2021 Château La Mission Haut Brion

The 2021 La Mission Haut-Brion comes across as delicate and soft. It is a wine that is very strongly marked by the year—there is no doubt about that. Floral and spice notes open first, as the 2021 shows off its restrained personality. Dark fruit, leather, cedar and tobacco develop in the glass, but this very clearly offers only modest definition, mid-palate pliancy and persistence. Even so, there are no hard edges. Overall, it's a very good wine in a year that was obviously extremely challenging.

- Antonio Galloni (12/2023)

Blackcurrants and graphite aromas follow through to a medium body with very fine tannins and a savory finish. Fluid, with a subtle and open character. Stone and dust at the end. So drinkable now but will improve with age. (07/2024)

Black raspberries, dried flowers, tobacco, violets, and a beautiful spicy character emerge from the 2021 Château La Mission Haut-Brion, a pure, medium-bodied, incredibly polished, elegant Péssac-Léognan that has fine tannins, an utterly seamless, graceful mouthfeel, no hard edges, and a gorgeous finish. It plays in the more elegant, fresher style of the vintage yet brings ample depth and richness, has good mid-palate depth, and is already just about impossible to resist. Give bottles just 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades. (04/2024)

La Mission Haut-Brion 2021 has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It is closed at this youthful stage, needing a fair bit of shaking to wake up notions of plum preserves, redcurrants, and wild blueberries, followed by nuances of rose oil, Indian spices, and fragrant earth. The medium-bodied palate delivers impressive tension, with a fine-grained texture to frame the bright, bold red and black fruits, finishing long and spicy. (04/2024)

The 2021 La Mission Haut-Brion unfurls in the glass with a complex, detailed bouquet of plums, cassis, flowers, spices, licorice and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, rich and concentrated, its fleshy, layered core of fruit is framed by beautifully velvety tannins. In bottle, much as en primeur, this blend of 48% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc is a charming, sensual rendition of La Mission.

- Yohan Castaing (02/2024)