Tasting Notes
Vinous 94+
Good medium ruby. Aristocratic, highly complex nose hints at plum, roast coffee, leather, grilled nuts, tobacco and earth. A bit reticent today but already offers an uncanny amalgamation of density and vinosity. A very suave, subtle wine that finishes with creamy, sweet tannins and terrific grip and length. Was there a more consistently outstanding first growth through the decade of the ’90s?
Robert Parker 99
“Still incredibly youthful and sporting a lot of fruit, the deep garnet-brick colored 1998 Haut-Brion sashays out of the glass with flamboyant red and black fruits, followed by a train of cassis, blueberry pie and chocolate box notions plus accents of iron ore, dried lavender and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully rich and decadently seductive in its generosity of fruit and velvety texture, offering seamless freshness and finishing with epic length and compelling minerality. Oh so delicious right now, with careful cellaring it should continue to excite through 2045 and beyond.”
Anticipated maturity: 2018-2045
JancisRobinson.com 17+
55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc. Supple, big grain tannins. Densely layered. Impressive but a bit heavy. Still very young seeming. (RH)
Anticipated maturity: 2014-2028
