Château Haut Brion - Pessac-Léognan 1986

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

par Neal Martin le 30/12/2016

Tasted at the château, the 1986 Haut Brion is a vintage that I had not tasted for some time. It is a blend of 28% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 62% Cabernet Sauvignon according to the chateau's records. Mirroring the 1996 La Mission, in this vintage that Haut-Brion occupies a higher quality level, with more complexity and vivacity on the nose: dusky black fruit, warm gravel, terracotta and cigar humidor. Lovely! The palate is very well balanced, maybe a little rustic compared to recent vintages, yet with firm body and grip. It's the kind of gruff, almost surly, broad-shouldered 1986s that might be a little curmudgeonly compared to 1985 or 1989, however after 30 years you are compensated with plenty of freshness and focus. I don't think it ranks up there with the best of the First Growth...that would come in other vintages, but it still provides plenty of drinking pleasure for those who love their classic claret with capital "C". Tasted July 2016.

Wine Spectator

86 / 100

par James Suckling le 30/06/2001

On the slide. Dark ruby red. Aromas of cedar, tea, berry, cherry and leather. Medium- to full-bodied, with velvety tannins. Soft and delicious, but slightly dry on the finish. A bit mature.--Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now.

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

par Robert Parker le 01/09/1998

The 1986 Haut-Brion, which I thought should be fully mature by now, remains a backward, highly concentrated, powerful wine with more noticeable tannin than most top vintages. The wine does possesses a tell-tale smoky tobacco and sweet black currant-scented nose, in addition to subtle new oak and minerals scents. This medium to full-bodied, rich, intensely smoky wine has still not reached its plateau of maturity. It is unquestionably the wine of the vintage for Graves, and not far off the pace of the great 1986 first-growth Medocs. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2015. Last tasted 7/97.

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

par Robert Parker le 31/08/1993

The 1986 may not please those people who do not find the smoky, tobacco-scented character of Graves to their liking. This wine is a remarkably concentrated, powerful Haut-Brion that should prove to be extremely long-lived. Very deep in color, with a staggering wealth of fruit and flavor, the huge, smoky, tobacco and mineral-scented bouquet seems to fill the room. Explosively rich, full-bodied, and with gobs of tannin, this classic wine is one of the great stars of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 1995-2015. Last tasted, 6/93.

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

par Robert Parker le 31/12/1992

Last Tasted 8/92 Of all the Haut-Brions made during Bordeaux's "Decade of the Century," the eighties, this is the most backward wine, and because of that, it requires more time in the cellar. The color is a healthy deep ruby, and the nose exhibits the tell-tale smoky scents of tobacco, minerals, and black fruits. There is considerable tannin, medium to full body, excellent richness, and a long, well-delineated, moderately firm finish. Although most Haut-Brions are delicious young, the 1986 requires another 4-5 years of patience. However, it should turn out to be a classic Haut-Brion and may prove to be longer lived than such renowned vintages of Haut-Brion as the 1982, 1985, and 1989.