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88 By Robert Parker
88 By Robert Parker
Delicious, but at the end of its plateau of maturity, the 1987 La Mission gave me considerable pleasure in a lighter style that is a reference point for just how seductive, perfumed., and interesting an off-year vintage of Bordeaux can be. The wine has always been supple, with plenty of smoky black fruits intermixed with a whiff of herbs and tobacco. The wine has still retained that fragrance, but in the mouth the finish is becoming increasingly attenuated. Nevertheless, I suspect magnums and larger formats of this wine could provide drinking that could possibly even hit a 90-point score from a pristinely stored large format. Anticipated maturity: Drink up. Last tasted, 9/02.
Producer
Château La Mission Haut Brion
Similarly owned by the Dillon family, Château La Mission Haut-Brion is certainly the second best producer in the Pessac-Léognan appellation, after its neighbor and Graves greatest producer, Château Haut-Brion. With a history beginning in the early 16th century, La Mission Haut-Brion now justly rivals its sister winery in more than just select vintages, the estate has actually been raised to a comparable First Growth rank in 2009. While the Pessac-Léognan Cru Classé’s La Tour Haut-Brion, used to be La Mission’s second wine, it is now a separately owned brand, however still managed by the Dillon family. The 29-hectare property is planted primarily to the production of their first-rate reds. Their La Mission Haut-Brion is the flagship wine, it is exemplary of their house style - rich, barrel-fermented, dense, and powerful. The château also produces La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, a second wine that is riper but nonetheless arousing.