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Château Haut-Brion is the oldest of Bordeaux's five first growths, and one of the most famous wines in the world. Located in Pessac-Léognan, south of the city of Bordeaux, the château is rather far removed from its counterparts, all of which are found in the Médoc.
The vineyards were established in the 1530s by the Pontac family, changing hands several times throughout the ensuing centuries. Historical evidence shows that Haut-Brion was drunk by King Charles II and Thomas Jefferson, and the famous London diarist Samuel Pepys was also a fan of the wine. The estate was acquired by American Francophile Clarence Dillon in 1935 and has been managed by the family since.
Haut-Brion is notable as being the only first growth in Graves – Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild and Latour are all in Pauillac, while Château Margaux is – perhaps not surprisingly – in Margaux. Haut-Brion's red wine is its key line, comprising most of the château's output, but it is also unusual in that it has a corresponding white wine that shares the simple "Haut-Brion" name. The château's second wine has been known as La Clarence de Haut-Brion since 2007.
| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 1995 |
| Rating | RP 96 |
| Bottle Size | 750 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Location | Pessac Leognan |
| Producer | Haut Brion |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type | Table |
| Rating | RP 96 - One of my favorite and most educational visits in Bordeaux is the time I spend with Haut-Brion's highly respected administrator Jean Delmas. Delmas is the thinking man's winemaker with a level of experience and success that is unequaled in Bordeaux. On this visit we discussed at length the strong tendency in Bordeaux to produce wines with higher and higher percentages of Merlot. As Jean Delmas says (1) Merlot provides grapes that can be picked earlier and tend to ripen with higher degrees of sugar thus producing wines with higher alcohol. (2) Merlot has less acidity which combined with its tendency to produce high alcohol results in a sweeter supple and initially more seductive wine. (3) Winemakers can extract more from Merlot than they can from Cabernet Sauvignon thus they can vinify Merlot at higher temperatures ultimately producing exotic opulent wines that are thrilling to taste young. However as Delmas pointed out it is the Cabernet Sauvignon that provides the structure backbone and to his palate ultimately the greatest measure of complexity character and Bordeaux typicity. Jean Delmas enjoys a sumptuous Merlot-based wine as much as any Bordeaux wine lover I know but he is concerned by the replacement of Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards with Merlot. In short he worries that much of the intrinsic character of many Medoc and Graves chateaux could be muted or lost in a succession of exotic flashy glitzy wines that are garish Medoc imitations of Pomerols and St.-Emilions - something to think about. Haut-Brion's saturated purple-colored 1995 is a superb effort. Not far off the quality of the magnificent 1989 and increasingly impressive 1990 the 1995 possesses that extra dimension of sweetness glycerin and fat that are the hallmarks of a vintage shaped by abundant sun and ripeness. Full-bodied yet not heavy the 1995 Haut-Brion displays a smoky tobacco roasted herb and blackcurrant/plum-scented nose. Very ripe yet nicely buttressed by soft acid and sweet tannin this graceful seamlessly made Haut-Brion should drink well when young and last for 25+ years. Bravo! RP |
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| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 1995 |
| Rating | RP 96 |
| Bottle Size | 750 ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 1 |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Location | Pessac Leognan |
| Producer | Haut Brion |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type | Table |
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