2018 Chapelle La Mission Haut Brion

Purity of blueberry, blackcurrant and chocolate character here. Shell and iodine. It’s full-bodied, chewy and structured with lots of cool tannins that lead long through the center of the wine. Second wine of La Mission. Needs four or five years to soften. Try after 2025. (2021)

I loved the 2018 La Chapelle De La Mission Haut-Brion, which ranks with some of the finest second wines out there. Showing the classic elegance that is the hallmark of this terroir, its ruby/purple color is followed by beautiful notes of black raspberries, mulberries, damp earth, graphite, truffle, and espresso roast. Rich, medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated, and light on its feet, it still brings plenty of concentration, ripe, seamless tannins, and serious length. It reminds me of the 2016. Drink this smoking Pessac any time over the coming two decades. (2021)