Wine Advisor
La Tour Haut Brion 1998
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The nose is very powerful and a little unruly. Coming after the 1994, 1995 and 1997 I am just missing some of the delineation that this property has. Leaving the glass aside for five minutes, it coalesces and offers blackberry, limestone, melted tar and sous-bois aromas the blossom with each swirl of the glass. The palate is full-bodied with slightly chewy tannins. Very good weight, very intense and quite backwards considering it now has 13 years on the clock. Well-knit on the finish, showing more precision than the 1994 but it needs a couple more years to develop character and secondary flavours. Keep. Tasted September 2011.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Deep ruby-colored, with a pronounced cedary, herb-tinged, black currant-scented nose, this medium-bodied, elegant wine exhibits fine ripeness, sweet tannin, and a moderately long finish. Already complex and evolved, it should drink well for a decade or more.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The deep ruby/purple-colored 1998 exhibits a sweet, smoky, earthy, black currant-scented nose with nicely integrated, creamy oak. The wine is rich, medium-bodied, and stylish, with no hard edges, and a seamless mouth-feel. It should drink well for 10-15 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A deep garnet hue. A very attractive fresh nose of cedar, blueberry, violets and briary. A touch of iodine and espresso develops with time. The palate is full-bodied, very well balanced with superb delineation. Suave, elegant, quite voluptuous although it does not quite take off on the finish like I was hoping. Drinking 2009-2025. Tasted January 2007.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
My rating may be too conservative, as the 1998 is showing as well as any La Tour-Haut-Brion from the nineties. A dense ruby/purple color is followed by sweet aromas of black currants intermixed with tobacco, cedar, and spice box. The wine is beautifully pure, rich, medium-bodied, with sweet tannin and well-integrated acidity as well as wood. It should drink well after several years of aging, and last for 15-18 years.
About the Producer
La Tour Haut Brion was a separate château, under the same ownership as Châteaux Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion. Until 1983 Ch. la Tour Haut-Brion was the second wine of La Mission Haut-Brion, but after the take-over of La Mission and La Tour by the Domaine Clarence Dillon, La Tour gained its own identity. The last vintage of this wine in its own right was 2005, it has since been incorporated into the production of La Mission. The vineyards are planted with 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 23% Merlot, a similar mix to Haut Brion itself.
