Appellations

Haut Brion 2018

Pessac-Leognan, First Growth

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Tasting Notes

The 2018 Haut-Brion was double decanted, assessed after two hours and then over 24 hours, initially blind against La Mission Haut-Brion. There is more red fruit on the nose compared to the La Mission Haut-Brion, wild strawberries commingling with raspberry, light tobacco scents and shavings of black truffle. The palate is medium-bodied and beautifully balanced with superb salinity. Maybe this is more elegant and seductive than the La Mission thanks to the killer line of acidity, though it has slightly less backbone and grip by comparison. Oddly, this First Growth is the most approachable of the pair. It has wonderful cohesion and harmony toward the precise, captivating finish. Superb. My hunch is that this will have wider appeal in its youth, then the La Mission might put its nose in front after 15–20 years.

Score: 96 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024 - 2060 Date: 22 August 2021

The 2018 Haut-Brion was picked from 6 September to 2 October at 44.6hL/ha. It has a quintessential Haut-Brion bouquet with billowing red cherries, boysenberry, black olive and tobacco aromas. The 2018 coheres beautifully with aeration as more blue fruit emerges. It reminds me of the 2015 at this stage. The palate is medium-bodied with velvety tannin and perfectly judged acidity. There is an unerring symmetry about this First Growth, hints of cracked black pepper and clove towards the layered finish. Maybe what it does not have is the killer precision of a very top vintage, but it is certainly a great Haut-Brion.

Score: 94 - 96 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2060 Date: 01 November 2019

A quintessential expression of this terroir, the 2018 Château Haut-Brion checks in as 49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Cabernet Franc brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. Ripe and sexy, yet also offering subtle aromas and flavors of blackcurrants, smoked earth, tobacco leaf, truffle, lead pencil, and minerals, it takes its time opening up but reveals a full-bodied, concentrated, multi-layered style carrying gorgeous tannins, flawless balance, and just a wonderful symmetry and elegance paired with beautiful richness. This noble, gorgeous Haut-Brion will benefit from 7-8 years of bottle age and cruise for 40 years or so.

Score: 98 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2028 - 2068 Date: 19 July 2021

The grand vin 2018 Haut-Brion (49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc) is as deeply colored as its stablemate but has a darker, smoky bouquet of blackcurrants, roasted herbs, tobacco, and gravelly earth. Silky, polished, and ethereally textured on the palate, with beautiful tannins as well as mid-palate density, it's one of the most regal, classic wines in the vintage.

Score: 97 - 99 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Date: 01 May 2019

The 2018 Haut-Brion is composed of 49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11.9% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, the wine needs a lot of swirling before it begins to release a whole complex melody of notes, one at a time to begin: tilled earth, followed by pronounced licorice, then crushed rocks, then the preserved plums. Eventually, it all comes together into a fascinating crescendo of intense crème de cassis, rose oil, wild blueberries and kirsch notes, giving way to quiet, persistent leitmotif scents of cinnamon stick, truffles and redcurrant jelly. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers all this and more, revealing tightly wound black fruit, red berry and exotic spice layers within a solid, wonderfully plush frame and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length and loads of earth and mineral sparks. This is a profound, highly intellectual, multilayered baby, which will require a good 7-8 years to begin to sing its incredible song, then should cellar a further 40 years at least. By way of reference, think 1989 with more restraint and even greater purity.

Score: 100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2028 - 2068 Date: 15 July 2021

The 2018 Haut-Brion is a blend of 49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11.9% Cabernet Franc, harvested September 6 to October 2. Deep purple-black in color, it is much more closed than the La Mission. It holds back for the first few minutes, reticent to reveal what slowly uncoils to give wave after wave of exotic spices—cardamom, cassis, star anise and fenugreek—over an opulent core of red roses, Black Forest cake, warm cassis and black raspberries with nuances of cigar box, crushed rocks, truffles, tilled black soil, iron ore and smoked meats. The full-bodied palate is truly profound, with restrained black fruit and spice layers slowly offering mineral sparks and savory suggestions within a rock-solid frame of firm, super fine-grained tannins and beautiful freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. This will take longer to come around than the La Mission, but it will be well worth the wait.

Score: 97 - 99 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 23 April 2019

A beautiful Haut-Brion that combines generosity and elegance. It's rich, and velvety, with a vibrant ruby rim, all conveying structure and a sense of power. The flavour floods in through the mid-palate, displaying wonderfully vibrant blackberry, blueberry, slate, touches of blond tobacco, freshly cut herbs and exotic spicing. You can feel in the texture that it's a warm year, not holding back. It's powerful but elegant and unforced at the same time, with some brambled edges that give a welcome sense of acidity and a touch of bitterness. Harvested 6 September to 2 October, yielding 44hl/ha. 3.8pH. IPT72 - the same level as 2015, but it was a little higher in 2010 and 2009.

Score: 98 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2027-2044 Date: 16 April 2019

The length and texture to this wine is so very impressive. It’s not so much the sheer power that is impressive here, rather the form, tension and exquisite form that the abundant, fine-grained tannins provide. It lasts for minutes on the palate. A classic beauty in the making.

Score: 98 - 99 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 11 April 2019

The 2018 Haut-Brion is a regal wine. Creamy, soft and inviting, the 2018 is one of the more open-knit young Haut-Brions I can remember tasting. Cedar, tobacco, smoke, licorice, grilled herbs, leather and menthol are nicely layered in the glass. In 2018, Haut-Brion is almost shockingly elegant at this very early stage. There is plenty of tannin, but it is totally woven into the wine's fabric. In 2018, the blend is 49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11.9% Cabernet Franc.

Score: 93 - 96 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com Date: 01 April 2019