Château La Mission Haut Brion - Pessac-Léognan 1996

Wine Advocate

90 / 100

par Robert Parker le 31/08/2012

Fully mature, with a big, fragrant bouquet of damp earth, weedy underbrush, asphalt, Asian soy, and ripe plums and cherries, this medium-bodied 1996 appears to be on a fast evolutionary track. It reveals plenty of delicious fruit, soft tannins and enough acidity to provide definition. I was surprised by how open-knit and mature this wine has become. Anticipated maturity: now-2020.

Wine Advocate

90 / 100

par Robert Parker le 01/01/2003

A backward, somewhat austere, muscular style of La Mission Haut-Brion, the color is still a dense, opaque ruby/purple and the aromatics shut down but promising, offering up black fruit, a hint of chocolate, and some sweet oak. The wine is a brawny, muscular, full-bodied La Mission that is going to take some time to reach its apogee. I am not sure it will not always be a somewhat austere wine compared to the top vintages for La Mission. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025. Last tasted, 9/02.

Wine Advocate

89 / 100

par Robert Parker le 30/04/1999

The 1996 La Mission-Haut-Brion was closed and backward when I tasted it in January. The wine was bottled in summer, 1998, and should have had sufficient time to overcome any suppression from going from wood to glass. It possesses considerable potential, and I would not be surprised to see it merit an outstanding score after 2-4 years of cellaring. The color is a healthy plum/purple, and the wine exhibits some of the black fruit, smoky mineral character of La Mission, but it is medium-bodied and moderately high in tannin, with notes of cedar. The finish was totally closed, with the tannin in danger of dominating the wine's fruit. This muscular, structured La Mission will take longer to come around than I originally predicted. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020.

Wine Spectator

89 / 100

par James Suckling le 31/01/1999

A gentle, friendly wine for the vintage. Aromas of berries, tobacco and earth. Medium- to full-bodied, round, with soft tannins and a fruity aftertaste. Best after 2000.

Wine Advocate

90-91 / 100

par Robert Parker le 01/09/1998

The 1996 is an outstanding wine. The color is a dark ruby/purple, and the nose offers up roasted herbs, sweet blueberry jam, and cassis scents intermingled with earth and truffle-like aromas. It is round, rich, and sweet, with medium to full body, outstanding depth, but not the weight, glycerin, and overall opulence of the 1995. It should hit its peak in 7-8 years, and last for 25. Last tasted 11/97

Wine Advocate

90-91 / 100

par Robert Parker le 28/02/1998

La Mission's 1996 is a true vin de garde, displaying a dense, opaque ruby/purple color, and a tight but powerful personality, with reluctant aromatics. This rich wine cuts a deep, medium to full-bodied impression on the palate, and appears to need 7-8 years of cellaring. It is atypically backward for La Mission-Haut-Brion, but the wine possesses exceptional depth, and the smoky, mineral, dried herb, rich, chocolatey, berry fruit that characterizes this brawny, muscular wine. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2025.

Wine Advocate

90-91 / 100

par Robert Parker le 30/04/1997

At present, I would rate the 1995 La Mission slightly ahead of the 1996, only because the 1995 possesses a forward, sweet, complex, more evolved nose. It find it impossible to resist the 1995's density and richness. Nevertheless, the 1996 is an outstanding wine. The color is a dark ruby/purple, and the nose offers up roasted herbs, sweet blueberry jam, and cassis scents intermingled with earth and truffle-like aromas. Round, rich, and sweet, with medium to full body, outstanding depth, but not the weight, glycerin, and overall opulence of the 1995, the 1996 should hit its peak in 7-8 years, and last for 25.