Wine Advisor
La Mission Haut Brion 1986
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the château, the 1986 La Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 38% Merlot and 62% Cabernet Sauvignon. A bit like the 1996 La Mission, there is something sedate about the bouquet, nicely defined if not as complex as others, and certainly it would pale against subsequent vintages such as the 1989 or 2005. Delicate black fruit, sage and rosemary at first, then cola-tinged briary and dried fig. The palate is medium-bodied with a grainy entry. This feels a little brusque and quite ferrous in the mouth, missing some depth on the mid-palate, leading to a very foursquare finish that I feel is beginning to dry out a little. This was a period soon after Clarence Dillon's acquisition of the estate from the Woltner family and the vineyard was being reconstituted. Suffice to say, that tells in this decent but to be candid, slightly dour Pessac-Leognan. Tasted July 2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1986 La Mission-Haut-Brion possesses dark ruby color, a spicy, mineral and tobacco-scented bouquet, firm tannins, medium to full body, and excellent potential for extended cellaring. The compactness noticeable in early tastings has been replaced by a more expansive, generous feeling of fruit. Plenty of tannin remains, but the mineral, cassis, and tobacco scents of a top La Mission are beginning to emerge. This wine is closer to maturity than I would have thought. Anticipated maturity: 1995-2010. Last tasted, 6/93.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
This nose is a little disappointing not only for an ’86 but coming after the ’88. It lacks a little precision and delineation, lots of that ’86 cigar box aroma but perhaps lacking the fruit intensity underneath. The palate has good weight but for me it lacks the precision and focus of the ’86. Sweet, earthy middle with a touch of tobacco on the finish, but it does not have the length. Rather charmless. The tasted so much better six years ago. Drink now-2020. Tasted May 2008.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Very powerful nose with notes of cherries and nougat. Mature tannins. Quite a brutish La Mission with great grip on the palate. Tar/black fruits. Almost rustic in style with green pepper on the finish. Drinking now but it deserves time. Tasted March 2002.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A Possible Legend Candidate
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Dark plum/ruby with a dusty, earthy, cigar box-scented nose, this somewhat austere, medium-bodied La Mission-Haut-Brion shows plenty of tannin in a somewhat muscular style without the charm and seductiveness of the ripest years. Nevertheless, the aromatics are there, and the wine still tastes young, but I suspect there will always be a certain austerity to La Mission Haut-Brion’s 1986. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2016. Last tasted, 9/02.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the evening dinner in Southwold. I have never been totally convinced by the Mission ’86. It has a very deep colour, typical of the vintage. The nose seems a little “muddled”, lacking the clarity that this estate usually provides. There are sullen black fruit, black olive and tertiary aromas. The palate is muscular and masculine, with dense, solid black fruit, aggressive tannins and a tobacco dominated finish. To repeat what I said back in 2008, it is a rather charmless La Mission Haut-Brion and I would perhaps rather than 1991. Tasted January 2012.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
There is a distinctive earthiness to this weedy, medium-bodied La Mission-Haut-Brion that still has some tannin to shed. The wine displays a youthful dark ruby/purple color, and sweet cassis fruit in the reticent, still unevolved nose. There is admirable power in this wine that is driven more by its spice and structure than its sweetness of fruit. Still youthful, it should continue to develop and evolve for another decade. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2012. Last tasted 5/97
About the Producer
25 hectares of red grape varieties, including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, are planted in the traditional vineyard of the winery; the Werner family's vineyard also has 4 hectares of white grape varieties, including Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, used for Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc at different times during the Werner family's reign And the production of the original Chateau Laville Haut-Brion Blanc (Chateau Laville Haut-Brion Blanc). The Werner family's original Chateau La Tour Haut-Brion ceased production after 2005, and the 5 hectares of vineyards it owns are mainly used for the blending of the second red wine of Chateau Meixun. In terms of wine production, the winery will set up screening stations on trucks in the vineyard to screen the manually picked grapes for the first time. Fermentation is then carried out in a stainless steel wine tank equipped with a computer-controlled system that monitors the homogenization and temperature of the wine after measuring the temperature of the pressed grape juice and residue. Clarified with fresh egg whites before bottling, but not filtered.
1982(2)1985(2)
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