Haut Brion

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Wine	Vintage	Case size	Price/case	Cases	Parker Score hover or click for more
Haut Brion	2010	12×75cl	£6,700	1	100
As for the 2010 Haut-Brion, it does not have the power of Latour’s 2010 or the intense lead pencil shavings and chocolaty component of Lafite-Rothschild, but it is extraordinary, perfect wine. It has a slightly lower pH than the 2009 (3.7 versus the 2009’s 3.8), and even higher alcohol than the 2009 (14.6%). The wine is ethereal. From its dense purple color to its incredibly subtle but striking aromatics that build incrementally, offering up a spectacular smorgasbord of aromas ranging from charcoal and camphor to black currant and blueberry liqueur and spring flowers, this wine’s finesse, elegant yet noble power and authority come through in a compelling fashion. It is full-bodied, but that’s only apparent in the aftertaste, as the wine seems to float across the palate with remarkable sweetness, harmony, and the integration of all its component parts – alcohol, tannin, acidity, wood, etc. This prodigious Haut-Brion is hard to compare to another vintage, at least right now, but it should have 50 to 75 years of aging potential. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2065+. Kudos to the team at Haut-Brion and to the proprietors, the Dillon family, who are now represented admirably and meticulously by Prince Robert of Luxembourg. He has made some changes, and all of them seem to have resulted in dramatic improvements to what was already an astonishing group of wines.
Haut BrionEP	2012	12×75cl	£2,700	3	93-95
The 2012 Haut-Brion, which represents only 46% of the production, is a blend of 65% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. One of the stars of the vintage, it is a complete, medium to full-bodied, soft, round, atypically accessible effort displaying lots of minerality along with red and black fruits, exceptional fragrance and purity, a fleshy mid-palate and a long finish. A remarkable fact in both these wines is that the alcohol levels in 2012 hit 14.8%, which nearly equals the record levels achieved in 2010 – that’s astonishing! This 2012 should drink well 3-4 years after bottling, and last for 20-25 years.
La Chapelle de la Mission Haut BrionEP	2012	12×75cl	£395	2	87-88
The elegant, medium-bodied, supple-textured, soft, velvety La Chapelle exhibits notes of damp earth, forest floor, raspberry and blueberry fruit. One-third of the production made it into this second wine, which should drink nicely for a decade or more. Like its bigger sibling, the second wine, the 2012 La Chapelle de la Mission, was the result of a harvest that occurred between September 17 and October 9. (Keep in mind that the micro-climate of Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion is essentially within a highly developed suburb of Bordeaux.)
La Clarence de Haut BrionEP	2012	12×75cl	£670	2	88-90
Haut-Brion’s second wine, the 2012 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion, is a delicious, seductive, fruity, lighter-styled effort exhibiting plenty of crushed rock, floral and mineral notes intermixed with red and black currants, camphor and forest floor. This pretty, medium-bodied wine can be drunk upon release or cellared for a decade.
La Mission Haut Brion	2008	12×75cl	£1,600	1	94
This glorious offering possesses sweet tobacco leaf, black currant, mocha, white chocolate, scorched earth and burning ember-like characteristics. Full-bodied, stunningly rich and exceptionally well-endowed, this blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc demands 2-3 years of additional bottle age. It should age gracefully for 35-40 years.
La Mission Haut BrionEP	2012	12×75cl	£1,670	3	91-94
The 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion, which represents 41% of the total production, is a blend of 62% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Lots of tobacco leaf, forest floor, underbrush and red as well as black fruit aromas jump from this aromatic, seductive, open-knit La Mission. Medium to full-bodied, round, generous, lush and flattering to taste, even at this young age, it is built along the stylistic lines of the 2001 or 1999. Drink it over the next 15-20 years. Like its bigger sibling, the second wine, the 2012 La Chapelle de la Mission, was the result of a harvest that occurred between September 17 and October 9. (Keep in mind that the micro-climate of Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion is essentially within a highly developed suburb of Bordeaux.)
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Chateau Haut-Brion

The most famous property in Pessac-Leognan, the northernmost corner of the Graves district of Bordeaux, today managed alongside La Mission Haut-Brion (purchased 1983) of the same appellation. Its well-documented reputation no doubt led to its position as the earliest chateaux to be cited as designated 1er Cru Classe in the famous 1855 Classification of Bordeaux; indeed it is the only such wine to be so outside the Medoc.

The history of Chateau Haut-Brion can be traced back further than that of any other Bordeaux classed growth, with wine from the estate recorded in the cellar entries of King Charles II of England (1630-1685) as ‘wine of Hobriono’ to be served to the monarch’s guests. During this time Samuel Pepys made his famous entry in his diary of 10 April 1663 ‘drank a sort of French wine called Ho Bryen that hath a good and most particular taste I never met with’. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), meanwhile, an early American Ambassador to France, noted the quality of Haut-Brion in his 1787 trip famous for his pre-1855 identification of some of Bordeaux’s finest vineyards, extant to this day.

By the early C20th, however, the chateau had fallen into disrepair but saw a reversal of fortune with its purchase in 1935 by Clarence Dillon, an American banker. Dillon undertook a series of restorative innovations most notable in the skilled hands of winemaker Jean-Bernard during the latter half of the C20th. Today the estate is run by Dillon’s great-grandson, Prince Robert of Luxemburg and Jean-Philippe, son of the now retired Jean-Bernard.

Vineyard and winemaking

The estate’s 45 ha/111 acres of vineyards are planted to 45 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon vines, 18 per cent Cabernet Franc and 37 per cent Merlot;Haut Brion Blanc, a rare dry white, is grown on 2.7ha. of vineyard and made from some 63 per cent Sémillon and 37 per cent Sauvignon Blanc vines. Its scarcity means that it is rarely seen.

Red wine fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats followed by 22 months in new oak barriques bordelaise (225 l/59 gal) then bottled unfiltered. Haut Brion Blanc sees fermentation in new oak and then spends 12-15 months on its lees before bottling.

Production at Haut-Brion is smaller than that of the other First Growth wines, averaging around 13, 000 cases per year; it can be as much as 20,000 cases. This is shared between the Grand Vin and second wine, formerly Bahans-Haut-Brion (non-vintage until 1976) and changed to Clarence de Haut-Brion for the 2007 vintage in memory of Clarence Dillon. Less than 800 cases of Haut Brion Blanc are produced in most years.

The connoisseur’s First Growth, whose high Merlot content compared to the remaining First Growths, is responsible for its silky voluptuousness, whereby in youth it provides approachable finesse before its Médoc contemporaries without any detraction from its ability to age.

The classiest wine of Pessac-Leognan, Haut-Brion is text-book Graves displaying Montecristo cigar-box aroma, richly fruited cassis and plum with depth of flavor from its spicy, earthy notes.

Haut Brion

	RP	JR	Market price	£/Parker point
2009	98-100	19	7200	£ 72.73
2008	95-97	18	5200	£ 54.17
2005	98	17.5+	6100	£ 62.24
2003	95	17	3890	£ 40.95
2000	99	18+	7600	£ 80.00
1998	96	18	4450	£ 46.84
1995	96	18	4600	£ 48.42
1990	98	18.5	6800	£ 71.58
1989	100	19	13950	£ 146.84
1982	95	17.5	7650	£ 80.53

Prices as of end-March 2011

Market (Price development & background)

Beloved by both the trade and critics and with an apparently broader following than Laifte, Haut-Brion had seen a steady softening of prices over the last 6 years and remains below its high-point of 2004. However, 2010 and the first quarter of 2011 have seen steady price rises driven by strong brand awareness and a perceived quality-backed undervalued status vs. v the remaining first growths, evinced by the market-wide tendency of buying-up lesser scoring recent vintages such as 2001, 2004 and 2007.

This broad-based strengthening of demand for Haut-Brion is a sure indication of a slight broadening of the market among the first growths, along with what would appear to be a widening of the market overall.

Haut-Brion at a glance

Commune: Pessac-Leognan

Soils: Similar to Medoc (gravels, sand and clay) with more variation in depth

Climate: Maritime but milder than the Medoc

District: Graves, Left bank south of the Medoc below Bordeaux and parallel to the Garonne river

Classification: 1er Cru Classe

Owner: The Dillon family

Wine-maker: Jean-Phillipe (2003) following father Jean-Bernard (1960)

Vineyard: 45ha/111 acres

- 42.3ha: 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 37% Merlot

- 2.7ha: 63% Semillon, 37% Sauvignon Blanc

Vinification and ageing: stainless steel, 22 months in new oak barriques

Production: avg 13, 000 cases, maximum 20, 0000 cases

Wines: Haut-Brion (Grand Vin); Clarence de Haut-Brion (second wine); Haut-Brion Blanc

Other properties: La Mission Haut-Brion (Pessac-Leognan)

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