Château Haut Brion - Pessac-Léognan 2006

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/31/2016

Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London. The 2006 Château Haut-Brion has a more ostentatious bouquet than the comparatively reserved La Mission: quite feisty blackberry, briary, kirsch and red plum scents, hints of leather and sage tucked just underneath. This is a bouquet determined to make an impression! The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, well-judged acidity, a gentle build to a concentrated, earthy, truffle-tinged finish that lingers long in the mouth. This seems to have the upper-hand over the La Mission and probably has a longer future. A thoroughbred from Jean-Philippe Delmas and his team. Tasted January 2016.

Jancis Robinson

18.50 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe1/27/2010

Relatively pale. Looks quite evolved. Much riper nose than most. Sweet start - very winning and concentrated. Plump ripe fruit with some minerality. A very nice complex cocktail that should provide good drinking over quite a long period. Meaning that you could start drinking it quite soon but needn't worry that it won't last. Extremely persistent. Drink 2013-2030

Wine Spectator

94 / 100

the3/31/2009

Offers subtle and complex aromas, with violet, cedar and blackberry. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a very long finish. Tight and curled up in a ball. Best after 2015. 11,000 cases made. –JS

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe2/1/2009

The 2006 Haut-Brion performed even better from bottle than it did from barrel. Sixty-four percent of the production went into this wine, and while it displays the vintage’s powerful tannins and structure, it possesses superb concentration, and the minerality/scorched earth notes of a great Haut-Brion. Medium to full-bodied, with perhaps not quite the fleshiness of the 2005 or 2000, it is built more along the lines of the 1998 and 1996. It is a brilliant effort displaying sensational purity, texture, and length that should be exceptionally long-lived. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2035 .

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

92-94 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe6/30/2008

(14% alcohol) Bright ruby-red. Reticent but pure aromas and flavors of black raspberry, smoke and minerals. Tightly wound and a bit youthfully sullen; comes across as less opulent than the 2006 La Mission, with a firm tannic spine that's less fully enrobed by the wine's mid-palate stuffing. This very structured, minerally Haut-Brion is going to need at least a solid decade of bottle aging. Perhaps best today on the very aromatic finish. Today it's the 2006 La Mission that sings.

La Revue du Vin de France

17,5-18,5 / 20

the7/5/2007

Château Haut Brion a produit 11000 caisses d'un vin droit, précis et élégant. il mêle ) la fois de belles notes de fruits noirs et de fumé, et possède une bonne minéralité qui confère beaucoup de classe à l'ensemble et lui permet de digérer ses 14° d'alcool. La finale se montre tannique, mais harmonieuse.

Decanter Magazine

18.50 / 20

the6/30/2007

Dense, bright ruby. Nose of tobacco, sweet cassis, smoky, toasty oak and violets scents. Tannins silky in the mouth, firmer on the finish. Feels almost weightless, despite 14% alcohol. Long, fine-grained, tannic, tobaccoey finish. Very good. 2007-42

Le Point

18 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe5/24/2007

Fruits noirs, gelée de mûres et un côté sauvage, framboise, bouche séveuse, construite, serrée, très dense mais sans dureté. Un vin sérieux, long, un peu cistercien, sans fioriture, très Haut-Brion classique.

Falstaff

93-95 / 100

the5/24/2007

Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, schwarzer Kern, jugendliche Reflexe. In der Nase feine Zwetschkenfrucht, zart vegetale Holznote, zarte Gewürze. Am Gaumen fest und komplex, voll dunkler Würze, etwas Teer und Tee, sehr präsente Tannine, die dem Wein einen guten Halt geben, mineralisch und lange anhaltend, ungemein frische Säurestruktur, minutenlang im Finish, dunkle Beeren und zarte Röstaromen im Nachhall.

Wein Wisser

18 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe5/7/2007

2015-2040. Tiefes, dunkles Granat mit lila Schimmer, feiner Rand aussen. Dichtes, tiefes, angenehm konzentriertes Bouquet, tintiger Ansatz, Heidelbeeren, kühl und noch etwas reserviert, schwarze Hölzer und Vanilleschote im Hintergrund. Stoffiger Gaumen, viel präsente, aber doch wesentlich feinere Tannine als beim Mission, fleischig, maskuline Züge, pfeffrige Säure, Gerbsäuren dem Zungenfluss eine sandige Note gebend, aromatisches Finale, sehr langlebig, Geduld und auch Toleranz verlangend. In den letzten Jahren war man sich nämlich gewöhnt, dass die Premiers Crus sehr, sehr fein sind und somit auch "zu jung" schon recht viel Freude machen; der 2006er Haut-Brion wird in den ersten 15 Jahren sicher wenig Freude machen, und auch danach wird er sich nur zu währschaften Speisen offenbaren. Sind die Tannine aber richtig verdaut, wird der Wein 19 Punkte erreichen. In der Art ein etwas konzentrierterer 1988er.

Wine Advocate

92-94 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe5/3/2007

The 2006 Haut-Brion was somewhat closed when I tasted it, especially when compared to its blockbuster rival/sibling, La Mission Haut-Brion. The Haut-Brion (11,000 cases) is a tannic, backward wine at present revealing classic notes of smoke, scorched earth, liquid minerals, plums, currants, and cherries, medium body, and sensational purity as well as concentration. The high tannins will no doubt soften with aging in barrel, and, as Haut-Brion often does, the wine should expand and put on weight. While not as superb as the 2005 or 2000, the 2006 appears to be built along the lines of the 1996. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030+.

Wine Advocate

94-96 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/1/2007

Tasted at Haut Brion. Limpid, purple and black hue. A very ripe nose, a little muted at present but with aeration reveals blackberry, hedgerow, a touch of vanilla and black tea, Very good definition. Nose explodes after 25 minutes in glass. Full-bodied with grippy, filigree tannins (like La Mission), fine acidity. The persistency is superb, lingering over a minute in the mouth. Touch of tobacco, blackberry – all that is lacking is a flourish and flesh on the finish – just a little linear at the moment, although that may change after barrel ageing. Great potential.

TAST

18 / 20

the4/30/2007

Énorme matière et richesse en alcool (plus de 14°), couleur impressionnante, tannin surpuissant, très en dehors des normes habituelles du millésime et de ses pairs. Un monument qui, forcément, ne s’harmonisera qu’au très lent vieillissement, mais un monument quand même !

Vinum

18.50 / 20

the4/30/2007

Vielschichtig, rauchig, floral; beginnt kompakt, stoffig, fleischig, das Tannin ist dicht, frisch, ohne jede Härte, endet wuchtig und temperamentvoll und zeigt doch Noblesse. Grosser Haut-Brion in der Linie der letzten Jahre. 2016 bis 2026

Jancis Robinson

18 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/17/2007

Firm deep crimson. Complex rather hidden nose – savoury and embryonic, tobacco perhaps. Round and lively – rather charming already on the palate. Lively fresh tannins on the finish and sufficient fruit in the middle to give one confidence to believe that the wine will eventually be well balanced. Certainly pretty inky overall though – the difference between it and La Mission is the fruit weight in the middle. Elegant rather than angular. More solid matter and a little more gravitas and majesty than La Mission.

Wine Enthusiast

95-97 / 100

the4/15/2007

A structured, powerful wine that shows the firm, tough side of Haut-Brion. The fruit is certainly ripe, but it is the big boned character of the wine that is the most impressive. There is a mineral layer to the flavor of the wine, a fascinating additional complexity. —R.V.

Wine Spectator

92-94 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe3/29/2007

Captivating aromas of coffee, spice, violets and cedar follow through to a full-bodied palate, with refined tannins and a long finish. Lovely refinement for the vintage.