

This year we have a blend of 56% Merlot, 4.4% Cabernet Franc, and 39.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, picked between September 4th and the 29th. It has a really open nose, floral, with notes of cherry blossom and rose petal, with a little seam of dark chocolate too. The palate shows a very elegant repose, fresh and taut, sinewy, with slowly unfurling layers of fruit, along with a lightly desiccated concentration reflecting the character of the growing season. Underneath this there lies a very tightly wound seam of ripe, fine-grained, almost velvety tannins, which build through the palate coming to the fore in the middle. The finish is firm and loaded with ripe tannic structure. It is long, tight, brooding and concentrated, but it already shows some classy La Mission floral perfume. This has impressive potential. Rating: 94-96 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2018)