La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion 2018

La Revue du Vin de France

VertdeVin

The nose is fruity, racy and offers juiciness, a certain power as well as a small intensity and a fine grain. It reveals notes of juicy wild cassis, juicy blackberry, small notes of small juicy wild red fruits associated with hints of racy minerality (gravels), lily, violet as well as very fine hints of liquorice (in the background) and grey pepper. The palate is fruity, elegant, gourmand, beautifully defined and offers a beautifully juiciness, finesse, a silky touch, a beautiful finesse of the grain as well as a beautiful fat, delicacy, a fine acidulous frame and a fine freshness. On the palate this wine expresses notes of juicy/fleshy cassis, bright blackberry, small notes of violet associated with touches of small red fruits, a racy minerality/graphite, zan as well as a discreet hint of tobacco leaf and iris (in the background). Very fine hints of caramelization and a fine sapidity in the finish/persistence.

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Full-bodied, rich, deep, and concentrated with ripe, smoky blackberries and dark red pit fruit. The smoke, tobacco, dark cocoa, espresso, and forest leaf complexities add to the experience. The long, smoky, fruit-filled finish truly resonates. One of the best vintages for La Chapelle de La Mission Haut Brion . It is difficult to believe that this is a second wine! The wine is a blend of 51.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40.8% Merlot, and 7.6% Cabernet Franc.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2018 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 40.8% Merlot, 51.6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.6% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, it comes galloping out of the glass with bold notions of blackcurrant pastilles, stewed black plums and boysenberries, with suggestions of chocolate mint, pencil lead and clove oil, plus a hint of scorched earth. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with juicy black fruits, nicely offset by lovely freshness and ripe, rounded tannins, finishing long and spicy.

Domaine Clarence Dillon pretty much nailed it across the board in 2018, from the first growth(s) in Pessac to the Saint-Émilion wines; to the more humbly priced, larger volume offerings; and even the whites, which were also tricky considering the heat. All the wines are ripe and seductive, true to what 2018 wanted to give as a vintage, and yet they possess bags of bright fruit, energy and freshness. “The first key to success this vintage was to start the first mildew treatment in the vineyards a little bit earlier than usual,” Deputy Managing Director Jean-Philippe Delmas of Domaine Clarence Dillon informed me. “If you did that, you were protected. If you didn’t, you had to constantly run after the disease. The second challenge was the date of the harvest—the date was finally quite late. The best solution was to wait to get ripeness but to pick before there was heaviness or the wines got too fat.”

I asked Delmas which he loved more this year, Cabernet or Merlot? “I loved everything,” he promptly replied. “And on the Right Bank, the Cabernet Franc was wonderful this year, which isn’t always the case. I would say Right Bank and Left Bank are the same for quality.”

Bravo team!

Jeb Dunnuck

I loved the 2018 La Chapelle De La Mission Haut-Brion, which ranks with some of the finest second wines out there. Showing the classic elegance that is the hallmark of this terroir, its ruby/purple color is followed by beautiful notes of black raspberries, mulberries, damp earth, graphite, truffle, and espresso roast. Rich, medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated, and light on its feet, it still brings plenty of concentration, ripe, seamless tannins, and serious length. It reminds me of the 2016. Drink this smoking Pessac any time over the coming two decades.

Decanter Magazine

Gorgeously finessed blueberries and blackberries are fresh and full of juice. Not for the first time tasting these 2018s, there's the feeling that this is a 2009 but with a little more freshness. Luxurious and silky, it's perhaps a little atypical but easy to love. 3.96pH.

James Suckling

Purity of blueberry, blackcurrant and chocolate character here. Shell and iodine. It’s full-bodied, chewy and structured with lots of cool tannins that lead long through the center of the wine. Second wine of La Mission. Needs four or five years to soften. Try after 2025.