Château La Mission Haut Brion 2010

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

A strong candidate for a perfect score in about 15 years, the 2010 La Mission Haut-Brion could well turn out to be a modern-day version of their 1955. Sadly (or maybe fortunately) for me, I’m not old enough to have tasted the 1955 in 1958 from bottle, but this wine could also be an update on the more modern 2000 which, of course, I know well and actually own. This full-bodied, colossal giant of a wine is one of the goliaths of the vintage. It may well have the highest level of natural alcohol for any wine from the Left Bank of Bordeaux (15.1%) and has the definite potential to be a 50- to 75-year wine. Dense purple, it offers up notes of lead pencil shavings, charcoal embers, blueberry and blackberry liqueur along with massive concentration, a multi-dimensional mouthfeel and a monumental finish that goes well past a minute, which I think might be a record for a young Bordeaux. Keep in mind that the 2009, which I gave three digits, came in at 14.7%, but the pH of the 2010 is lower, giving the wine a freshness and precision that is remarkable. The final blend was 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, and – unlike the Chapelle de la Mission, which has 26% Cabernet Franc – there’s only 1% Cabernet Franc in the 2010 La Mission Haut-Brion. This is a wine for those of you with youth on your side as well as patience. It will need a good decade of cellaring. An amazing wine. Anticipated maturity: 2024-2075+.

James Suckling

This is crazy. The nose is so unique with the iodine, stones and currant aromas with wet earth and mushroom. Aromas like this don't usually come out until 10 years or so in the bottle. Classic nose for this estate. Full-bodied, with an amazing palate of firm yet polished tannins and a solid palate. So dense and gorgeous. It is really stunning. Try in 2020.

VertdeVin

The nose is elegant and offers power, deepness as well as harmony and a small intensity (full of precision). It reveals notes of quite ripe cassis, quite ripe blackberry, small notes of wild strawberry associated with touches of quite ripe small black berries, pencil lead, lily, pulpy plum, pepper cuben, nutmeg as well as fine hints of tonka bean, a very discreet hint of tea (in the background), cardamom, an imperceptible hint of dry oak leaf and underwood. The palate is elegant, delicate, gourmand, beautifully built and offers precision, suppleness, delicacy as well as gourmandize, richness, a fine acidulous frame, suavity, a beautiful finesse of the grain and precision. On the palate this wine expresses notes of juicy/fleshy blackberry, ripe cassis, small notes of quite ripe wild strawberry associated with touches of quite ripe small red berries, raspberry, lily, violet, a racy minerality as well as hints of tonka bean, mild tobacco, cardamom and a very discreet hint of spices. Very fine hints of cocoa and bourbon vanilla pod on the persistence. Tannins are elegant, fine, racy and supple. Sapidity on the finish.

Tom Cannavan

(2011) Very dense and vivid ruby to the rim of the glass, invitingly rich sweet nose of dark fruits and a hint of underlying pepper and liquorice spiciness; Wow, it's quite lovely on the palate, absolutely silky textured and plush with delicious black cherry and dark fruits flavours and a glycerol richness of texture encased in a firm spine of fresh acidity, which you notice before the tannins, and then the tannins creep up on you, but they're fine and beautifully resolved. Hard to believe it's 15.1% alcohol, but it is.

Wine Enthusiast

A beautifully dense, ripe wine, its intense acidity balanced by an opulent structure and gorgeous fruits. The texture is smooth and velvety, while never losing sight of the powerful structure. This elegant and powerful wine will age for many years.

Falstaff