Château Haut Brion - Pessac-Léognan 2007

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

94 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe8/30/2010

Bright ruby-red. Pure but youthfully inexpressive nose hints at raspberry and tobacco after extended aeration. Sweet, suave and pliant, with a silky texture perked up by minerality and lifted by a spicy component. Really lovely consistent ripeness here, showing neither roasted nor green qualities. Took on a more floral character with air. This superbly elegant wine really saturates the palate and lingers. Tannins are fine and sweet.

Wine Advocate

92 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/30/2010

A brilliant effort, the 2007 Haut-Brion offers up aromas of crushed rocks, graphite, plum sauce, raspberries, and black cherries. The aromatics are truly complex for a three year-old wine. While the wine does not possess the fat and succulence of its nearby neighbor, La Mission Haut-Brion, its elegance, finesse, and nobility are apparent. Medium-bodied, rich, and intense with stunning aromatics, it can be drunk now or cellared for 15 years.

Wine Spectator

91 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe3/31/2010

There’s beautiful sweetness of fruit on the nose, with a floral and ripe plum undertone. Very aromatic and subtle. Medium- to fullbodied, with fine tannins and a delicate fruit finish. Refined. Best after 2013.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

91-94 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe6/30/2008

Good full medium red-ruby. Complex nose melds black raspberry, licorice, tobacco and hot rocks; there's a suggestion of almost candied ripeness here. Then ripe, sweet and full, with a lush texture and considerable density to the plum and cherry flavors. Very nicely balanced wine, finishing with excellent breadth and length. This will evolve more quickly than the 2006 or 2007 but has solid structure nonetheless.

Falstaff

91-93 / 100

the6/30/2008

Dunkles Rubingranat, schwarzer Kern, jugendliche Reflexe. In der Nase dunkles Beerenkonfit, zart vegetal-tabakig unterlegt, sehr verschlossen, gibt noch nicht viel her, mit Luft etwas Honig und Nougat, mineralische Nuancen. Am Gaumen frisch, komplex, knackige Struktur, etwas spröde, fordernde Tannine, mineralisch, Bitterschokoanklänge, salziges Finish extraktsüßer Abgang mit einiger Länge.

Le Point

18 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe5/15/2008

Nez complexe, fleurs séchées, il rappelle des arômes ressentis en Bourgogne du côté dugrand cru La Tâche. Tabac, bouche pleine, dense, tanins moelleux, dense, épicé, long, très classe, très long, équilibre parfait.

Wine Advocate

91-94 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe5/5/2008

Wein Wisser

18 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe5/2/2008

TAST

18,5 / 20

the4/28/2008

Grande couleur, texture serrée et ultra racée où l’on sent immédiatement une plus grande proportion de cabernets que dans les précédents millésimes, tannin épicé de grande classe, grand avenir. Il ne prend toute sa dimension qu’après un bon quart d’heure d’aération dans le verre !

Wine Advocate

93-94 / 100

byNeal Martinthe4/17/2008

A blend of 43% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Cabernet Franc. Like many wines of the vintage, this is loath to reveal its aromas upon first sniff and demands coaxing. Certainly there is a lot of richness with blackberries, crème de cassis, a touch of black olives and oyster shell. Perhaps it does not quite have the supreme focus of La Mission. I am taken more by the palate than the nose. Very pure ripe fruits, seamless tannins, sensuous, quite a ravishing Haut-Brion that is more precocious than many others. This is either going to turn out one degree over-ripe or perhaps the best of the First Growths? I look forward to finding out. Tasted April 2008.

Jancis Robinson

18 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/17/2008

43% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc. Very impressive depth of crimson. My first smell of this wine reminded me of what had been missing in my two days of Bordeaux tasting up to then: sheer Bordeaux class! Nuances, top notes and bottom notes. Some spice, a hint of top quality oak, lots of Haut-Brion minerality. Lovely spread across the palate – very supple – even in this wine no great tannic charge. All the thrill is up front. On the finish it is neat but not lingering and the acidity just peeks out above the very fine tannins. Very sensitively made, possibly the best red bordeaux 2007 of all, but still definitely a 2007! I think that next to, say, a more complete vintage it would be wanting, which is why I have not given it a higher score. Not much volume but what there is has been beautifully handled.

Decanter Magazine

18,5 / 20

the4/4/2008

Dense, purple-red. Spicy nose, with cherry and coffee aromas, bright. Palate has voluptuous, silky fruit, good ripeness and firm tannins with a touch of greenness evident. Very silky, lovely weight of fruit and excellent balance. Easier, shorter-term wine than recent vintages. Drink 2015-28.

Wine Spectator

89-92 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/2/2008

Fabulous nose of crushed berry, dark chocolate, violet and licorice. Medium-to-full body, very silky tannins and a mineral, berry and silky finish. Slightly austere, but very pretty and racy. 43 percent Merlot, 44 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 13 percent —J.S.