1985 Château La Mission Haut-Brion
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Tasting notes
The La Mission Haut-Brion 1985 is a vintage that I have tracked over the last couple of decades. It has a mellow bouquet of red cherries, tobacco, sage and hints of dried blood and terra-cotta – quintessentially 1985 Pessac-Léognan – and reveals light leathery scents with time. The voluminous palate is one of the fleshiest that La Mission produced that decade, and the most pliant, featuring gamy red fruit. It’s just a tad diffuse toward the finish, which used to be strict and linear. Clearly à point, this is a lovely, easygoing La Mission Haut-Brion. (NM)
Critic scores
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Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Mid ruby with brownish tones. Delicate, fragrant nose with definite mineral/warm bricks overtones. Tannins are completely faded but the fruit hasn't. Balsam on the finish. Far from heavy and certainly has nowhere to go but the finish is particularly beautiful. (JR)
As this wine sat in the glass aerating, I began having some doubts about whether it merited a low-90s point score. I think it does, but the fact that it deteriorated more quickly than some of its siblings (even those from more challenging vintages) gave me pause. Nevertheless, I have to assume that most people will decant all of these wines (as I did) and consume them within an hour of opening. On that basis, this 1985 is clearly a low-90 point wine. The problem is that for the most part, 1985 does not have that extra level of concentration possessed by the great vintages. However, it offers a softness to go along with the fragility of the wines as most 1985s, including this La Mission-Haut-Brion, are fully mature. A dark plum/garnet color reveals a pinkish lightening at the edge, and the bouquet reveals plenty of smoke, camphor, charcoal, graphite, sweet kirsch and blacker fruit aromas intermixed with meaty, sauteed mushroom, cedar and spicy notes. The lovely aromatics are followed by flavors that do not quite match the intensity of the bouquet, a sign of a fully mature wine. This medium-bodied effort has plenty of glycerin, low acidity and not a trace of tannin. While not terribly generous, it is a soft, round, charming, delicious, very good La Mission, but not a great one. Drink it over the next decade.
Quite light ruby. Very mellow nose with lots of mineral dustiness though not especially intense. A bit dry and austere. Not the opulence of many 1985s. Desperately needs food! (JR)
About the producer
Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion – sister estate of Ch. Haut-Brion and part of the Clarence Dillon stable – is one of the greatest estates in all of Bordeaux. Based in Pessac-Léognan but not officially classified, it produces outstanding red and white wines.