2014 Haut Brion
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2014 Haut-Brion is forward and intense on the nose. Blackberry mixes with cranberry fruit, incense and black olive compote, slightly ferrous and becoming spicier with aeration. It coheres very nicely in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, expressive and fleshy, and somewhat savory with cooked meats and brown spices on the finish. Impressive, but moving into the secondary phase. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
Wine Spectator
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The 2014 Haut-Brion is moving into its drinking plateau on the nose, which is now entirely open. Tertiary red fruit mixes with fennel, iron filings and a touch of Moroccan spice. Very fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins. It's a little sweeter and, as I commented before, a little medicinal in style, with hints of aniseed developing towards the finish. This is a mellow Haut-Brion, and it is very well crafted, but is there a gap between this and other high-performing Pessac-Léognan wines? Not in this vintage. (NM)
Tasted blind. Deep garnet. Plenty of black fruit, including a leafy note (Cab Franc?). Quite oaky on the palate and a little leaner than I expected from the nose but there’s real tannic refinement here and excellent balance. (JH)
Haut-Brion is more concentrated and intense than Mission Haut-Brion, more bedded down even at 10 years old, and somehow delivers an extra punch. Absolutely a materclass in controlled exuberance, this has concentrated cigar box, graphite and cocoa bean, touches of mandarin peel, bitter espresso and fennel, well-controlled tannic frame but so well delivered, it's hard to resist. Jean-Philippe Delmas estate director, Jean-Philippe Masclef technical director.
About the producer
Ch. Haut-Brion is the only classified growth in Pessac-Léognan. One of the five First Growths, it is renowned for producing both exceptional reds and whites. Along with its sister estate, Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, it is part of the Clarence Dillon stable.