Mission Haut Brion 1996

Pessac-Leognan, Grand Cru Classé

Excel download

View All Vintages of this Wine

Units Size Case size GBP Price: Quantities Buy
12 75cl Bottle Case 12 £2,780 per Case Case [Add to shopping basket]
Tasting Notes

Tasted at the château, the 1996 La Mission Haut Brion does not quite deliver the sense of "confidence" on the nose exuded by the likes of say, Château Margaux or Château Lafite-Rothschild. There is quite a marked Asian influence here and at 20 years old there is that conspicuous soy-like accent that permeates the red and black fruit -- red plums and a touch of orange blossom. There is something sedate about the aromatics, perhaps reclining too much in its comfy armchair. The palate is slightly better than the aromatics with fine tannin, though there is still some hardness here, a little static. This is a resolutely foursquare and conservative La Mission Haut-Brion that certainly lacks the depth and density of the best 1986s, partly because there is more Merlot in the blend (61% with 39% Cabernet Sauvignon). There is something ... anachronistic about this La Mission, a vintage I feel that is surpassed by many others conjured by either Jean-Bernard or Jean-Philippe Delmas. File alongside the 1996 Cheval Blanc as "could have done better." Tasted July 2016.

Score: 88

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2016-2030 28 October 2016

Fully mature, with a big, fragrant bouquet of damp earth, weedy underbrush, asphalt, Asian soy, and ripe plums and cherries, this medium-bodied 1996 appears to be on a fast evolutionary track. It reveals plenty of delicious fruit, soft tannins and enough acidity to provide definition. I was surprised by how open-knit and mature this wine has become.

Score: 90

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2012-2020 01 August 2012

The 1996 La Mission-Haut-Brion was closed and backward when I tasted it in January. The wine was bottled in summer, 1998, and should have had sufficient time to overcome any suppression from going from wood to glass. It possesses considerable potential, and I would not be surprised to see it merit an outstanding score after 2-4 years of cellaring. The color is a healthy plum/purple, and the wine exhibits some of the black fruit, smoky mineral character of La Mission, but it is medium-bodied and moderately high in tannin, with notes of cedar. The finish was totally closed, with the tannin in danger of dominating the wine's fruit. This muscular, structured La Mission will take longer to come around than I originally predicted. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020.

Score: 89

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2007-2020 30 April 1999