Critic Notes
The is very refined and elegant with a fine-tannined line running through the center of the palate. It’s very intense and precise. Full-bodied with great, tight fruit. This is subtle and complex, then it opens on the palate and shows incredible depth and intensity. Great length, going on and on for minutes.
Score: 99-100/100James Suckling
Blood red ruby in hue, the aromatic profile resonates with a bonfire of cherry wood, tar, cigar box, spearmint, hot rocks, stones and blackberries. Elegance, refinement and purity, with all that smoky essence, is not found on any other wine. The supple, polished tannins, the layers of fruit that builds as you play with the wine on your palate is sublime. Here, the energy and vivaciousness in the fruit stand out, expands and never wants to quit, as the finish is close to 60 seconds! The finish, with its sensual, velvet palate presence, coupled with luscious red fruits needs to be experienced at least once by every wine lover! The wine blends 49% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc with the harvest taking place September 10-October 3. The wine reached 14.6% alcohol with a pH of 3.85 with 49% of the harvest being placed into the Grand Vin.
Score: 98-100/100Jeff Leve
The 2019 Haut-Brion is a blend of 48.7% Merlot, 43.2% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.1% Cabernet Franc, harvested from the 10th of September to the 3rd of October. The estimated label alcohol degree is 14.5%. Displaying a deep garnet-purple color, it comes off incredibly shy and reticent to begin, needing considerable coaxing to reveal notes of dark chocolate-covered cherries, blackberry preserves, woodsmoke and sandalwood, before launching into a full-scale fireworks display of iron ore, cumin seed, redcurrant jelly, red roses, oolong tea and Sichuan pepper scents plus a waft of cardamom. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers the most exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins with a lively backbone of freshness supporting the tightly wound, earth-laced black fruit layers, finishing very long and minerally. This is one of the most finely structured, tightly knit wines of the vintage. Given time, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it goes atomic and eventually takes top place for the vintage.
Score: 97-99/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Powerful and confident, there is no mistaking this concentration of ripe damson and black cherry fruits, set against coffee, earth, sage and black chocolate. Tons of tannins on display but extremely fine, to the point that you almost don't notice them, then once the wine has left your mouth you suddenly realise how many there are, and how they are still exerting a pressure. Great persistency, slowing everything down and asking you to stop and think. Clear ageing ability here. Harvest September 10 to October 3.
Score: 97-/100DecanterDrinking Window: 2029-2050
The 2019 Haut-Brion is completely different to La Mission Haut-Brion, the two compared side-by-side in the course of 24 hours. It was picked from 10 September until 3 October at 53hl/ha. Initially it is riper, more extrovert and luxurious than its sibling, yet returning after four hours (when chatting to Jean-Philippe Delmas) it has transmogrified into a very different wine with intense black fruit, boysenberry, iodine, forest floor and potpourri. The palate is medium-bodied and like the nose, initially comes across quite exuberant. Four hours later it is a much more nuanced wine that begins in understated fashion before a crescendo of black fruit tinged with blood orange and Chinese 5-spice. It fans out and gains volume wonderfully on the finish. This is a sensual and almost flamboyant Haut-Brion.
Score: 96-98/100Neal MartinDrinking Window: 2029-2070
A potent, brooding wine, the 2019 Haut-Brion soars out of the glass with magnificent intensity. Its greatness and regal bearing are immediately apparent. Time in the glass brings out a whole range of dark fruit, scorched earth, tar, licorice and incense overtones that build effortlessly into the deep, eternal finish. The 2019 Haut-Brion is a wine of breeding, structure and power. It is also very clearly one of the standouts of the vintage. Don't miss it!
Score: 96-98/100Antonio Galloni
Flexes muscle this year. Deep and complex but broody and subdued on the nose. Big, bold palate with an impressive density of mouth-filling fruit. Huge tannic frame behind, the tannins plentiful but ripe and swathed in all that fruit. Just a touch more freshness than La Mission. Really long and persistent. (JL)
Score: 18.5-/20Jancis RobinsonDrinking Window: 2030-2050
