Mission Haut Brion - Pessac-Léognan 2020

Vinous

98-98

byNeal Martinthe2/28/2025

The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion has a very pure bouquet with crushed violet infusing the mixture of blueberry and blackberry fruit, scents of cassis emerging with time. The oak is wonderfully integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with a cashmere texture and lavish new oak that is perfectly knitted to the filigree tannins. Very precise and very persistent on the finish, this fans out gloriously, Jean-Philippe Delmas conjured a sensational La Mission this year. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Alexandre Ma

98

byAlexandre Mathe4/18/2023

Wine Advocate

100

byWilliam Kelleythe4/6/2023

The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion is a brilliant effort that exhibits a level of balance and integration that are impressive in such a powerful young Bordeaux. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries and plums mingled with burning embers, pencil shavings, violets and smoked black tea, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a layered, elegantly muscular profile, its brooding core of fruit framed by a generous endowment of powdery tannin that tempers the ripeness of the vintage. Checking in at 14.7% alcohol, it's nonetheless more classically styled than the more flamboyant 2019 vintage or even the slowly maturing 2010 which I re-tasted alongside for context.

Jeb DUNNUCK

99

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/30/2023

Lastly, the Grand Vin 2020 Château La Mission Haut-Brion is cut from the same cloth as the La Chapelle, only it brings more of everything. Black raspberries, cassis, ripe cherries, sandalwood, smoked tobacco, and acacia flowers are just some of its nuances, and this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless, sexy mouthfeel, remarkable tannins, and a great, great finish. The level of purity, finesse, and elegance, paired with incredible concentration, is something to behold. Give bottles just 5-7 years in the cellar and enjoy over the following half a century. The blend is 48.6% Merlot, 43.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc, hitting a natural alcohol of 14.7%.

Alexandre Ma

98

byAlexandre Mathe3/15/2023

Vinous

98

byNeal Martinthe2/15/2023

The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion has a detailed bouquet with a mixture of red and black fruit, black olive, terracotta and a light wet clayey scent (I sometimes think of a potter's wheel.) It gains complexity in the glass and becomes increasingly refined. The palate is beautifully balanced and caters for the 14.7% alcohol with ease. Very fine tannins, perfectly matched with the acidity, beguiling in terms of its cohesive and velvety smooth finish that lingers long in the mouth. The greatest La Missions are the effortless ones and the 2020 is just that. Beautiful.

TASTED

96

byAndreas Larssonthe7/6/2021

Good purity, depth and nuance, some stony notes, charcoal, violet and ripe dark berries and crème de cassis. Excellent combination of power and freshness, dense young fruit with plenty of fine tannin, good oak integration, layers of digest dark fruit mild spices and a very long lingering finish.

Vinous

96-98

byAntonio Gallonithe6/1/2021

The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion is a gorgeous, elegant wine. Silky and pliant, La Mission is all finesse. Fine tannins lend energy as the 2020 gradually opens with some coaxing. Today, the flavors are remarkably primary, and yet the 2020 is so persistent, so elegant. Hints of cedar, tobacco, gravel and dried herbs add aromatic complexity, but the 2020 is a mere infant. I can't wait to watch it grow up. There is a bit of new oak that needs to integrate, but nothing élevage can't take care of.

Jeb DUNNUCK

96-98

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/28/2021

Another sensational wine, the 2020 Château La Mission Haut-Brion boasts a deep ruby/purple color to go with a rocking perfume of ripe black cherries, tobacco, damp earth, chocolate, and exotic spices. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and concentrated, it has a ripe, expansive texture, building tannins, and just an opulent texture. The vintage doesn't get any sexier than this beauty.

Vinous

97-99

byNeal Martinthe5/27/2021

The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion was picked September 7–29. It has a very intense and beautifully defined bouquet of blackberry, wild strawberry, wilted violet petals and hints of orange blossom. It unfolded with aeration as I examined it side-by-side against its neighbor over the course of an hour. The exquisitely balanced palate is lightly spiced on the entry and segues into a very structured midpalate that frames the weight of pixelated black fruit. That spicy theme continues and is exaggerated toward a finish that fans out wonderfully. This is a less alcoholic La Mission Haut-Brion compared to recent vintages, a bit "cooler" and streamlined, yet no less intense and satisfying. An enthralling wine in the making from Jean-Philippe Delmas and his team.

Decanter.com

98

byJane Ansonthe5/25/2021

A kick of black fruit and confident spice right from the first nose, this is an intense and concentrated La Mission, tightly in control, not letting up from beginning to end. The pencil lead and bitter dark chocolate is layered in between the cassis notes in a way that makes you see the Cabernet influence although this is majority Merlot (once again - this is a character of the year, low yields of Cabernet mean Merlot is more featured in the blend than usual; but the intensity of the Cabernets mean that it still has an outsized influence on flavour profile). Grilled coffee beans overtake on the close of play, this is seductive and switches beautifully between the tannins pressing in on the palate and the juice expanding things outwards. This is the wine to go for in the Domaines Clarence Dillon stable this year. Harvest from 7th to 29th September.

The Wine Cellar Insider

97-99

byJeff Levethe5/21/2021

Dark in color, the wine pops with its profile of Cuban cigars, black currants, camphor, spice, tar and smoke. Full-bodied, powerful, long and rich, the wine builds as it intensifies on your palate. There is length, intensity and layers of mineral-driven, dark red pit fruits with lift and persistency in the extended finish. The wine demands 12-15 years of aging and will evolve for at least 3-4 decades after that. The wine blends 48.6% Merlot, 43.2% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.2% Cabernet Franc, 14.7% ABV. Harvesting took place, September 7, September 29. 97-99

Wine Advocate

97-99

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/20/2021

Composed of 48.6% Merlot, 43.2% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.2% Cabernet Franc, harvested from 7th to 29th September, the 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion has an alcohol of 14.7%. It needs considerable swirling and coaxing to reveal slowly emerging scents of freshly crushed blackcurrants, Morello cherries, wild blueberries and forest floor, leading to suggestions of violets, baker's chocolate and cardamom with wafts of dusty soil and oolong tea. The medium to full-bodied palate bursts with impactful, fresh red, black and blue fruit layers, supported by impressive freshness and fantastically ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing very long and fragrant. A stunning expression of this vintage!

Anthocyanes

95-97

byYohan Castaingthe5/11/2021

Très frais, très mentholé, gourmand et dominé par les fruits noirs, le bouquet de La Mission Haut-Brion offre un éclat et une énergie émotionnelle. A l'aération, des notes de poivre, d'épices et une pointe fumée apparaissent. Le toucher de bouche est splendide, délicat, tannique sans être astringent et parfaitement ciselé. On ressent certes quelques tanins de bois mais l'ensemble est équilibré et très long. C'est un vin plutôt certes dense et massif mais possédant une tension en son milieu qui tend l'ensemble. Bâti pour une longue garde et très en rapport avec le millésime, notamment au niveau des tanins. Un vin charmeur et droit. Sur des rails pour 20 à 40 ans.

Bernard Burtschy

97-98

byBernard Burtschythe5/10/2021

Falstaff

95-97

byPeter Moserthe5/10/2021

Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Mit Gewürznuancen wie Kardamom und Zimt unterlegte schwarze Beerenfrucht, ein Hauch von Lakritze und Cassis, feiner Nougat, Tabak, kandierte Orangenzesten. Stoffig, feine Fruchtsüße, reife Kirschen, elegant, frisch strukturiert, präsente, gut eingebundene Tannine, schokoladig, etwas Kakao im Nachhall, sehr gute Länge, sicheres Reifepotenzial.

My Bettane + Desseauve

97

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/7/2021

Jamessuckling.com

97-98

byJames Sucklingthe5/4/2021

This really builds on the palate. Loads of blackberry and iodine with asphalt undertones. It’s full-bodied with tannins that steamroll at the end and keep going. Classic blend.