1974 La Mission Haut Brion

The 1974 La Mission Haut-Brion is the best of three miserable vintages in the early Seventies. Deeper in color than the preceding two years, it also demonstrates more freshness, offering likeable black fruit, briar and leather scents, along with an odd tang of damp straw (possibly from some unripe fruit that entered the vat). The palate is robust and rustic, though there’s better fruit than the 1972 or 1973, and fungal with chestnut notes on the raw finish. This has bucolic charm but needs to be drunk soon. Tasted at the La Mission Haut-Brion vertical in London.

A fascinating aspect of vertical tastings is that there are always surprises – both good and bad. Because the vintage was plagued by rot, the inability of many grapes to reach full maturity, and frightful acid as well as rustic tannin levels, there were not many successful wines in 1974, but I always thought La Mission-Haut-Brion was one of them. It has aged remarkably well, and while it will not make anyone go bonkers over its quality, it is a very good wine. The color is a dark garnet with some amber at the edge. Interesting aromatics offer up an array of scents, including cedar, seaweed, pepper, roasted meats, smoked herbs, charcoal and some murky plum and currant fruit. In the mouth, some acidity remains, but the tannins have largely melted away, and the wine still possesses enough flesh and fruit to soften its skeleton. Its complex aromatics, medium-bodied flavors and surprising vigor demonstrate what a great terroir and impeccable winemaking can achieve in a disastrous vintage.

Dry and tough and rather Italianate in its aggressive tannins! Not much fun at all.... Food please. A bit volatile! (JR)