100 Da James Suckling
Aromas of forest floor, currants and blueberries, with hints of fresh tobacco and sliced mushrooms. Turns to orange peel and blueberries. Full-bodied, with incredible structure. This is so powerful in tannins, yet so polished. This is the most structured Haut-Brion that I have ever tasted. This has 15% Cabernet Franc, which is more than normal and perhaps giving the wine a little more tannic structure. A monumental Haut-Brion made to age for centuries. I have never tasted a young Haut-Brion, with such spellbinding power and depth. A modern 1945 or 1961 HB? Better than the legendary 1989? Try in 2021.
100 Da Robert Parker
What a blockbuster effort! Atypically powerful, one day, the 2009 Haut-Brion may be considered to be the 21st century version of the 1959. It is an extraordinarily complex, concentrated effort made from a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc with the highest alcohol ever achieved at this estate, 14.3%. Even richer than the perfect 1989, with similar technical numbers although slightly higher extract and alcohol, it offers up a sensational perfume of subtle burning embers, unsmoked cigar tobacco, charcoal, black raspberries, wet gravel, plums, figs and blueberries. There is so much going on in the aromatics that one almost hesitates to stop smelling it. However, when it hits the palate, it is hardly a letdown. This unctuously textured, full-bodied 2009 possesses low acidity along with stunning extract and remarkable clarity for a wine with a pH close to 4.0. The good news is that there are 10,500 cases of the 2009, one of the most compelling examples of Haut-Brion ever made. It requires a decade of cellaring and should last a half century or more. Readers who have loved the complexity of Haut-Brion should be prepared for a bigger, richer, more massive wine, but one that does not lose any of its prodigious aromatic attractions.
100 Da Robert Parker
What a blockbuster effort! Atypically powerful, one day, the 2009 Haut-Brion may be considered to be the 21st century version of the 1959. It is an extraordinarily complex, concentrated effort made from a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc with the highest alcohol ever achieved at this estate, 14.3%. Even richer than the perfect 1989, with similar technical numbers although slightly higher extract and alcohol, it offers up a sensational perfume of subtle burning embers, unsmoked cigar tobacco, charcoal, black raspberries, wet gravel, plums, figs and blueberries. There is so much going on in the aromatics that one almost hesitates to stop smelling it. However, when it hits the palate, it is hardly a letdown. This unctuously textured, full-bodied 2009 possesses low acidity along with stunning extract and remarkable clarity for a wine with a pH close to 4.0. The good news is that there are 10,500 cases of the 2009, one of the most compelling examples of Haut-Brion ever made. It requires a decade of cellaring and should last a half century or more. Readers who have loved the complexity of Haut-Brion should be prepared for a bigger, richer, more massive wine, but one that does not lose any of its prodigious aromatic attractions.
100 Da James Sukling
Aromas of forest floor, currants and blueberries, with hints of fresh tobacco and sliced mushrooms. Turns to orange peel and blueberries. Full-bodied, with incredible structure. This is so powerful in tannins, yet so polished. This is the most structured Haut-Brion that I have ever tasted. This has 15% Cabernet Franc, which is more than normal and perhaps giving the wine a little more tannic structure. A monumental Haut-Brion made to age for centuries. I have never tasted a young Haut-Brion, with such spellbinding power and depth. A modern 1945 or 1961 HB? Better than the legendary 1989? Try in 2021.
98 Da Wine Spectator
This enormous young wine is among the most backward of the vintage at this early stage, with iron-clad grip holding the broad, deep core of blackberry, cassis and roasted fig notes in check for now. The finish is a torrent of dense, almost compressed layers of tobacco leaf, hot paving stone, singed bay leaf and tar that will take at least a decade to massage together fully. This one is for the kids born in 2009. Best from 2020 through 2040. 10,500 cases made. –JM
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98 Da Wine Spectator
This enormous young wine is among the most backward of the vintage at this early stage, with iron-clad grip holding the broad, deep core of blackberry, cassis and roasted fig notes in check for now. The finish is a torrent of dense, almost compressed layers of tobacco leaf, hot paving stone, singed bay leaf and tar that will take at least a decade to massage together fully. This one is for the kids born in 2009. Best from 2020 through 2040. 10,500 cases made. –JM
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19 Da Rene Gabriel
46 % Merlot, 40 % Cabernet Franc, 14 % Cabernet Franc. 47 hl/ha. Extrem dunkles Purpur mit lila und violetten Reflexen. Um Nuancen dunkler als Mission. Delikates Schwarzbeerenbouquet, Lakritze, Korinthen, Rauch und Sommertrüffelnoten, im Untergrund tief schürfende Teernuancen, zeigt sich barock im Ansatz. Im Gaumen klassisch, hoch fein, elegante Tannine die sich schon jetzt mit dem fülligen Körper in einer wunderschönen Harmonie zeigen, extrem viel Lakritze auf der noch leicht mehligen Zunge, wenn man hier jetzt noch das süssliche Holz der noch kommenden Barrique dazu rechnet, dann landet man hier in einer Kombination 1985, 2000 und 2005. Spuren von 1982 und 1989 findet man nicht, weil hier die dörrige Hitze drin fehlt. Also ein beruhigender Klassiker im ganz grossen Stil der vielleicht einmal die Maximalpunktezahl erreicht. (19/20). 13: Sattes, dichtes Purpur mit violetten und fast schwarzen Reflexen. Dezentes, feines Bouquet, Tabak, Palisandernoten, Zedern, Spuren von floralem Schimmer, wirkt delikat aber lässt an Druck – von der Jahrgangsvorlage her – missen. Bereits die Nase mag er nicht mit anderen, ganz grossen Haut-Brion-Jahrgängen (beispielsweise 1989 & 2005) mithalten. Im Gaumen dicht, feine Fleischrationen, dezent mürbe Tannine, ausgeglichene, aber doch fordernde Adstringenz. Irgendwie fehlt hier die Musik zum ganz grossen Jahrgangskonzert im direkten Vergleich zu seinen Nebenbuhlern der gleichen Preiskategorie. 19/20
warten (2022 - 2055)
19 Da Rene Gabriel
46 % Merlot, 40 % Cabernet Franc, 14 % Cabernet Franc. 47 hl/ha. Extrem dunkles Purpur mit lila und violetten Reflexen. Um Nuancen dunkler als Mission. Delikates Schwarzbeerenbouquet, Lakritze, Korinthen, Rauch und Sommertrüffelnoten, im Untergrund tief schürfende Teernuancen, zeigt sich barock im Ansatz. Im Gaumen klassisch, hoch fein, elegante Tannine die sich schon jetzt mit dem fülligen Körper in einer wunderschönen Harmonie zeigen, extrem viel Lakritze auf der noch leicht mehligen Zunge, wenn man hier jetzt noch das süssliche Holz der noch kommenden Barrique dazu rechnet, dann landet man hier in einer Kombination 1985, 2000 und 2005. Spuren von 1982 und 1989 findet man nicht, weil hier die dörrige Hitze drin fehlt. Also ein beruhigender Klassiker im ganz grossen Stil der vielleicht einmal die Maximalpunktezahl erreicht. (19/20). 13: Sattes, dichtes Purpur mit violetten und fast schwarzen Reflexen. Dezentes, feines Bouquet, Tabak, Palisandernoten, Zedern, Spuren von floralem Schimmer, wirkt delikat aber lässt an Druck – von der Jahrgangsvorlage her – missen. Bereits die Nase mag er nicht mit anderen, ganz grossen Haut-Brion-Jahrgängen (beispielsweise 1989 & 2005) mithalten. Im Gaumen dicht, feine Fleischrationen, dezent mürbe Tannine, ausgeglichene, aber doch fordernde Adstringenz. Irgendwie fehlt hier die Musik zum ganz grossen Jahrgangskonzert im direkten Vergleich zu seinen Nebenbuhlern der gleichen Preiskategorie. 19/20
warten (2022 - 2055)
Aromas of forest floor, currants and blueberries, with hints of fresh tobacco and sliced mushrooms. Turns to orange peel and blueberries. Full-bodied, with incredible structure. This is so powerful in tannins, yet so polished. This is the most structured Haut-Brion that I have ever tasted. This has 15% Cabernet Franc, which is more than normal and perhaps giving the wine a little more tannic structure. A monumental Haut-Brion made to age for centuries. I have never tasted a young Haut-Brion, with such spellbinding power and depth. A modern 1945 or 1961 HB? Better than the legendary 1989? Try in 2021.
