Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France, 2014

Overview of the Wine
In 1664, Madame de Lestonnac bequeathed the domaine of La Mission Haut-Brion to the Peres Lazaristes, a congregation founded by Saint Vincent de Paul. The "good fathers" worked to restore their property to its rightful worth. After them, the Chiapella family (owners in the 19th century) and Woltner family (owners between 1919 and 1983) never stopped improving the vineyard and modernizing the cellars. Since 1983, the Dillon family, already owner of Chateau Haut-Brion, continues the same policy under the presidency of H.R.H. Prince Robert of Luxembourg.

Winemaker
Domaine Clarence Dillon

Grape / Blend
54% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc

Origin
Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France 

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Complex, full-bodied and rich… Château La Mission Haut-Brion red invites the most flattering descriptions. The blend adapts according to the vintage, but Château La Mission Haut-Brion red wine always retains its unparalleled charisma.

The concentrated, expressive nose features very ripe black fruit aromas as well as roasted nuances. The wine is fresh and powerful on the palate from the onset, going on to show roundness, finesse, and complex fruit. This charming and unique wine signs off with a flourish while treating the palate to a long and enduring aromatic finish.

96 Points - Wine Independent
Deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 La Mission Haut-Brion needs a swirl or two to unlock notes of blackberry pie, creme de cassis, and espresso plus nuances of truffle, tapenade, and fragrant soil. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich and velvety, with spicy accents to the black fruit flavors, finishing long and decadent.

96 Points - James Suckling
The typicity of La Mission is really here. Aromas of iodine, oyster shell, currants and orange peel are evident. Full-bodied, tight and tannic with a muscular and toned texture that holds the wine down at the moment, but it’s waiting to release its joy and true nature. Fine-grained. Give it until 2023.

95 Points - Wine Advocate
The 2014 La Mission Haut Brion is a blend of 54% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, picked between 15 September and 8 October and raised in 55% new oak. It has retained that engagingly fresh and vibrant bouquet, the bashful nature that it showed in barrel replaced by a more outgoing personality. This is an exquisite bouquet with pure black fruit, cold stone, a touch of black olive and later a suggestion of boysenberry preserve. The palate is still structured and considering that a majority is Merlot, quite masculine. There remains some new oak to be fully assimilated, although there is clearly the fruit to soak that up. It comes more alive on the second half with a lovely spiciness and impressive persistence. It will have more to give down the line and the strictness implies that this La Mission Haut Brion should be afforded a decade in the cellar before it will show what it can do.

95 Points - Wine Enthusiast
Richly endowed, the wine is beautifully concentrated. Still young it has considerable potential with its rich fruits and firm tannins. There is a strongly juicy aftertaste that brings in the freshness of the year. The wine will age well, and should not be drunk before 2026. 

95 Points - Vinous
The 2014 La Mission Haut-Brion offers bright and vivid scents that immediately captivate the olfactory scenes: black fruit, cedar, pencil box and light, minty aromas. It's much better than its First Growth neighbor. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, very harmonious, and has lovely depth with a gentle grip. This is a sophisticated and entrancing 2014, one of my favorites in Bordeaux. Highly recommended. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting

94 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
The 2014 Château La Mission Haut Brion is slightly more elegant and pretty compared to the richer, slightly more masculine Haut Brion. A blend of 54% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and a splash of Cabernet Franc, it shows a kiss of red fruits in its core of darker currants, smoke tobacco, scorched earth, vanilla bean, and spice-driven aromas and flavors. With medium to full-bodied richness, impeccable balance, fine tannin, and a great, great finish, it’s a downright classy La Mission that will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 20+.

94 Points - Falstaff
Closed, with some wood, crisp cherry, balsamic and macerated fruit undertones. On the palate, open-meshed, relaxed, grainy tannins with a lingering effect, relatively broad in structure with closed fruit, subtle acidity – good phenolic ripeness, but suboptimal fruit precision (compote notes!). Firm internally despite the broad structure, the tannin effect lingers long.

Product size: 750ml