Château Haut Brion - Pessac-Léognan 2018

Vinous

94-96 / 100

par Neal Martin le 15/11/2019

The 2018 Haut-Brion was picked from 6 September to 2 October at 44.6hL/ha. It has a quintessential Haut-Brion bouquet with billowing red cherries, boysenberry, black olive and tobacco aromas. The 2018 coheres beautifully with aeration as more blue fruit emerges. It reminds me of the 2015 at this stage. The palate is medium-bodied with velvety tannin and perfectly judged acidity. There is an unerring symmetry about this First Growth, hints of cracked black pepper and clove towards the layered finish. Maybe what it does not have is the killer precision of a very top vintage, but it is certainly a great Haut-Brion.

WeinWisser

20 / 20

le 07/05/2019

Vinous

93-96 / 100

par Antonio Galloni le 03/05/2019

The 2018 Haut-Brion is a regal wine. Creamy, soft and inviting, the 2018 is one of the more open-knit young Haut-Brions I can remember tasting. Cedar, tobacco, smoke, licorice, grilled herbs, leather and menthol are nicely layered in the glass. In 2018, Haut-Brion is almost shockingly elegant at this very early stage. There is plenty of tannin, but it is totally woven into the wine's fabric. In 2018, the blend is 49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11.9% Cabernet Franc.

Jeb DUNNUCK

97-99 / 100

par Jeb Dunnuck le 01/05/2019

The grand vin 2018 Haut-Brion (49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc) is as deeply colored as its stablemate but has a darker, smoky bouquet of blackcurrants, roasted herbs, tobacco, and gravelly earth. Silky, polished, and ethereally textured on the palate, with beautiful tannins as well as mid-palate density, it's one of the most regal, classic wines in the vintage.

Vinifera

97 /

par Jacques Perrin le 01/05/2019

Belle robe sombre. De la profondeur au nez. Notes d'épices, de bois précieux, de tabac et de fruits noirs. Corps majestueux qui affirme sa présence comme une évidence dès l'entame de bouche. Suave, ample d'un développement ascendant, très uni, il conquiert par son caractère harmonieux et son envolée finale, complexe.  

La Revue du Vin de France

19-20 / 20

le 24/04/2019

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100 / 100

par Jeff Leve le 23/04/2019

It's rare to find the combination of elegance and power that you'll find in this year's Haut Brion. It's incredibly difficult to produce a wine with this much volume, harmony, balance, complexity and refinement. Once the wine hits your palate, it's impossible not to take another sip just to make sure it wasn't just a dream. The purity in the fruit, the silk in the tannins, the seemingly endless finish paired with the ability to age for decades is all here in spades. A blend of 56% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6.5% Cabernet Franc with the harvest taking place September 19-October 13. The wine reached 14.6% alcohol with a pH of 3.8 and 50.6% of the harvest was placed into the Grand Vin.

Wine Advocate

97-99 / 100

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 23/04/2019

The 2018 Haut-Brion is a blend of 49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11.9% Cabernet Franc, harvested September 6 to October 2. Deep purple-black in color, it is much more closed than the La Mission. It holds back for the first few minutes, reticent to reveal what slowly uncoils to give wave after wave of exotic spices—cardamom, cassis, star anise and fenugreek—over an opulent core of red roses, Black Forest cake, warm cassis and black raspberries with nuances of cigar box, crushed rocks, truffles, tilled black soil, iron ore and smoked meats. The full-bodied palate is truly profound, with restrained black fruit and spice layers slowly offering mineral sparks and savory suggestions within a rock-solid frame of firm, super fine-grained tannins and beautiful freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. This will take longer to come around than the La Mission, but it will be well worth the wait.

Wine Enthusiast

96-98 / 100

par Roger Voss le 17/04/2019

This wine has an immense structure that’s powered by tannins, yet backed by a dry core and bright acidity. The black currant flavor is very fine and concentrated while also having a juicy freshness that marks the vintage. It has all the structure that should be expected from this estate.

Decanter.com

99 / 100

par Jane Anson le 17/04/2019

A beautiful Haut-Brion that combines generosity and elegance. It's rich, and velvety, with a vibrant ruby rim, all conveying structure and a sense of power. The flavour floods in through the mid-palate, displaying wonderfully vibrant blackberry, blueberry, slate, touches of blond tobacco, freshly cut herbs and exotic spicing. You can feel in the texture that it's a warm year, not holding back. It's powerful but elegant and unforced at the same time, with some brambled edges that give a welcome sense of acidity and a touch of bitterness. 

Harvested 6 September to 2 October, yielding 44hl/ha. 3.8pH. IPT72 - the same level as 2015, but it was a little higher in 2010 and 2009.

Jamessuckling.com

98-99 / 100

par James Suckling le 12/04/2019

The length and texture to this wine is so very impressive. It’s not so much the sheer power that is impressive here, rather the form, tension and exquisite form that the abundant, fine-grained tannins provide. It lasts for minutes on the palate. A classic beauty in the making.

Jean-Marc QUARIN

96 / 100

par Jean-Marc Quarin le 08/04/2019

Yvesbeck.wine

97-98 / 100

par Yves Beck le 01/04/2019

49.4% Merlot, 38.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11.9% Cabernet Franc
Pourpre violacé. Bouquet aux multiples facettes, très complexe, alliant les notes fruitées et florales. Effluves de baies noires et rouges, agréable fraîcheur, touches épicées et chocolatées. Finalement je relève une touche d’iris. Caractère crémeux, onctueux. Belle intensité aromatique et beaucoup de profondeur. Les tannins sont puissants et se révèlent lentement. Ils affichent de la puissance et de la finesse. En crescendo. Un grand vin. 2025-2045