1979 Château Haut-Brion

The 1979 Haut-Brion is a vintage that I have not seen since 2006, from one of those forgotten growing seasons that can pleasantly surprise if you have modest expectations. Initially there was a bit of funk on the nose, but it blew away. Now, at 40 years old, the wine shows noticeable bricking on the rim. The bouquet clearly lacks some fruit, offering potent dried blood, struck match and chestnut aromas that now come across as rustic. The palate is balanced albeit hollow, presenting dusky black fruit tinged with licorice and tobacco, and stumbles over the finish line. It is not the greatest Haut-Brion – far from it – but it’s perfectly drinkable if you can abide herbaceous claret. Much better was the Pomerol that followed.

One of the top three or four wines of the vintage, the 1979 Haut-Brion has put on weight in its evolution in the bottle, and although fully mature, shows no signs of decline. The color is a dark garnet with some amber at the edge. The wine shows a very sweet nose of fruitcake intermixed with damp earth, tobacco, smoke, liquid mineral, black currants, and a hint of creosote. Medium to full-bodied, with excellent power and lushness, this is an atypically rich, layered, authoritatively flavorful wine that seems almost out of character for the vintage. Anticipated maturity: Now-2015. Last tasted, 11/02.

One of the top three or four wines of the vintage, the 1979 Haut-Brion has put on weight in its evolution in the bottle, and although fully mature, shows no signs of decline. The color is a dark garnet with some amber at the edge. The wine shows a very sweet nose of fruitcake intermixed with damp earth, tobacco, smoke, liquid mineral, black currants, and a hint of creosote. Medium to full-bodied, with excellent power and lushness, this is an atypically rich, layered, authoritatively flavorful wine that seems almost out of character for the vintage. Anticipated maturity: Now-2015. Last tasted, 11/02. Jan 2003, www.robertparker.com