Chateau La Mission Haut Brion Pessac-Leognan 2019

Jeb Dunnuck : 100 Points

(4/11/2022) The 2019 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion is Merlot-dominated, checking in as 53% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc. It's a more opulent wine compared to Haut-Brion, and the Merlot is front and center here, with ripe, sexy black cherry and redcurrant fruits as well as licorice, scorched earth, cedar pencil, and graphite aromas and flavors. Rich, exuberant, and straight up sexy on the palate, it's full-bodied, has a deep, layered mid-palate, building tannins, and a heavenly finish. Just a prodigious, powerful, off-the-charts expression of this terroir, it actually reminds me slightly of the 2005 (or 1998?) with its mix of sexiness and opulence. This is one of the few 2019s that will make your eyes roll back in your head. It will need 10-15 years of cellaring, but it’s a sensational wine on every level and will have 40+ years of prime drinking. Maturity 2032 - 2062.

The Wine Independent : 98 Points

(5/9/2022) The 2019 La Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 53% Merlot, 39.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7.5% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-black colored, it sashays out of the glass with beautiful notions of baked plums, boysenberries, and warm cassis, before fanning out to fragrant nuances of violets, clove oil, sandalwood, and fallen leaves, with a touch of tar and truffles. Full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness supporting the muscular black fruits, finishing long and mineral-tinged. Drinking 2026-2060.

Wine Advocate : 99 Points

(4/7/2022) The 2019 La Mission Haut-Brion unwinds in the glass with aromas of inky berry fruit, wild plums and cherries mingled with notions of warm spices, burning embers and creamy new oak. Full-bodied, deep and layered, it's rich and concentrated, with a deep core of fruit, bright acids and fine, powdery tannins. Powerful and tightly wound, this is less sumptuous and demonstrative out of the gates than its sibling Haut-Brion, but I suspect it possesses even greater potential. Drink Date 2033 - 2070.