Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2020

The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion is a brilliant effort that exhibits a level of balance and integration that are impressive in such a powerful young Bordeaux. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries and plums mingled with burning embers, pencil shavings, violets and smoked black tea, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a layered, elegantly muscular profile, its brooding core of fruit framed by a generous endowment of powdery tannin that tempers the ripeness of the vintage. Checking in at 14.7% alcohol, it's nonetheless more classically styled than the more flamboyant 2019 vintage or even the slowly maturing 2010 which I re-tasted alongside for context. Drinking window: 2035 - 2065. William Kelley. April 2023

A kick of black fruit and confident spice right from the first nose, this is an intense and concentrated La Mission, tightly in control, not letting up from beginning to end. The pencil lead and bitter dark chocolate is layered in between the cassis notes in a way that makes you see the Cabernet influence although this is majority Merlot (once again - this is a character of the year, low yields of Cabernet mean Merlot is more featured in the blend than usual; but the intensity of the Cabernets mean that it still has an outsized influence on flavour profile). Grilled coffee beans overtake on the close of play, this is seductive and switches beautifully between the tannins pressing in on the palate and the juice expanding things outwards. This is the wine to go for in the Domaines Clarence Dillon stable this year. Harvest from 7th to 29th September. Drinking window: 2030 - 2050. Jane Anson. May 2021.

Mission Haut Brion zeigt sich mit einer gewissen Zurückhaltung, aber mit einem ausgeprägten Sinn für Details durch eher dunkle Fruchtnuancen. Im Auftakt saftig, verfügt der Wein über eine elegante, aber noch engmaschige Substanz. Was für ein Tanningerüst mit sehr feinkörnigem Charakter. Der energetische Begriff, den La Chapelle an den Tag legte, ist ebenfalls präsent, aber auf relevantere Weise. Ein Wein mit großen Ambitionen, der für einige Jahrzehnte gerüstet ist. 2027-2050. Dezember 2022.

Couleur sombre, intense et pourpre. Grand nez complexe, intense, profond, noble et suave. Ouh là là, quel plaisir ! Immédiatement minutieux dans sa texture, le vin se pâme en milieu de bouche, il caresse le palais, fond, puis sa stimulation s’accélère. Il s‘achève puissant, long, complexe, sur des arômes de fruits noirs avec un retour de nuances fumées dans la persistance et un grain de tannin très fin. Assemblage : 48,6 % merlot, 43,2 % cabernet sauvignon, 8,2 % cabernet franc. Degré d’alcool : 14°7 – pH : 3,85 (moyenne +) – IPT : 74. Rendement : 42,4 hl/ha. Production : 50,2 % de la récolte. Avril 2021.