Chateau La Mission Haut Brion 2024

ANSON: "Medium to full intensity, vibrant plum colour, this is elegant and balanced, with the same juicy orchard apple character that you find in La Chapelle, along with cloves, incense, slate, crayon and baking spice, lots of complexity and balance. The aromatics are a little subdued right now but this has ageing ability and estate signature. 5.3 press, 75% new oak, 26hl/h yield."

JAMES SUCKLING: "A precise, classic vintage showing depth of fruit, but with beautiful austerity and minerals. Mostly red fruit, with touches of dark cherries and currants. Medium- to full-bodied with very fine-etched tannins and lots of brightness. So long and refined in the finish, showing restraint. 51% cabernet sauvignon, 46.5% merlot and 2.5% cabernet franc."

VINUM: "Strahlend im Duft, man möchte eintauchen, Cassis, Brombeeren, dezente Röstnoten, viel Floralität, verführerisch; am Gaumen seidenweich, delikate Frucht, sensationell feine Tannine, schwerelos über die Zunge gleitend, druckvoll, dennoch federleicht, grossartige Balance, sehr gute Länge. Eine Mission im klassischen Stil, wird in jeder Phase ihres Lebens Freude bereiten."

WEINWISSER: "51 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 46.5 % Merlot, 2.5 % Cabernet Franc, 26 hl/ha. Komplexes Bouquet, Cassis, frisch gepflückte Schattenmorelle und heller Tabak. Im zweiten Ansatz Preiselbeersaft und Flieder. Am vielschichtigen Gaumen mit engmaschigem Tanningerüst, edlem mineralischen Kern, gutem Zug und mittlerem Körper. Im konzentrierten langen Finale rotbeerige Konturen, Tabakblatt, Eisenkraut und fein mehliger Adstringenz. Ein linear ausgerichteter La Mission, der noch zulegen wird."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Deep garnet-purple colored. Needs a little patient swirling to bring out evocative scents of juicy black plums, fresh blackberries, and kirsch, plus nuances of lilac, star anise, and fragrant soil. The medium-bodied palate is satiny textured with great energy and freshness, delivering layers of blackberries and floral notes, finishing long and perfumed."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Notes of dark berries, spices, mulberries and discreet hints of new oak preface the 2024 La Mission Haut-Brion, a medium to full-bodied, dense and attractively seamless wine for the vintage, with a textural mid-palate that's underpinned by a firm chassis of tannins, concluding with a long, broad and rather ripe finish. Slightly austere at this stage, it is likely to flesh out with élevage, developing into a structured and serious La Mission with promising aging potential. Like its sibling Haut-Brion, the estate benefited from its intramural location in Pessac, which allowed for more complete ripening in a year that posed greater challenges for some other Pessac-Léognan properties."

DECANTER: "Blackcurrant and black cherry on the palate. Bright pink/purple rim to the glass. Smells sweet, candy floss and softly floral with rose petals. Thick and glossy, this has a great weight on the palate - slightly chewy, present tannins fill the mouth with high toned, just-ripe fruit that has a touch of tension to it. Straight and buzzy, this has detail but is still a little tangy and massy. I like the chalky, mineral-driven elements on the finish. Not as detailed and finessed as the wine can be. Less dynamic and vibrant. 3.65pH. 5.3% press. A yield of 26hl/ha."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Red and black currants, cold fireplace, violets, and a beautiful tobacco and lead pencil quality all emerge from the 2024 Château La Mission Haut-Brion, a medium-bodied Pessac based on 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46.5% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc. It's pretty and perfumed, with good intensity and a seamless, layered mouthfeel. The tannins are fine and integrated, giving it a graceful, approachable style that still holds to the classic La Mission profile. Compared to the more inward and structured Haut-Brion, this is more open-knit and front end-loaded. It should offer plenty of early appeal yet still have the class to evolve gracefully."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Zart nach Cassis und Kirschen, feine tabakige Würze, ein Hauch von Tabak und Kräuter, zarter Anklang von Nougat. Komplex, saftig, feine Brombeerfrucht, frischer Säurebogen, zarte Extraktsüße, mineralisch und gut anhaftend, bereits entwickelt, ein lebendiger Stil, verfügt über Entwicklungspotenzial."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Flowers, cherries, smoke, tobacco, spice, and herbs fill the perfume. The palate is medium-bodied, energetic, fresh, and bright, with a spicy, smoky, herb tint to the red fruits in the mid-palate that carries through to the finish. The wine will drink relatively early, give it a few years in the bottle and it should fill out, and soften quite a bit. The wine blends 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46.5% Merlot, and 2.5% Cabernet Franc, 13.2% ABV, 3.65 pH. Harvesting took place, September 18, October 2. Drink from 2029-2050."