Chateau Haut Brion 2015

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "A blend of 50% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Haut-Brion is reticent to begin, languidly revealing crushed black cherries, ripe black plums and wild blueberries with sparks of cinnamon stick, cloves, nutmeg, espresso, unsmoked cigars, tapenade, crushed rocks and lavender. The full-bodied palate possesses wonderfully complementary contrasts of bold black and blue fruit richness and delicately nuanced cherry fruit, baking spices and floral accents, strutting ripe, finely pixelated tannins and seamless acidity that is placed firmly in the background, finishing very long and with plenty of attitude. This impeccably poised, exquisitely perfumed 2015 Haut-Brion possesses the most alluring yet seemingly effortless beauty. While it bears only a passing resemblance in its opulent personality to the now legendary 1989, like that vintage the 2015 cannot fail to hedonically satiate and intellectually edify all lovers of great Bordeaux who drink it. What’s more, it also has the blue-blooded tenaciousness to remain this jaw-droppingly impressive, throughout its many guises over time, and for a very, very long time."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2015 Haut Brion is a perfect wine that couldn’t be any better and is certainly at the top of this great vintage. A blend of 50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Cabernet Franc, this full-bodied, concentrated, backward, yet sensationally pure 2015 boast knockout notes of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, ground herbs, and graphite, with a terrific damp earth/minerality quality emerging with time in the glass. Straight, focused, and built like a skyscraper, with a stacked mid-palate, forget bottles for 7-8 years and enjoy over the following three to four decades."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: “If the color does not let you know you're in for a treat, the nose is going to knock you over with its floral, smoke, cigar wrapper, black cherry and cassis notes. The purity of fruit here is off the charts. The wine is all about its silk and velvet textures from that point forward. The finish is so expansive, it feels like it keeps on going, moving across an array of flavors long after you've put the wine where it was supposed to go. This is the best wine yet produced by Jean Philippe Delmas yet. Bravo!"

DECANTER: "Rich and sumptuous on the palate with huge depth of fruit yet reined in by fresh acidity, with masses of tight tannins. It’s already appealing to drink (as are many 2015s) this really needs a decade or more to allow it to fully develop. The 15% alcohol is carried so easily here, with the crushed rock, sage, lavender and warm earth characters making it a standout First growth. Rated as a 100-point wine by many influential judges and undoubtedly one of the wines of the vintage. Drinking Window 2024 - 2060"

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is all about seduction and beauty with tobacco, berries, tea and wet earth. Full-bodied, round and sexy. Love the polished and beautiful tannins. Racy and refined."

WINE SPECTATOR: "A brick house of a wine, loaded with roasted fig, warmed currant compote and plum reduction flavors that are as broad as they are deep, carried by warm tar, ganache and smoldering bay leaf and charcoal notes. A swath of tobacco through the finish pulls everything together and ties it up with a bow of roasted mesquite. The core shows lean, muscular strength in spades. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. "

WEINWISSER: "50 % Merlot, 42 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 8 % Cabernet Franc. Sattes Purpur-Granat, dicht in der Mitte, lila Schimmer aussen. Blind verkostet hätte ich vom Nasenbild glatt auf einen ganz grossen Kalifornier gesetzt. Das Bouquet zeigt schwarze Schokolade, Minze und ein Hauch von Eukalyptus. Im Gaumen fleischig, massige Konturen, angerundete Tannine, aber auch genügend Gerbstoffe für ein sehr langes Leben. Die Balance ist wunderbar, das nachhaltige, immer noch Konzentration zeigende Finale ist bereits jetzt schon mit viel dunklem Tabak und Heidelbeeren edel bestückt. «Gibt es hier möglicherweise vergleichbare Jahrgänge?», frage ich Jean- Philippe Délmas. Er antwortet: «Es wird hoffentlich nie Jahrgänge geben, welche sich genau mit einem bereits bestehenden Haut-Brion vergleichen lassen. In der Regel sind es bestenfalls mögliche Kombinationen zwischen zwei Jahrgängen. Aber das ist dann auch immer eine Hypothese. Wichtig ist es für uns, einen möglichst grossen Wein zu machen und diese Chancen haben wir heuer genutzt!»"

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Direct and concentrated, this wine is powered by tannins and a firm texture. Dense, it has the potential for plenty of fruit as it matures. That will take time, because this impressive wine is powered by its structure."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Tabakig unterlegtes schwarzes Waldbeerkonfit, zart nach Lakritze und Nougat, kandierte Orangenzesten, einladendes Bukett. Komplex, reife dunkle Herzkirschen, straffe, noch immer etws fordernde Tannine, etwas Bitterschokolade im Finale, salziger Nachhall, wird von einigen Jahren Reife sehr profitieren."

JANCIS ROBINSON: JANCIS ROBINSON: “Tasted blind. Bright crimson. Pretty jazzy array of exotic aromas. Draws you in. Very sweet – too sweet – on the palate to be digestible. Reminds me of a joss stick. Very pinched on the end. Charred, drying effect on the palate. Thick and dramatic."