2005 La Mission Haut Brion – 97 Points Parker
There are slightly more than 5,000 cases of the 2005 La Mission-Haut-Brion, a blend of 69% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and a touch of Cabernet Franc. While there is little difference between La Mission and Haut-Brion’s terroirs (their vineyards are only separated by a two-lane road), La Mission possesses more fat, texture, and intensity. An enormously endowed wine with huge tannin and structure, the 2005 offers a quintessential Graves bouquet of burning embers, charcoal, blackberries, truffles, black currants, and a meaty character. Reminiscent of the 1989, with more structure as well as a longer window of drinkability, the 2005 may be a modern day, improved version of a vintage such as 1955, which was well-endowed, very tannic, and took a long time to come around. While fabulously full-bodied and unctuous, the 2005 will not provide much charm in its youth. It needs 8-10 years of cellaring, and should age effortlessly for 30-40 years.

2000 La Mission Haut Brion – 100 Points Parker
A superstar of this great vintage, the 2000 La Mission Haut-Brion is as profound as the 1989, 1982, and 1975. It is more structured and tannic than the 1989, more civilized and refined, but not as thick as the 1982, and sweeter as well as purer than the 1975. The 2000 is neither flamboyant nor accessible, but what upside potential it possesses! In time, one might have to return to the prodigious duo of 1959 and 1961 to find a La Mission with this much potential. While still tight from bottling, its inky purple colour is accompanied by extravagantly sweet aromas of blackberries, blueberries, toast, scorched earth, coffee, asphalt, graphite, and smoke. Super-intense and unctuously-textured, with a sumptuous mid-palate and finish, this is an explosively rich, layered effort that possesses everything I could ever want from a terroir that has given me as much hedonistic and intellectual pleasure as any other wine in the world. It is an amazing achievement for administrator Jean-Bernard Delmas, his son, Jean-Phillipe, and the entire winemaking team. The phenomenal aftertaste goes on for over a minute. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2045.

1990 La Mission Haut Brion – 96 Points Parker
Much like its nearby rival, Haut Brion, the 1990 La Mission has always been relatively evolved, complex, and supple-textured. Even at age 3-4 it performed beautifully. The tannins are sweet, the acidity low, and the high levels of glycerin and concentrated fruit have always been present, and they show no signs of abating. A dark plum/blue/garnet colour is followed by a sweet perfume of chocolate, rich, jammy, berry fruit, and hints of smoked herbs as well as meat juices. It remains a full-bodied, opulent, even ostentatious wine that should drink beautifully for two more decades. It really has not changed much over the last 6-7 years.

1989 La Mission Haut Brion – 99 Points Parker
I am certainly not going to argue with anyone who believes La Mission-Haut-Brion's 1989 is every bit as profound as the 1989 Haut-Brion. It is a spectacular wine, and as it ages in the bottle, it is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite La Mission-Haut-Brions, ranking alongside the 1982, 1975, 1961, 1959, and 1955. The 1989 boasts a dense, thick, purple colour, followed by a sweet, roasted cassis, chocolatey-scented nose with whiffs of tobacco, tar, and minerals. The wine is extremely full-bodied, unctuously-textured, sweet, jammy, and rich. Although it is still a youthful, unformed wine, it is already delicious to drink.

1982 La Mission Haut Brion – 100 Points Parker
The greatest La Mission Haut Brion made between the 1975 and 1989, the 1982 is, stylistically, a dead-ringer for the ethereal 1959. One of the most massive wines of the vintage, it remains an adolescent in terms of evolution, but it can be drunk with great pleasure if it is decanted 2-3 hours in advance. A thick, unctuously-textured wine with massive richness as well as abundant notes of black fruits, truffles, creosote, scorched earth, smoke, and camphor, a colossal mouthfeel, a layered texture, incredible depth of fruit and glycerin, and copious, but well-integrated tannins that are largely concealed by the incredible amount of fruit. An old school La Mission, it is a tour de force that should continue to age effortlessly for another 40+ years.

1978 La Mission Haut Brion – 96 Points Parker
The 1978 La Mission-Haut-Brion is a strong candidate for the wine of the vintage. It is deep ruby/purple-coloured with no signs of evolution. The wine is much more backward than Haut-Brion. It is intensely fragrant, displaying a supple, smooth, velvety texture, and well-developed, rich, cassis, gravel, and smoky scents and flavours. It is very full bodied, rich, and supple. This layered, concentrated wine can be drunk now, but promises to be even better with additional bottle age.

1975 La Mission Haut Brion – 100 Points Parker
The 1975 La Mission-Haut-Brion has been the most consistent wine of the vintage. Super-concentrated, and now beginning to shed enough tannin so that it can be fully appreciated, this enormously constituted La Mission-Haut-Brion has developed that fabulous Graves set of aromatics - tobacco, black fruits, minerals, roasted herbs, and cedar. Huge, massive, thick, and succulent, with moderate tannin, and some amber notes at the edge, this wine will reach full maturity by the turn of the century and last for 30-40 years. An extraordinary La Mission-Haut-Brion, it comes closest in style to resembling the 1945, with a hint of the sweet, ripe 1959.

1961 La Mission Haut Brion – 99 Points Parker
One of the greatest 1961s, La Mission-Haut-Brion has been fabulous to drink for the last 5-10 years. Where well-stored, this wine will continue to drink well for 10-20 years. More developed and drinkable than the 1959, it remains a thick, rich, super-aromatic wine with a textbook Graves bouquet of tobacco, barbecued meats, minerals, spices, and sweet red and black fruits. Dense, full-bodied, alcoholic, and super-rich, this soft, opulently-textured wine makes for a fabulous drink.

1959 La Mission Haut Brion – 100 Points Parker
It is interesting to note that many 1959s, much like the 1982s, were maligned for lacking both acidity and aging potential. How does one explain the fact that many 1959s are less evolved, as well as richer, fresher, and more complete than many 1961s? For example, as great as the 1961 La Mission is, the 1959 is a richer, deeper-coloured, more concentrated and powerful wine. Spicy and super-concentrated, with a dense, plummy/purple colour, this young, broodingly backward, formidably-endowed wine should drink well for the first 20-25 years of the next millennium.

1955 La Mission Haut Brion – 100 Points Parker
Even allowing for the greatness of Haut-Brion and Mouton-Rothschild, the 1955 La Mission is the "wine of the vintage." It possesses a sweet, cedary, clove, smoke, and black-raspberry-scented nose, and rich, full-bodied, remarkably harmonious flavours that ooze with ripe fruit, glycerin, and heady alcohol. The tannin has totally melted away, and the wine reveals considerable rust at the edge, so it is unlikely that the 1955 will improve with further cellaring. There is no indication of any fragility or decline, so this wine can be safely drunk for 10-15 more years. It is an amazing, complex, superbly well-balanced La Mission-Haut-Brion!

1950 La Mission Haut Brion – 95 Points Parker
The 1950 possesses a huge nose of freshly brewed coffee, hickory wood, cedar, and chocolate. Super-rich and dense, with little evidence of its age (the colour is still an opaque dark garnet colour), this full-bodied, concentrated wine is at its apogee. It should continue to drink well for another 15-20 years.

1947 La Mission Haut Brion – 95 Points Parker
A huge, port-like bouquet of chocolatey, cedary, earthy, plummy fruit demonstrates the extraordinary ripeness that was achieved in the 1947 vintage. Very alcoholic, powerful and rich, but at the same time velvety and sweet, this wine was probably as close to a late harvest La Mission-Haut-Brion as one is likely to experience. It is an exceptional wine with great flavour dimension and length.

1929 La Mission Haut Brion – 97 Points Parker
The extraordinary 1929 vintage, which may well have been the vintage of the century, with a style that old timers compare to modern day 1982s, or more recently, the 1990s, produced wines that were wonderfully opulent and unctuous. Henri Woltner wrote that the 1929 La Mission drank fabulously well in 1933, yet he doubted its ability to age well. How wrong he was! Still deep garnet in colour with only a trace of amber at the edge, this wine exhibits a fabulously exotic, sensual bouquet filled with aromas of tobacco, blackcurrants, cedar, and leather. On the palate it reveals high alcohol, as well as the remarkably sweet, rich, expansive, staggering concentration of fruit necessary to stand up to the alcohol. This is a velvety, lush, full-bodied wine that it is an incredible privilege to drink.

Haut Brion Blanc

2006 Laville Haut Brion blanc – 98 Points Parker
An absolutely staggering vintage for this historic and tiny estate, this 2006 has a huge nose of tropical fruit, including pineapple, as well as a liqueur of minerality, with quince, white citrus, and a hint of subtle toast. Full-bodied, with huge concentration, an almost flinty mouthfeel, zesty acidity, and a monster finish, this is a prodigious Laville Haut-Brion that needs about 10 years of cellaring and should last 30 or more years.

2003 Laville Haut Brion blanc – 96 Points Parker
The unctuous, opulent 2003 Laville Haut-Brion is stunningly rich, full-bodied, and intense. Reminiscent of the 1989 and 1994, it offers a powerful, concentrated, honeyed grapefruit character intermixed with citrus oil, flowers, and waxy marmalade, admirable acidity, and a tremendous mouthfeel as well as length. It should drink well for 25+ years.

1998 Laville Haut Brion blanc – 95 Points Parker
The 1998 Laville-Haut-Brion (94-97) is a sensationally powerful wine with the texture of a grand cru Burgundy and the complexity afforded by the Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend.

1989 Laville Haut Brion blanc – 95 Points Parker
With its decadent bouquet of honeyed, superripe melons, figs, and toasty new oak, the 1989 is an utterly mind-blowing effort from Laville-Haut-Brion. The wine is stunningly rich, concentrated, and intense, with a texture more akin to a Grand Cru white Burgundy than an austere white Graves. Acidity is low and the alcohol level is high, suggesting this wine will have to be drunk in its first 10-15 years of life. For pure power, as well as a sumptuous texture, this may well be the most dramatic Laville-Haut-Brion ever produced. Production was tiny; only 900 cases were made. Anticipated maturity: 1997-2020.

1985 Laville Haut Brion blanc – 93 Points Parker
The 1985 is a sumptuous, rich, honeyed Laville-Haut-Brion that should drink beautifully for the next 15 years. It is among the more powerful and richer wines produced by the chateau, yet it has the requisite acid to give it balance and freshness. Not quite as superripe and alcoholic as the 1989, it is perhaps more typical of Laville-Haut-Brion at its richest and fullest.