1955 Château Haut-Brion
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Tasting notes
Reconditioned by Mähler-Besse (see note for Palmer 1975) in 2005. So venerable it was still in straight-sided claret bottles rather than in the special flask shape so common now. Amazing that this 70-year-old wine is still in such great shape and was the wine of the evening. Dense, savoury and mineral with Edmund Penning-Rowsell’s ‘warm bricks’ aromas still in evidence. Still with an impressive depth of colour. I see we have three enthusiastic (19/20) notes on La Mission 1955 but none of this marvel made across the road. (JR)
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
While it cannot quite match the heights attained by the estate's 1953 (a personal favorite) or 1959, the 1955 Haut-Brion is nevertheless a brilliant wine from a superb decade for this first growth. Wafting from the glass with a complex bouquet of red berries, cigar wrapper, black truffles, smoked tea and cedar wood, it's medium-bodied, seamless and sensual, with a deep core of fruit, melted tannins and lively acids. Supremely elegant and harmonious, it's drinking beautifully today.
Tasted 4 Times With Consistent Notes Oct 1994, www.robertparker.com
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.