Wine Advisor
La Mission Haut Brion 2017
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Composed of 56% Merlot, 4.4% Cabernet Franc and 39.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 La Mission Haut-Brion is a little reticent on the nose to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal notes of crushed blackcurrants, Black Forest cake and Morello cherries with suggestions of cigar box, pencil shavings, charcoal and fertile loam. Medium-bodied, the palate has fantastic intensity with loads of mineral layers and a rock-solid line of firm, grainy tannins, finishing very long and with great energy.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2017 La Mission Haut-Brion, blended of 56% Merlot, 39.6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4.4% Cabernet Franc, is very deep garnet-purple in color and scented of crushed blackcurrants, blackberries and chocolate-covered cherries with suggestions of cigar box, bay leaves, Indian spices and dusty soil. Medium to full-bodied with very firm, grainy tannins and a racy backbone supporting the taut, muscular fruit, it has bags of mineral and earthy suggestions layering the very long finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
A positively stunning wine, the 2017 La Mission Haut-Brion is all class. Sweet floral notes give the 2017 striking freshness, nuance and energy. Rose petal, mint, blood orange, red cherry, pomegranate and mocha are all laced together. In 2017, La Mission plays very much in the red fruit and floral end of the spectrum. Effortless, gracious and wonderfully nuanced, the 2017 simply has it all. What a wine!
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 La Mission Haut-Brion is a wine of total finesse and class. Pliant and expressive, the 2017 is beautifully layered from start to finish. Bright red cherry, plum, mocha, pomegranate and blood orange all add to an impression of grace and freshness. This is one of the most refined, understated recent vintages of La Mission I can remember tasting.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 La Mission Haut-Brion was bottled a little earlier than the Haut-Brion, 20-24 May. It has a more understated bouquet than Haut-Brion and consequently demands more coaxing, eventually revealing very pure raspberry and wild strawberry scents mixed with wet limestone and hints of wilted rose petal. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, very focused and refined with darker fruit compared to the nose. Traces of tar and cedar surface towards the classic finish that linger nicely, although Haut-Brion just has a tad more persistence and depth. Superb.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 La Mission Haut-Brion was picked from 4 to 29 September and matured in 68% new oak with 14.1° alcohol. It has a more broody bouquet than previous years: dark berry fruit, brown spices, warm gravel and later, a touch of orange rind. This can sometimes be sultry out of barrel and the 2017 falls into that category. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannin. This La Mission Haut-Brion is built around a wonderful structure and symmetry. It feels precise with a detailed, saline finish that lingers in the mouth. I can see Jean-Philippe Delmas’s comparison with the 2001 though I find the tannins finer in the 2017. Superb.
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.
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