Mission Haut Brion 2016

Pessac-Leognan, Grand Cru Classé

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Tasting Notes
The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is flat out gorgeous. Today, La Mission is incredibly primary, with stunning purity in its red/purplish berry fruit. Readers will have to cellar the 2016 for the better part of a decade at a minimum before the telltale aromatics of this fabled château start to blossom in bottle. I adore the 2016 for its gracious personality, fine tannin and remarkable freshness, not to mention that it is absolutely delicious and the kind of wine that is so suggestive of a very bright future. (97+) Score: 97 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2066 01 January 2019
The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is a total knockout. Vertical and powerful, but not at all austere, it exudes class. Fine-grained tannins support the fruit, but they are barely felt, as the wine's balance is so extraordinary. Lifted floral notes and a host of red fruits give the 2016 energy and verve. I can't wait to see how it ages. Score: 94 - 97 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 25 April 2017
The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion was stunning from barrel, and now in bottle. It has a sublime bouquet of blackberries, briar and hints of dark chocolate and rose petals that gain intensity with aeration while maintaining ethereal delineation. It never steps on the accelerator too hard. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is still a veneer of new oak that will need to be assimilated over the coming years. This is a deep La Mission that caresses the mouth. Touches of graphite lingering on a finish that fans out gloriously. Is the 2016 up there with the 1955 or 1989? Nearly. Score: 99 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2066 01 January 2019
The 2016 La Mission Haut Brion is a blend of 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 19 September and 14 October, one of the longest ever. "We had to be patient and wait for each plot," Jean-Philippe Delmas told me. "It took longer than usual." As is customary, I allowed my sample, and likewise all the wines poured at this tasting, around 40-45 minutes to open since they always transform in the glass. It has a clean and precise, quite understated bouquet with fine mineralité, cold stone aromas infusing the black fruit. This has incredible precision, perhaps even more pixelated than the "gaff over the road" Haut-Brion. The palate is medium-bodied with supple and lithe tannin. I appreciate the line of acidity here, the smoothness and harmony that takes your breath away. Every atom is infused with life-affirming freshness. It is a wine bridled with incredible focus and delineation. I thought that the 2015 La Mission Haut-Brion flirted with perfection. The 2016 has that extra edge, a "je ne sais quoi" that leaves you reaching for the thesaurus looking for superlatives. Score: 98 - 100 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2026-2070 28 April 2017
The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is just a little muted to begin, soon unfurling to reveal slowly growing scents of crushed blackcurrants, black cherries, dark chocolate and candied violets with nuances of crushed rocks, tobacco leaf, forest floor and fragrant earth plus a hint of bergamot. Medium-bodied and exquisitely elegant, the palate offers perfectly ripe, fine-grained tannins and tons of freshness with layer upon layer of perfumed fruit and a very long, ferrous-laced finish. Score: 98 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2022-2054 30 November 2018
Wonderful La Mission this year, graceful but with an unmistakable sense of controlled power. The wine just expands outwards and upwards in your mouth - insistent but terribly polite about it. It is deep and silky, shot through with coffee grounds, damson and soft cassis on a creamy mid-palate, utterly beautiful. There is a real energy and vitality here, with a caressing texture to the tannins and huge persistency on the finish. Dense, and yet so finessed that you could almost drink it today. Wow. The blend is 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon with a pH of 3.66, harvested between 19th September and 14th October. Score: 98 Decanter, - Maturity: 2027-2050 25 April 2017
Glowing deep crimson. Very intense and ripe. Snazzy and spicy. Polished and racy. Very firm and lots of ripe tannins - very much à La Mission. Super-sophisticated. Inky and fresh and so ripe and confident. A dry style but great. Racy but tannic. 18.5++ Score: 18 - 19 Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2027-2050 21 April 2017
57.5% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep colour. Intense aromas of blackberries, currants, smoky wood. On the palate, broad with ample fruit, rich rather than sweet. Polished and supremely elegant. Texture and power, and long refreshing finish.. Score: 96 - 97 Albany Vintners, - 19 April 2017
The texture to this is very beautiful with chewy yet very polished tannins. Full-bodied, tight and mouth-filling. Starts very slowly and then takes off. Love the energy in this. Score: 96 - 97 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 04 April 2017

Tasting Notes

The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is flat out gorgeous. Today, La Mission is incredibly primary, with stunning purity in its red/purplish berry fruit. Readers will have to cellar the 2016 for the better part of a decade at a minimum before the telltale aromatics of this fabled château start to blossom in bottle. I adore the 2016 for its gracious personality, fine tannin and remarkable freshness, not to mention that it is absolutely delicious and the kind of wine that is so suggestive of a very bright future. (97+)

Score: 97

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2066 01 January 2019

The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is a total knockout. Vertical and powerful, but not at all austere, it exudes class. Fine-grained tannins support the fruit, but they are barely felt, as the wine's balance is so extraordinary. Lifted floral notes and a host of red fruits give the 2016 energy and verve. I can't wait to see how it ages.

Score: 94 - 97

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 25 April 2017

The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion was stunning from barrel, and now in bottle. It has a sublime bouquet of blackberries, briar and hints of dark chocolate and rose petals that gain intensity with aeration while maintaining ethereal delineation. It never steps on the accelerator too hard. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is still a veneer of new oak that will need to be assimilated over the coming years. This is a deep La Mission that caresses the mouth. Touches of graphite lingering on a finish that fans out gloriously. Is the 2016 up there with the 1955 or 1989? Nearly.

Score: 99

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2026-2066 01 January 2019

The 2016 La Mission Haut Brion is a blend of 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 19 September and 14 October, one of the longest ever. "We had to be patient and wait for each plot," Jean-Philippe Delmas told me. "It took longer than usual." As is customary, I allowed my sample, and likewise all the wines poured at this tasting, around 40-45 minutes to open since they always transform in the glass. It has a clean and precise, quite understated bouquet with fine mineralité, cold stone aromas infusing the black fruit. This has incredible precision, perhaps even more pixelated than the "gaff over the road" Haut-Brion. The palate is medium-bodied with supple and lithe tannin. I appreciate the line of acidity here, the smoothness and harmony that takes your breath away. Every atom is infused with life-affirming freshness. It is a wine bridled with incredible focus and delineation. I thought that the 2015 La Mission Haut-Brion flirted with perfection. The 2016 has that extra edge, a "je ne sais quoi" that leaves you reaching for the thesaurus looking for superlatives.

Score: 98 - 100

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2026-2070 28 April 2017

The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is just a little muted to begin, soon unfurling to reveal slowly growing scents of crushed blackcurrants, black cherries, dark chocolate and candied violets with nuances of crushed rocks, tobacco leaf, forest floor and fragrant earth plus a hint of bergamot. Medium-bodied and exquisitely elegant, the palate offers perfectly ripe, fine-grained tannins and tons of freshness with layer upon layer of perfumed fruit and a very long, ferrous-laced finish.

Score: 98

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2022-2054 30 November 2018

Wonderful La Mission this year, graceful but with an unmistakable sense of controlled power. The wine just expands outwards and upwards in your mouth - insistent but terribly polite about it. It is deep and silky, shot through with coffee grounds, damson and soft cassis on a creamy mid-palate, utterly beautiful. There is a real energy and vitality here, with a caressing texture to the tannins and huge persistency on the finish. Dense, and yet so finessed that you could almost drink it today. Wow. The blend is 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon with a pH of 3.66, harvested between 19th September and 14th October.

Score: 98

Decanter, - Maturity: 2027-2050 25 April 2017

Glowing deep crimson. Very intense and ripe. Snazzy and spicy. Polished and racy. Very firm and lots of ripe tannins - very much à La Mission. Super-sophisticated. Inky and fresh and so ripe and confident. A dry style but great. Racy but tannic. 18.5++

Score: 18 - 19

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2027-2050 21 April 2017

57.5% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep colour. Intense aromas of blackberries, currants, smoky wood. On the palate, broad with ample fruit, rich rather than sweet. Polished and supremely elegant. Texture and power, and long refreshing finish..

Score: 96 - 97

Albany Vintners, - 19 April 2017

The texture to this is very beautiful with chewy yet very polished tannins. Full-bodied, tight and mouth-filling. Starts very slowly and then takes off. Love the energy in this.

Score: 96 - 97

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 04 April 2017

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