Château Haut-Brion

Rene Gabriel 19 "46 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 % Merlot, 19 % Cabernet Franc. Extrem dunkles Purpur mit lila und violetten Reflexen. Florales Bouquet, dunkelviolette Rosen, schwarze Beeren, wie beim Mission etwas Teer und Herbst-Trüffel zeigend. Während die Nase wenig hergibt, ist im Gaumen schon sehr viel Aromatik da, alles im schwarzbeerigen Bereich, Finessen und Dichte, mittlerer Power, klingt lange nach. Charaktervoller Haut-Brion der aber schon auch recht viel Weibliches an sich zeigt. Und so muss es eigentlich auch sein. Gehört für mich an die Spitze der Premiers heuer." // 4/30/2012 - Decanter.com : 18,5 / 20 Deep velvety red, wild roses bouquet, taffeta smooth texture, great precision and clarity, restrained and aristocratic. Drink 2020-2040. 4/30/2012 - TAST : 19-19,5 / 20 Encore une fois un monument de classe naturelle, liée au terroir et de savoir-faire humaine : corps considérable, somptueux socle tannique, ferme mais très élégant dans sa texture, admirable construction en bouche. Le vin de Bordeaux dans toute sa splendeur. Très longue garde prévisible. 4/30/2012 - Wine Advocate : 92-95 / 100 Like its stablemate La Mission-Haut-Brion, Haut-Brion’s 2011 production was small, only 7,600 cases, which is nearly 3,000 fewer cases than in 2009. A blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc, it is interesting to taste the 2011 Haut-Brion next to the more open-knit, seductive 2011 La Mission Haut-Brion. The former wine is more firm, backward and earthy with a more formidably structured style. Undeniably elegant, distinctive and original, it exhibits notes of mulberries, plums, blueberries and raspberries. Jean-Philippe Delmas told me that in many ways the 2011 reminds him of the 2008 from an aromatic and structural profile. There is plenty of tannin, and the 2011 has 25-30 years of aging potential. It may be more reminiscent of a vintage such as 1988, but it is better made as well as being the product of a far stricter selection process. 4/27/2012 - The Wine Cellar Insider : 94-95 / 100 From a blend of 46.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34.8% Merlot and 18.9% Cabernet Franc, the wine reached13.3% alcohol. With a beautiful ruby hue, the wine offers espresso, burnt earth, boysenberry, floral, cassis and truffle. This polished, classic, fresh, sweet, ripe, cassis loaded wine has the tannins to age and will require time. 94-95 Pts 4/27/2012 - Wine Advocate : 94-96 / 100 The Haut Brion is a blend of 34.8% Merlot, 18.9% Cabernet Franc and 46.3% Cabernet Sauvignon. The bouquet has a little more thrust than the La Mission with a little more opulence, although perhaps not the same degree of clarity and showing slightly more alcohol (but nothing to get concerned about.) It has good weight, firm rigid tannins and a weightier framework than La Mission. It is concentrated and generous with very good focus, a crescendo of flavours towards the finish and very good grip. A masterful Haut-Brion that is more voluminous than La Mission at present. Tasted April 2012 4/20/2012 - Jancis Robinson : 18,5 / 20 Drink 2020-2040 34.8% Merlot, 18.9% Cabernet Franc, 46.3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Berries not as ripe as 2010 so they extracted shorter and faster to get tannins from skins not from seeds. The optical sorter came into its own, rejecting 5-7% of fruit across the board, in addition to all the other manual sorting that preceded it. There were different coloured berries on the same bunch and some rot at the end of September. Deep black cherry colour. Warm sweet cherry fruit, with the most chocolate-smooth (and in no way thick) tannins but also the acidity of fresh fruit too, fresh cherry. Very fine, intense and aromatic red fruit with just a touch of graphite. There's density and richness on the middle but such amazing softness though the tannins give tension underneath like closely packed bed springs. Like falling into a deep feather cover on a firm bed. So long. (JH) 13.3% 4/20/2012 - Asian Palate : 93-94 / 100 There is wonderful density and depth in this wine, but also a firm wall of tannins that make Haut Brion much less expressive at this stage than La Mission. There are many wines in this tannic vintage like Haut Brion that deserve to be re-tasted before bottling when a better sense of its true personality will emerge. The cedar box, earthy, dried Chinese red date flavours are restrained and the flavours are very tightly wound. The wine is promising with a long length, but patience will be required for this wine. 4/10/2012 - Wine Spectator : 93-96 / 100 Manages to harness the angularity of the vintage extremely well, almost burying the acidity in the core of cassis, black cherry skin, plum pit and maduro tobacco flavors. This is typically among the most backward wines of the vintage when young, and it's still tight and primal, but with admirable length and density already. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Tasted non-blind.—J.M. 4/6/2012 - Wine Enthusiast : 94-96 / 100 An impressively silky wine. Dry yet intensely fruity, the palate shows big fruit, smooth tannins and a perfumed character. —R.V. 4/1/2012 - Jamessuckling.com : 94-95 / 100 Complex aromas of brown sugar, sweet tobacco and dark fruits. Turns to hints of prunes and cocoa. Full-bodied, with ultra fine tannins and a wonderful length. Refined and silky. Beautiful balance. Such wonderful length. Turns chewy yet very polished.