0

2016 Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

  • Red
  • Dry
  • Full Bodied
Not ready
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
98+/100
Jane Anson MW
98/100
Jancis Robinson MW
17/20
James Suckling
96-97/100
Product: 20168008990
2016 Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

Description

Dark ruby, there are pleasing notes of mocha, blackcurrant and wood smoke. On the palate this is very good, impressing with its textural feel. Swirling it around your mouth, you pick up a gravelly, smoky note and some lovely dark fruit. Powerful, there is a bold richness, yet despite all the concentration and density, it feels restrained. It's like a Rolls-Royce coasting down the Champs Élysée.

Blend: Merlot 57.5%, Cabernet Sauvignon 42.5%
Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2016
Maturity Not ready
Body Full Bodied
Producer Château La Mission-Haut-Brion

Critics reviews

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW 98+/100
The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is just a little muted to begin, soon unfurling to reveal slowly growing scents of crushed blackcurrants, black cherries, dark chocolate and candied violets with nuances of crushed rocks, tobacco leaf, forest floor and fragrant earth plus a hint of bergamot. Medium-bodied and exquisitely elegant, the palate offers perfectly ripe, fine-grained tannins and tons of freshness with layer upon layer of perfumed fruit and a very long, ferrous-laced finish.Lisa Perrotti-Brown - 30/11/2018
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, (Nov 2018)
Jane Anson MW 98/100
Wonderful La Mission this year, graceful but with an unmistakable sense of controlled power. The wine just expands outwards and upwards in your mouth - insistent but terribly polite about it. It is deep and silky, shot through with coffee grounds, damson and soft cassis on a creamy mid-palate, utterly beautiful. There is a real energy and vitality here, with a caressing texture to the tannins and huge persistency on the finish. Dense, and yet so finessed that you could almost drink it today. Wow. The blend is 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon with a pH of 3.66, harvested between 19th September and 14th October. Drinking Window 2027 - 2050. jane_anson_mw - Decanter, 3rd April 2017
Jane Anson MW, Decanter.com (Apr 2017)
Jancis Robinson MW 17/20
Sumptuous first-growth suavity on the nose. Sinews and dry finish but a little austere. Just slightly muscular. Dry but not drying finish. Drink 2023-2033. jancis_robinson_mw - 24th April 2017
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2017)
James Suckling 96-97/100
The texture to this is very beautiful with chewy yet very polished tannins. Full-bodied, tight and mouth-filling. Starts very slowly and then takes off. Love the energy in this. james_suckling - April 2017
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (Apr 2017)

About this wine

Chateau la Mission Haut-Brion

Château La Mission-Haut-Brion is the greatest Graves wine after Haut-Brion and in some vintages is considered the superior wine of the two. La Mission-Haut-Brion is situated just across the road from Haut-Brion in the commune of Talence in the southern suburbs of Bordeaux. Since 1983, both properties have been under the same ownership, Domaine Clarence Dillon S.A. La Mission-Haut-Brion's vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon 48%, Merlot 45%, Cabernet Franc 7%) lie on a large (up to 18 metres deep in places) gravel bank interspersed with clay. The wine is fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats and then matured in oak barriques (100% new) for 18 months. The wines of La Mission Haut Brion are rich, oaky and powerful and need at least 10 years of bottle ageing before they should be broached.
Find out more
Pessac-Léognan

Pessac-Léognan

In 1986 a new communal district was created within Graves, based on the districts of Pessac and Léognan. Pessac-Léognan has the best soils of the region, very similar to those of the Médoc, although the depth of gravel is more variable, and contains all the classed growths of the region. Some of its great names, including Ch. Haut-Brion, even sit serenely and resolutely in Bordeaux's southern urban sprawl.
Find out more

Need help?

Delivery and Quality Guarantee