Haut Brion 2000

OWC: 75 cl
Rating: 98 point (RP)
Maturity: Drink 2012 – 2040

Tasting Notes (Wine Advocate #146 - Apr 2003)
It will always be tempting to compare the 2000 Haut-Brion with the perfect 2000 La Mission Haut-Brion. However, it is not as fat, unctuous, flamboyant, or voluminous as La Mission. Yet, like a great diplomat, it is a wine of intensity, authority, and measured restraint. A supremely elegant offering, its dense ruby/purple color, and burgeoning perfume of scorched earth, liquid minerals, plums, black currants, cherries, lead pencil, and subtle spicy oak are followed by a delicate yet powerfully flavorful, multi-layered, highly nuanced, and extraordinarily pure and seamless wine. There have been so many recent classics from Haut-Brion, it is premature to suggest the 2000 is better than the 1998, 1995, 1990, or 1989, but it is certainly a prodigious wine of dazzling persistence, length, and complexity. A blend of 51% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7% Cabernet Franc, it should prove to be uncommonly long-lived, even by the standards of Haut-Brion. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2040.

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Haut Brion 2003

OWC: 75 cl
Rating: 95 point (RP)
Maturity: Drink 2009– 2036

Tasting Notes (Wine Advocate #164 - Apr 2006)

The blockbuster 2003 Haut-Brion (13% alcohol) possesses extremely high tannin, but that component is well-concealed by a cascade of mulberry, blackberry, cherry, and plum-like fruit. There is even a hint of figs under the blue and red fruit spectrum. While broad and ripe with a sweet, glyceral mouthfeel as well as a long, powerful, persistent finish, it retains its elegance and nobility. A wine of both power and finesse, it will benefit from 3-4 years of cellaring, and keep for 25-30.

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Haut Brion 2005

OWC: 75 cl
Rating: 98 point (RP)
Maturity: Drink 2012 – 2040+

Tasting Notes (Wine Advocate #164 - Apr 2006)
The 2005 Haut-Brion is an extraordinarily broad, rich, full-bodied effort boasting huge aromas of scorched earth, plum sauce, sweet cherries, black currants, and a hint of toasty oak. The wine possesses huge tannins, which is somewhat deceptive given its viscosity and opulence. Despite its intensity, Haut-Brion is always a model of elegance and symmetry. The profound 2005, which will undoubtedly shut down after bottling, should be less seductive in its youth than either the 1989 or 1990, but it will be incredibly long-lived. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2040+.

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Haut Brion 2006

OWC: 75 cl
Rating: 96 point (RP)
Maturity: Drink 2017– 2035

Tasting Notes (Wine Advocate #181 - Feb 2009)
The 2006 Haut-Brion performed even better from bottle than it did from barrel. Sixty-four percent of the production went into this wine, and while it displays the vintage’s powerful tannins and structure, it possesses superb concentration, and the minerality/scorched earth notes of a great Haut-Brion. Medium to full-bodied, with perhaps not quite the fleshiness of the 2005 or 2000, it is built more along the lines of the 1998 and 1996. It is a brilliant effort displaying sensational purity, texture, and length that should be exceptionally long-lived. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2035.