Chateau Haut Brion 2025

Wine Advocate: The 2025 Haut-Brion is, as usual, more reserved and austere at this stage than La Mission, unwinding in the glass to reveal notions of dark wild berries mingled with spices, pencil leaf and licorice. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and layered, it’s built around a multidimensional core of fruit framed by structuring yet well-integrated tannins, delivering a notably controlled expression of power and concluding with a long, perfumed, subtly ethereal finish. While still tightly knit at this stage, it possesses considerable depth-IPT (an alaytical measure of tannic concentration) levels exceeding 100, rarely observed-that is perfectly controlled and will require extended cellaring. Recent refinements in the estate’s approach, notably in viticulture, are translating into fruit of greater balance and freshness, even under the warm, dry conditions of 2025. It stands as one of the more impressive renditions of Haut-Brion in recent years."

James Suckling: Haut-Brion delivers a red with great structure and length and superb intensity and power. It is a full-bodied red with character and depth, giving it endless length. Muscular yet polished and agile. Juicy at the end. 62% merlot, 26.2% cabernet sauvignon and 11.8% cabernet franc."

Jeb Dunnuck: A Merlot-forward blend of 62% Merlot, 26.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 11.8% Cabernet Franc aged in 60% new French oak, the 2025 Château Haut-Brion is slightly more dense and structured compared to its sibling, La Mission. Gorgeous black cherries, graphite, scorched earth, and smoke all define the bouquet, and on the palate it's remarkably pure, with polished, serious tannins, and incredible length. Its purity, concentration, and overall sense of class are riveting."

Vinum: Es ist die Tiefe dieser Nase, welche einem zum Verweilen einlädt; tiefdunkel, mit reifer Kirschfrucht, Cassis und Blaubeere, darüber florale Noten und Trockenkräuter; der Gaumen ist satt, opulent und sehr gut strukturiert, dieses Fruchtpaket scheint über der Zunge zu schweben, die Tannine machen sich erst ganz hinten im Gaumen bemerkbar; der Abgang ist salzig, mit dunklen und roten Beeren und einer nicht aufhören wollenden Länge. Monumental."

Decanter: One of the wines of the vintage for me and a clear contender for a 100-point score in bottle. Sticky liquorice and blackcurrant fruit on the nose, dark and slightly heady with fragrant jasmine aspects. Bright, alive, glossy and so perfectly weighted on the palate - more streamlined than LMHB at this point but still with chew and bounce. Lovely vibrancy capturing the ripe fruit of the vintage with a crisp, tense and cool base of spiced raspberries, cherries and touches of cranberry. Stony but delicately leaving a soft gravel and salinity on the tongue. Delicious - this knocks it out of the park. Adore it! A yield of 26hl/ha."

Falstaff: Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Nuancen von Cassis, tabakig, zart nach Edelholz, etwas Kardamom und Zimt, Brombeerkonfit, sehr facettenreiches Bukett. Komplex, elegant, reife Herzkirschen, dunkles Waldbeerkonfit, feine, reife Tannine, finessenreich und elegant, verfügt über große Länge und Eleganz, wirkt bereits gut entwickelt und wird entsprechend schnell große Trinkfreude garantieren."

The Wine Cellar Insider: At the moment, it takes a bit of effort to fully appreciate the aromatics. But with swirling, you find flowers, Cuban cigars, black pit fruits, blackberries, smoke, mesquite, blue fruits, herbs, and exotic spices. On the palate, the fruit purity will knock out any wine taster. Elegant, silky, long, and precise, the seamless finish starts slowly and builds from there. Seamless in its delivery, this is a sublime vintage for Haut Brion. The wine was shaped in part by its dry summer and August rains, which lowered the ABV level and provided more lift to the concentrated berries. The wine blends 62% Merlot, 26.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 11.8% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV, 3.7 pH. Picking took place September 1 - September 18. Yields were 29 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2030-2075."

Jane Anson: Such a taut, slate-strewn journey through the palate here, slow burn, love it. An exceptional Haut-Brion, with beautiful toasted cumin and sandalwood notes, cloves, cassis, pomegranate and cocoa beans. Muscular, structured, brooding, this is going to run and run. 59% new oak. 27hl/ha yield. Alcohols among lowest on record, and yet intensely concenrated. 3.72ph Harvest September 1 to 18. 59% new oak. 62% of production in this 1st wine."

Lisa Perrotti-Brown: Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 Haut-Brion slowly emerges from the glass with powerful notes of ripe plums and fresh blueberries, plus hints of red cherries, licorice, and cardamom with wafts of violets and iron ore. Medium-bodied, the palate is both elegant and intense with firm, fine-grained tannins and a refreshing line, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. The blend is 62% Merlot, 26.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 11.8% Cabernet Franc. The alcohol is 13.05%. This is aging in French oak barrels, 59% new. The pH is 3.7."