2001 Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

This charming wine was unfortunately overshadowed by the epic vintage just prior, yet the dark ruby colour and complex, savoury nose show a wine of breed and class that has the substance to age. High-toned cherry and red plum fruit aromas have oak spice, earth and cedar accents. The texture is firm and fresh, with plenty of acidity and enough stuffing to linger pleasantly on the finish. There is a slight dominance of Merlot in the blend at 52%, and the wine is aged in 75% new casks before bottling in October 2003.

Drink 2023 - 2045

Slightly darker colour. Thicker, denser and sweeter than the La Mission on the nose but much tighter and more tannic on the palate. Chewy and clearly set for great things.

Drink 2015 - 2035

A high yield of 52hl/ha, with 50% of the crop going to the grand vin. 75% new oak.

As with the 2000, this is still extremely young, barely out of the starting gates, and it needs time to open in the glass. It inches forward, rewarding patience with one of the most aromatically complex wines that you'll find in Bordeaux. Deep in colour, it has a great aromatic balance of spice, swirled cinnamon and liquorice. Mouthwateringly good.

Drink 2018 - 2038

You cannot really go wrong with the 2001 Haut-Brion, which showed similar to the one tasted just a few weeks earlier. The bouquet positively gushes with black cherries and violets, incense and here, a little more black olive. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins and sweet ripe black fruit laced with graphite, blood orange and hints of Provençal herbs on the substantial finish. It is drinking now but will give pleasure for 20-30 years more.

Drink 2022 - 2048

Haut-Brions 2001, which was bottled late the end of September, 2003), possesses an unmistakable nobility as well as a burgeoning complexity. Plum/purple to the rim, this blend of 52% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 12% Cabernet Franc is playing it close to the vest, having closed down considerably after bottling. Nevertheless, it reveals pure notes of sweet and sour cherries, black currants, licorice, smoke, and crushed stones. Medium-bodied with excellent purity, firm tannin, and an angular, structured finish, it requires 5-7 years of cellaring.

Full red-ruby, less bright than La Mission. Brooding aromas of raspberry, nuts, menthol and game. Dense, rich, chewy and deep but a bit youthfully closed, showing less personality today than the 2001 La Mission. Larger but not longer. Finishes with building tannins and a minty nuance.

In the historic harvest of 2003, Haut-Brion began harvesting its white grapes on August 13. But in this very warm microclimate within the city of Bordeaux, even the merlot harvest began on August 25, and all the cabernet was in by September 15. While tannin levels and alcohols are high about 13% for both Haut-Brion and La Mission), the pHs are hardly excessive; enologist Jean-Philippe Masclet noted that the vines did not really suffer from drought. 

The 1990 Haut-Brion, he pointed out, was more cooked in comparison to the 2003. Interestingly, the estate was high on the quality of its merlot in 2003; due to some coulure and the very small size of the grapes, the merlot yield was just 36 hectoliters per hectare. The young Haut-Brion, with a relatively high 58% merlot, boasts a thickness that reminded me of the extraordinary '89.