Chateau Haut Brion 1998

robert_parker96

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Jean Delmas is thrilled with what he achieved at Haut-Brion and La Mission-Haut-Brion in 1998. It is one of the great successes of the vintage. Moreover, it is the paradigm for elegance allied to power. The color is an opaque purple. The nose offers up sweet black fruits intermixed with roasted herbs, pain grille, and minerals. There is a sensational, plush texture, yet the wine comes across as medium-bodied, with multiple levels of flavor, as well as gorgeous ripeness and purity. It possesses fine density, but there is no sense of heaviness or imbalance. It is a brilliant classic. Lovers of this estate's distinctive, highly individualized, complex wines should not miss it. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2025.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

A deep garnet core with deep brick rim. The nose is just fantastic, just soars from the glass with brilliant delineation and freshness; black olives, blackberry leaf, blueberry and a touch of iodine. At this stage it has slightly more breeding than the La Mission, although that wine has more immediacy. The palate is awesome: full-bodied, more structure than La Mission, nigh on perfect balance and tension. There is a natural quality to this wine, a beguiling sense of harmony that will ensure that this will become the best Haut Brion since the 1989 (on par with the criminally overlooked 1990.) The finish has a gorgeous suppleness to it: notes of blackberry, cherry liqueur, black olives and a touch of oyster shell. Very long in length. Awesome. Tasted March 2008.

robert_parker99

Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Still incredibly youthful and sporting a lot of fruit, the deep garnet-brick colored 1998 Haut-Brion sashays out of the glass with flamboyant red and black fruits, followed by a train of cassis, blueberry pie and chocolate box notions plus accents of iron ore, dried lavender and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully rich and decadently seductive in its generosity of fruit and velvety texture, offering seamless freshness and finishing with epic length and compelling minerality. Oh so delicious right now, with careful cellaring it should continue to excite through 2045 and beyond.

robert_parker97

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The 1998 continues to emulate the style of recent prodigious Haut-Brions. With all due respect to the glorious 1995, the 1998 appears to be the finest wine produced since Haut-Brion's prodigious 1989 and 1990. It reveals more aromatic and flavor dimensions than it did last year. The dense ruby/purple color is followed by classic, developing aromas of minerals, lead pencil, earth, and black cherries/currants. On the palate, additional dimensions and nuances unfold. Tannic and powerful, but with sweet fruit, ripe tannin, and great length and richness, this profound, firmly-structured Haut-Brion will require 4-6 years of bottle age; it should drink well for three decades.

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

First tasted in July 2001 at the chateau. Inky black core. Nose more closed than Mission. A masculine wine with massive dark fruits. Still tight and backward. Herbaceous, multi-dimensional wine that ranks with Lafite as wine of the vintage on the Left-Bank. Tasted again at the Haut-Brion Vertical in April 2004. Deep ruby core - the rim looks less youthful than expected. The nose is already developing secondary aromas. Minerals, a touch of leather and rich black fruits. A full-bodied, decadent palate of sweet ripe black fruits and super-smooth tannins. A touch of mocha. Lacks a bit of grip. Showy. I cannot believe how much this wine has changed since en primeur. Sweet black cherry finish. Lighter and more open than expected. Try again in a couple of years.

robert_parker96

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

As reported over the last two years, this is a prodigious Haut-Brion. It exhibits a dense ruby/purple color in addition to a tight, but incredibly promising nose of smoke, earth, minerals, lead pencil, black currants, cherries, and spice. This full-bodied wine unfolds slowly, but convincingly on the palate, revealing a rich, multi-tiered, stunningly pure, symmetrical style with wonderful sweetness, ripe tannin, and a finish that lasts for nearly 45 seconds. It tastes like liquid nobility. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2035.

vinous96

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 1998 Haut Brion has long been a favourite vintage of mine and consumed with pleasure several times. Now at 20-years of age I feel it is one step ahead of the 1998 La Mission: there is great fruit intensity with almost precocious blackberry, raspberry coulis, pastilles, tobacco and hints of olive. It has exquisite delineation and focus. The palate is medium-bodied with fuller in the mouth than the La Mission: deeper fruit (blackberry, mulberry and a touch of strawberry) intermingling with sage, cedar and a touch of hung game. It is not quite as precocious or as glossy on the finish as I remember previous bottles, but it is certainly turning into one of the finest wines of this vintage. Tasted at the château.

vinous94

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Good medium ruby. Aristocratic, highly complex nose hints at plum, roast coffee, leather, grilled nuts, tobacco and earth. A bit reticent today but already offers an uncanny amalgamation of density and vinosity. A very suave, subtle wine that finishes with creamy, sweet tannins and terrific grip and length. Was there a more consistently outstanding first growth through the decade of the '90s?

vinous94

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Bright medium ruby. Expressive aromas of raspberry, blueberry, leather, mint and warm stones. Sweet, thick and roasted but quite bright, with complicating notes of minerals and tobacco. This is denser and more obviously structured than the '98, but not at all hard. Finishes very long and subtle, with solid toothcoating tannins.

vinous95

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Saturated ruby. Reticent aromas of black cherry and spice. Then surprisingly silky in the mouth, with racy acids giving the fruit vibrancy and great finesse. Sharply delineated and youthful. Finishes with terrific grip and length, and toothfurring tannins. In comparison to this sample, the '98 La Mission is considerably tighter on the finish.