Appellations

Haut Brion 2013

Pessac-Leognan, First Growth

GBP Price: Size Quantities Units status Actions
Tasting Notes

The 2013 Haut Brion has perhaps a little more complexity on the nose compared to the 2013 La Mission Haut-Brion at the moment. There is more depth and plenty of attractive fruit: cranberry, wild strawberry, hickory and a scintilla of scorched earth that becomes quite peaty with time. It is well defined and shows impressive focus. The palate is very well balanced with tensile tannin, a keen thread of acidity, lively in the mouth with more weight and presence than La Mission, though perhaps without quite the same precision at the moment. It still cuts away just a little short on the finish, but this is a decent Haut-Brion that may pull ahead of its "sibling" with bottle age.

Score: 92 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2020-2035 Date: 28 October 2016

The 2013 Château Haut-Brion is a blend of 50% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc and 45.5% Cabernet Sauvignon picked at the same time as La Mission, with 13.10% alcohol. I made two visits to the estate at the beginning and end of my visit. The bouquet is stubborn and reticent at this stage, expressing little in the way of fruit and refusing to really deliver the complexity of a First Growth. The palate is medium-bodied and a little fleshier than the La Mission thought that acidity level is noticeable, rendering this sharp and very linear. This feels somehow autumnal and leafy despite its nascence, but at least there is decent length. As a huge admirer of Jean-Philippe Delmas' work at the estate, but on this occasion there is something almost workmanlike about it, an absence of gravitas and flair that the La Mission appears to muster. Tasted April 2014.

Score: 89 - 91 Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Date: 01 April 2014

Closed nose, with better fruit concentration on the palate. Fine, dusty tannins with great persistence on the finish. Rather light body. Dry and savoury, but hardly brimming with potential. An early-drinking style. As Steven Spurrier says, beautifully polished. (16.5)

Score: 16 - 17 Jancis Robinson MW, Richard Hemming, JancisRobinson.com Maturity: 2020-2030 Date: 01 April 2014

This has one of the best finishes of all reds in Bordeaux in 2013. Full and balanced with medium density in the mid-palate but it lasts for minutes on the finish. Tobacco, currant and spice character. Only 13.1% alcohol.

Score: 92 - 93 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Date: 01 April 2014

Superb colour, lovely earthy black fruit spices nose, wonderful texture of velvety fruit in the La Tâche style, with tannins for the future, undeniable depth and class.

Score: 94 Decanter, Decanter.com Maturity: 2018-2035 Date: 01 April 2014

This Haut Brion is the smallest production of the last decade with just 5900 cases produced (8000 in 2012). 50% Merlot, 45 Cabernet Sauvignon and 4.5% Cabernet Franc with yields of just 26hl/ha. A subtle but creamy fruit nose with mineral and tarry notes. Gorgeously soft and fruit-filled with black cherry on the front. There is beautiful weight and plenty of texture and glycerol. Medium-bodied but very long.

Score: 92 - 94 Albany Vintners, - Date: 01 April 2014

Features a plump feel, with plum, cherry and blackberry fruit lined with savory, tobacco and warm cedar notes. Lightly firm through the finish, but this has ample flesh for the vintage. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Tasted non-blind.

Score: 88 - 91 James Molesworth, Wine Spectator Date: 01 April 2014