Haut Brion 2015 is “legend in the making”. In 2015 waren alle voorwaarden verenigd. De floraison was ideaal, de warmte en droogte van juni en juli werden gecompenseerd door augustus, de oogst verliep perfect. Die boisé en chocolaté (nog voor de élevage op eik) zijn parameters die we al vonden in de mythische 2009 en 2010. We zitten duidelijk op hetzelfde, stratosferische niveau. In zijn suave, moderne stijl brengt hij een crescendo van ultrafijne tonaliteiten van vanille, chocolade, rood fruit… De energie sublimeert het geheel. Geleidelijk valt alles in de plooi zoals een slow-motion van het stijgerend paard van Zorro bij het vallen van de nacht in de kinderfilms van uw jeugd. Ik twijfel tussen “force tranquile” en exuberantie: tegelijk vatbaar en evident in zijn natuurlijke grootsheid en ontstuimig en ontroerend in zijn jeugdig karakter. Met zelfzekerheid zal deze Haut Brion na élevage en keldering 2015 vertolken in een legendarisch flacon. 14,9%vol gehuld in irreële materie en frisheid… Nu is La Mission Haut Brion mijn favoriet, maar maak u geen zorgen: Haut Brion 2015 is (opnieuw) de vanzelfsprekend grandioze Graves!
IN DE PERS
100 Neal Martin - The Wine Advocate - robertparker.com (Maart 2018)
The 2015 Haut-Brion is a blend of 50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc picked between 8 September and 5 October. Of course, it showed majestically out of barrel, so pressure was on in bottle. Deep in color, the bouquet is a real showstopper: blackberry, raspberry, sage, black olive and warm gravel...this is a profoundly complex bouquet that is nuanced and beautifully delineated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and ample freshness, but don't be deceived because this is a very structured Haut-Brion built for the long-term. Remarkably the 14.9% alcohol is completely disguised. It feels incredibly long, and yet instead of fanning out, it shuts down the door on the finish. It is a behemoth of a wine, one that is up there with the legends of the past. Anticipated maturity: 2025 - 2070.
98-100 Neal Martin – The Wine Advocate Issue #224 – erobertparker.com (April 2016)
The 2015 Haut Brion, a blend of 50% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, was picked between 8 September and 5 October, and is matured in the same level of new oak (78%) and IPT (75) as the La Mission. It has a heavenly bouquet that like the La Mission bestows instant gratification - a veritable kaleidoscope of aromas so crystalline that you can pick them out one by one: dark plum, blackcurrant, Kalamata olive and graphite. It is tempting to just nose this all day. The palate has an indescribably stunning balance and like the La Mission, there is a paradoxical sense of intensity married to weightlessness. Everything here is so precise, so pure and yet as it crescendos towards the finish, it offers a profundity that is unmatched across Bordeaux in this vintage. Having had the pleasure of many great wines from this estate in the past - 1945, 1955, 1959, 1961 and 1989 - the 2015 belongs among that pantheon. Drink: 2030-2075.
98 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Februari 2018)
97-98 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Maart 2016)
A structured and powerful Haut-Brion with so much finesse and beauty. Complex and long. It’s full and ultra-refined. Super length and polish. A formed and sexy Haut Brion.
98 Antonio Galloni - vinous.com (Februari 2018)
A huge, dramatic wine, the 2015 Haut-Brion is magnificent. Vertical in its construction and towering in its reach, the 2015 is going to need a good decade-plus to even start becoming approachable, as it needs to lose baby fat and develop the full range of its aromatics. Even at this early stage, though, it is wonderfully complete and positively stunning. Drink 2030-2065.
95-97 Antonio Galloni – Vinous - vinous.com (April 2016)
The 2015 Haut-Brion is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. Thrust, power and pure intensity come through loud and clear in the crème de cassis, blackberry jam, smoke, licorice and graphite flavors. Soaring aromatics and layers of intense fruit, all supported by a beam of firm tannin make the 2015 a wonderfully complete wine that will drink well for many, many decades. The unctuous fruit and baby fat will need time to melt away, but there is little doubt this a magical wine with huge potential for the future. The purity of flavors and textures will take your breath away.
100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate - robertparker.com (Februari 2018)
A blend of 50% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Haut-Brion is reticent to begin, languidly revealing crushed black cherries, ripe black plums and wild blueberries with sparks of cinnamon stick, cloves, nutmeg, espresso, unsmoked cigars, tapenade, crushed rocks and lavender. The full-bodied palate possesses wonderfully complementary contrasts of bold black and blue fruit richness and delicately nuanced cherry fruit, baking spices and floral accents, strutting ripe, finely pixelated tannins and seamless acidity that is placed firmly in the background, finishing very long and with plenty of attitude. This impeccably poised, exquisitely perfumed 2015 Haut-Brion possesses the most alluring yet seemingly effortless beauty. While it bears only a passing resemblance in its opulent personality to the now legendary 1989, like that vintage the 2015 cannot fail to hedonically satiate and intellectually edify all lovers of great Bordeaux who drink it. What's more, it also has the blue-blooded tenaciousness to remain this jaw-droppingly impressive, throughout its many guises over time, and for a very, very long time. Drink 2024-2064.
18/20 Jancis Robinson – jancisrobinson.com (April 2016)
50% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon. Picked 8 September to 5 October. Much more aromatic than La Mission. Lovely silky tannins but masses of them. Very strict and savoury. Really dense but manages to be expressive and convincing. A megalith. 14.9%. Drink: 2030-2055.
97 Jane Anson - Decanter Magazine – decanter.com (April 2016)
The Graves wine of the vintage (along with Haut-Bailly). Taking the highest proposition of first wine (55%) for several years and a good yield of 45hl/ha. The fruit and tannins reached full and perfect ripeness and the structure shows incredible cohesion, easily approaching the quality of the 2010 but with softer tannins. Beautifully complete with great integrity of coffee grounds and rich damson fruit. Opens up in the glass, the personality and complexity ripples through. A touch lower alcohol than La Mission at 14.9%abv and with 3.73pH for fresh balance. 58% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 78% new oak. May well be scored upwards when in bottle. Drink: 2026-2045.
100 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com (Februari 2018)
97 Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast winemag.com (Februari 2018)
Direct and concentrated, this wine is powered by tannins and a firm texture. Dense, it has the potential for plenty of fruit as it matures. That will take time, because this impressive wine is powered by its structure. Wait until 2028.
94-96 Roger Voss - Wine Enthusiast (April 2016)
19,5-20/20 Bettane & Desseauve (April 2016)
20/20 Revue des Vins de France (April 2016)
19/20 Jean-Marc Quarin – quarin.com (April 2016)
96 Tim Atkin – timatkin.com (April 2016)
This is an Haut-Brion to stick away in the cellar and forget about for a decade or more. Thick, compact and very concentrated, it doesn’t win many points for elegance and finesse, but will soften and flesh out with age. The flavours - plum, damson and blackberry - are just a little jammy, yet the acidity freshens the finish. Drink: 2028-2040.
Haut BrionHaut Brion is één van de oorspronkelijke Premiers Grands Crus Classés de 1855 en één van 's werelds meest vermaarde Châteaux.
Ondanks een bewogen geschiedenis tijdens de Franse Revolutie, de phylloxéra en de bezetting, is de standvastigheid van Haut Brion op alle vlak opmerkelijk. De Amerikaanse financier Clarence Dillon kocht Haut Brion in 1935 en zijn achterkleinzoon, Prince Robert de Luxemburg, verzorgt vandaag de algemene leiding. Ook de wijnmakers houden van traditie: Jean-Philippe Delmas volgt zijn vader en grootvader op in deze rol. Op zuiver kwalitatief vlak is Haut Brion de meest consistente van alle Premiers. 1945, 1964, 1989, 2009 en 2010 haalden perfecte parkerscores.
In oppervlakte is Haut Brion de kleinste Premier Grand Cru Classé. Voor de rode wijn gebruiken ze 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot en 15% Cabernet Franc. De witte wijn bestaat uit Sauvignon Blanc en Sémillon. De tweede wijnen zijn Clarence Haut Brion in rood en Clarté de Haut Brion in wit. De wijngaard is omgeven door de Bordelese agglomeratie. | |
