Wine Advisor
Haut Brion Blanc 1995
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
In this vintage, the Haut-Brion blanc contained less Semillon because Jean Delmas thought the drought had negatively impacted this varietal more than Sauvignon. Consequently, the 1995 is less grandiose in its proportions, but still one of the two best dry white Graves of the vintage. The wine possesses a light gold color, and a citrusy, honeyed nose with subtle toasty oak. It is medium-bodied, with exquisite concentration and delineation. This beautifully pure wine can be expected to close down and not re-emerge from its dormant stage for a decade. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2025. Last tasted 11/97
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted in Bordeaux, it has been a few years since I last encountered the Haut-Brion 1995. Deep garnet in colour, it has a high-toned bouquet, much more youthful than I was expecting, with dark plum, fresh tobacco, tertiary/damp moss and wild mushroom. The palate is full-bodied and simply purrs with class. Certainly well into its drinking plateau, the ’95 has great depth and dimension, earthy notes developing as the wine opens up, mellowing and in some ways reminding me of the lovely 1982. Sedate, composed and very long in the mouth. Beautiful. Tasted March 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Christies' Boardroom dinner from an ex-chateau bottle. The 1995 Haut Brion has a gorgeous bouquet: less opulent than the bottle encountered in March 2011, here offering a more sedate, but somehow "languid" bouquet of tertiary black fruit, cigar box and autumn leaves that are all beautifully defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, open for business with fine tension shimmering throughout. It does not quite possess the breeding or clinical focus of the 1996, but it is a generous Haut-Brion, rounded in texture with Morels and tobacco lining the finish. I would broach bottles of the 1995 before reaching for the 1996. Drink now-2025. Tasted November 2013.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Garnet core with a touch of mahogany. Limpid crimson rim. The nose is developing secondary aromas of dark chocolate, damp earth, tobacco, black truffle and a slight fungal scent. The palate is medium-bodied with good acidity, a sensuous texture, very fresh and vigorous. Blackberry, plum, brunt toast on the mid-palate with the exotic flourish of sweet black cherry on the finish. This is actually entering its drinking plateau but merits another couple of years to mellow out. Tasted December 2006. Drinking 2009-2030
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Chez Christophe Reboul-Salze. Very little aging on the rim. A really lovely nose of over-ripe cherry, melted Valrona dark chocolate and minerals. Quite decadent and merlot in character. The palate is quite broody, firm and yet to spread its wings. Tannic, robust and perhaps foursquare. Tar and tobacco on the finish with a touch of black olive that becomes more pronounced in the glass. Good potential. At the CECWINE 1995 horizontal, blind. An unmistakable Haut Brion nose: dark chocolate, damp earth and a touch of black olives. The palate is concentrated, vibrant and full of character. Well knit tannins, perhaps lacks a little breeding, but it has a lot of personality and charm. The most enjoyable First Growth. Then at the horizontal tasting in September 2005. Still that lovely nose with scents of dark chocolate and a touch of earth. Very intense. The palate is quite exotic for Haut-Brion, with opulent ripe red fruits, cherry, plum and great persistency with pain grille on the finish. A decadent wine, perhaps without the complexity of a truly great Haut-Brion but utterly delicious to drink.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This wine has been brilliant on every occasion I have tasted it. More accessible and forward than the 1996, it possesses a saturated ruby/purple color, as well as a beautiful, knock-out set of aromatics, consisting of black fruits, vanillin, spice, and wood-fire smoke. Multidimensional and rich, with layers of ripe fruit, and beautifully integrated tannin and acidity, this medium to full-bodied wine is a graceful, seamless, exceptional Haut-Brion that should drink surprisingly well young. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2030.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
One of my favorite and most educational visits in Bordeaux is the time I spend with Haut-Brion's highly respected administrator, Jean Delmas. Delmas is the thinking man's winemaker, with a level of experience and success that is unequaled in Bordeaux. On this visit, we discussed at length the strong tendency in Bordeaux to produce wines with higher and higher percentages of Merlot. As Jean Delmas says, (1), Merlot provides grapes that can be picked earlier, and tend to ripen with higher degrees of sugar, thus producing wines with higher alcohol. (2) Merlot has less acidity, which, combined with its tendency to produce high alcohol, results in a sweeter, supple, and initially more seductive wine. (3) Winemakers can extract more from Merlot than they can from Cabernet Sauvignon, thus they can vinify Merlot at higher temperatures, ultimately producing exotic, opulent wines that are thrilling to taste young. However, as Delmas pointed out, it is the Cabernet Sauvignon that provides the structure, backbone, and, to his palate, ultimately the greatest measure of complexity, character, and Bordeaux typicity. Jean Delmas enjoys a sumptuous Merlot-based wine as much as any Bordeaux wine lover I know, but he is concerned by the replacement of Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards with Merlot. In short, he worries that much of the intrinsic character of many Medoc and Graves chateaux could be muted or lost in a succession of exotic, flashy, glitzy wines that are garish Medoc imitations of Pomerols and St.-Emilions - something to think about. Haut-Brion's saturated purple-colored 1995 is a superb effort. Not far off the quality of the magnificent 1989 and increasingly impressive 1990, the 1995 possesses that extra dimension of sweetness, glycerin, and fat that are the hallmarks of a vintage shaped by abundant sun and ripeness. Full-bodied, yet not heavy, the 1995 Haut-Brion displays a smoky, tobacco, roasted herb, and blackcurrant/plum-scented nose. Very ripe, yet nicely buttressed by soft acid and sweet tannin, this graceful, seamlessly made Haut-Brion should drink well when young, and last for 25+ years. Bravo!
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
It is fun to go back and forth between the 1995 and 1996, two superb vintages for Haut-Brion. The 1995 seems to have sweeter tannin and a bit more fat and seamlessness when compared to the more structured and muscular 1996. Certainly 1995 was a vintage that the brilliant administrator Jean Delmas handled flawlessly. The result is a deep ruby/purple-colored wine with a tight but promising nose of burning wood embers intermixed with vanilla, spice box, earth, mineral, sweet cherry, black currant, plum-like fruit, medium to full body, a high level of ripe but sweet tannin, and a finish that goes on for a good 40-45 seconds. This wine is just beginning to emerge from a very closed state where it was unyielding and backward. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2035. Last tasted, 11/02.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Haut-Brion's saturated purple-colored 1995 is a superb effort. Not far off the quality of the magnificent 1989 and increasingly impressive 1990, the 1995 possesses that extra dimension of sweetness, glycerin, and fat that are the hallmarks of a vintage shaped by abundant sun and ripeness. It is full-bodied, yet not heavy. The 1995 Haut-Brion displays a smoky, tobacco, roasted herb, and black currant/plum-scented nose. The wine is very ripe, yet nicely buttressed by soft acid and sweet tannin. This graceful, seamlessly made Haut-Brion should drink well when young, and last for 25+ years. Last tasted 11/97
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
In complete contrast to the 1994, the 1995 Haut-Brion appears to be a more forceful, larger-scaled, more muscular wine, without the flattering, precocious charm of the 1994. It is a powerful wine, with a saturated purple color, medium to full body, exceptional richness and purity, and a formidable, surprisingly tannic and muscular finish. Although more backward than usual, it appears to be the finest Haut-Brion since the fabulously rich, opulent 1989. If readers want a good image of what the 1995 Haut-Brion tastes like, I propose the following hypothetical blend ... 60% 1985 Haut-Brion, 30% 1986 Haut-Brion, and 10% 1989 Haut-Brion. Fans of this estate will want to be sure and get a few bottles of this 1995, which will require 5-8 years of cellaring. It will age well for at least three decades. It is unquestionably one of the great successes of the vintage. All of the wines in this segment were tasted between March 19 and March 28 in Bordeaux. Most of the important wines from both the 1994 and 1995 vintages were tasted three separate times during my ten-day stay in Bordeaux.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Restrained, semillon-dominated aromas of lemon-lime, licorice, spice and flowers. Sweet and round, but with very good clarity of flavor and cut. Harmonious and shapely, with an enticing toasty nuance and a minerally freshness. Seems more sharply delineated than the '95 Laville Haut Brion.
About the Producer
Haut-Brion has long produced the most prestigious Graves Blanc, although it faced strong competition from its neighbour La Mission Haut-Brion, which had been producing its own white wines under the Laville Haut-Brion label until 2009, when it was rebranded as La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc (both estates are under the same ownership). With very small production since the first vintage in 1916, La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc has always been a wine of considerable strength and longevity; its rarity, and the fact that it is the only white wine produced by a first growth in the Graves, makes it highly sought after by collectors. The estate's first growth status does not include white wines and it remains unclassified. Of the 52 hectares planted on the estate, only 2.9 are white: 53% Sémillon and 47% Sauvignon Blanc. (There are also a few rows of Sauvignon Blanc today, but they were not planted in 1989). They are planted on a 27m high hillock opposite the château. The soil is very deep gravel, on a clay subsoil. There is less clay than in Lamena and a different mix of varieties, with much more Sauvignon Blanc in Haut-Brion. The whole estate is located within the city limits of Bordeaux and therefore benefits from a warmer microclimate. Yields range from 25-40 litres/ha. Harvesting is carried out by hand, at maximum ripeness, so that the wines vary from 13% to 14% alcohol. Sorting takes place in the vineyard and the grapes are pneumatically pressed in whole bunches with no skin contact. Fermentation was carried out in oak barrels with native yeasts, but malolactic fermentation was prevented. The wines were decanted every three or four months and aged for 10 to 12 months, with very little stirring of the lees. In the 1980s it was common for wines to be aged entirely in new oak barrels, but today this percentage is around 50%. Production varies from 5,500 to 8,500 bottles. In 2000, the British critic Tom Cannavan enthused: "The nose has a wax and wet wool character, very buttery, with a gorgeous weight of fruit and little floral notes in the peaches, vanilla and nuts. Wonderful fruit ripeness gives a sweet impression, lots of oranges and lush apricots ...... A long, very concentrated and pure finish. Recently, American critic Jeff Leve reported on the 2010 vertical tasting, noting that the 1989 "opens with freshly picked flowers, honey, caramel, grass, lemon and lime aromas. Accompanied by a rich, polished fruit texture, the wine finishes with a blend of citrus flavours".
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