Chateau la Mission Haut-Brion - Pessac-Léognan 2013

Wine Advocate

91 / 100

byNeal Martinthe10/28/2016

The 2013 La Mission Haut Brion, a blend of 65% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, has a very pretty bouquet. It is not intense or powerful, as you would anticipate given the growing season, but it unfurls in the glass to reveal wild strawberry, raspberry and dried quince scents, augmented by dried orange peel and bay leaf scents. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin on the entry. This is fresh in the mouth, focused and in the context of the 2013 vintage, quite vivacious, full of energy, especially on the finish. While it might lack the depth, that Merlot lends it the fleshiness that lifts this La Mission Haut Brion above others.

La Revue du Vin de France

16 / 20

byPhilippe Maurangethe9/1/2016

Avec seulement 33% de grand vin (65% de merlot), c'est un vin encore rugueux en attaque avec une matière expressive, plus ouverte et épanouie en bouche qu'au nez. Toutefois, les tannins sont anguleux en finale, et la bouche se montre un peu dure en raison d'un manque de concentration. Sans caractère végétal, La Mission 2013 s'exprime mieux après un bon quart d'heure d'ouverture. 

Wine Spectator

89 / 100

the3/31/2016

Jamessuckling.com

94 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/15/2016

The thing that impresses here is the long finish of subtle currant, chocolate and walnut. Full body, silky tannins and a bright finish. Lingers and satisfies. Hints of oyster shell and walnut. Drink or hold.

Wine Advocate

88-89 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe8/29/2014

Its big sister, the 2013 La Mission Haut-Brion (65% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc) represents 3,000 cases. This very good to excellent 2013 exhibits a deep plum/ruby color as well as notes of subtle barbecue spice, black currants, incense and wet rocks. With good fruit on the attack, medium body and a short finish, it has the potential to be outstanding if it fleshes out. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

88-91 / 100

byStephen Tanzerthe5/16/2014

(65% merlot, 32% cabernet sauvignon and 3% cabernet franc):  Bright ruby-red.  Perfumed aromas of floral red berries and spearmint.  Refined on the palate, with red berry, mint and mineral elements carrying through to the long, vibrant, but somewhat austere finish.  A leaner style of La Mission than usual, but also very refined.  If this puts on more flesh it will turn out to be outstanding, but right now it's a little tough, offering no easy sweetness.  As with its stablemate Haut-Brion, the percentage of new oak will be cut from the usual 75% to 65% in an attempt to preserve the wine's fruit.

timatkin.com

92 / 100

byTim Atkin MWthe5/7/2014

By the standards of recent vintages, this is a very restrained, medium-bodied La Mission. Red fruits, summer pudding and rose petal are the dominant aromas and flavours, with well integrated oak. But the acidity is high and even a little tart here.

matthewjukes.com

17,5 / 20

byMatthew Jukesthe4/23/2014

(65 Merlot, 32 Cabernet Sauvignon, 3 Cabernet Franc) There is rather good balance here in spite of the very strict tannins. They are refreshing, not hard, which makes the wine grippingly exciting. A shorter 2 week maceration (as opposed to 3 week) meant that the fruit is tender and the palate shows more finesse. They only pumped-over at the beginning and decreased new oak by 10-20%. This has resulted in vibrant mulberry tones, luscious impact and tart acidity. It is so much livelier and musical than other leaden-footed Pessac-Léognan wines.

Jancis Robinson

16,5 / 20

byRichard Hemmingsthe4/22/2014

65% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc. Ghostly nose – just an impression of black fruit. Pretty full-on tannins, and more than a dash of leafiness. Very delicately rendered, apart from the pretty firm grip.

Vinous

90-92 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe4/18/2014

The 2013 La Mission Haut-Brion is intriguing. At first relatively immediate, the 2013 turns darker and more intensely mineral as it sits in the glass. Plum, black cherry, smoke and licorice wrap around the palate with serious density for the year. Bright, floral notes finesse on the finish. The 2013 captures an attractive combination of power tempered by the understated personality of the year. There is a lot to like here. It will be interesting to see if the 2013 gains depth in elevage. The 2013 is 65% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc.

Decanter.com

17,75 / 20

bySteven Spurrierthe4/15/2014

Superb ruby red, lovely nose of slightly earthy autumn fruits, fine texture,  purity and harmony, not robust, almost a feminine La Mission, expressive and  sophisticated.

My Bettane + Desseauve

17,5 / 20

the4/15/2014

Beaucoup de générosité au nez, texture ample et veloutée, avec en milieu de bouche une tendresse surprenante par rapport à la puissance de l’assise tannique, l’effet d’une importante majorité de merlot est ici évident.

Wine Advocate

91-93 / 100

byNeal Martinthe4/15/2014

A blend of 65% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, picked between 24 September and 11 October, Jean-Philippe Delmas told me that they finished on a Sunday since the risk of botrytis was so high. The pH is 3.58 with 13.25% alcohol. The first sample at the beginning of primeur was not showing well, the second much better with blackberry, bay leaf and a seaweed scents that becomes increasingly intense. Overall the aromatic profile is not powerful but quite elegant, recalling some of the lighter vintages that I have tasted in the past. The palate is medium-bodied with noticeable acidity on the entry. There is a citric freshness here with lively red cherry and dark plum fruit laced with white pepper. It is a linear La Mission, perhaps missing the peacock’s tail on the finish but composed and refreshing in the mouth. Not a bad wine by a long stretch, but there are plenty of superior La Mission Haut-Brion wines produced in recent years.

Jamessuckling.com

91-92 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/8/2014

This unfolds on your palate with an oyster, raspberry and stone character. It slowly opens and builds. Chewy but polished. Reserved LMHB.      

Wine Spectator

90-93 / 100

byJames Molesworththe4/3/2014

Taut, with a tangy edge to the red currant, damson plum and blackberry notes, framed with plum skin and blood orange accents and backed by a solid roasted apple wood edge on the finish. This has a rather obvious tannic spine but is not woody in feel. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Tasted non-blind. —J.M.

René Gabriel

18 / 20

byRené Gabrielthe4/3/2014

65 % Merlot, 32 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 3 % Cabernet Franc. 28,7 hl/ha. Tiefes Purpur, satt in der Mitte, Granatschimmer am Rand. Sehr würziges, barockes Bouquet, schwarze Beeren, Rauch, schwarzer Pfeffer, gibt sich erstaunlich tiefgründig. Im Gaumen mehr floral, denn fruchtig, mürbe Tannine in der Adstringenz zeigend, angenehmer Nachklang.

Wine Enthusiast

93-95 / 100

byRoger Vossthe3/31/2014

This is a powerful wine, with firm tannins that are well embedded in the ripe blackberry fruits. There is freshness, but the wine also has density and richness. It is a wine for medium-term aging.