2012 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion
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S$53897
Vintage: 2012
Country: France
Region: Pessac Leognan, bordeaux
Winemaker Notes
2012 Château La Mission Haut-Brion has overtones such as liquorice typical of very ripe grapes, but also fresh nuances reminiscent of menthol. Fruitiness and a touch of oak round out the wine’s aromatic complexity. The alcoholic degree is once again high, but this gives the wine a sort of lightness and ethereal quality. However, this impression is misleading because the wine is, in reality, very powerful. The rich tannin adds a silky texture and the taste profile is altogether charming, with tremendous balance. 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion has the beautiful long aftertaste of all great wines.
About Winery
Château la Mission Haut-Brion is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, classed among the Crus Classés in the Graves classification of 1953. The winery, located in close vicinity of the city of Bordeaux, belongs to the wine region Graves, in the commune of Talence with additional property in Pessac.
The château also produces a second wine from younger vines, La Chapelle de la Mission, since the 1991 vintage, and the dry white wine Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc since the 2010 merger of Château Laville Haut-Brion.
American wine critic Robert Parker awarded the maximum one hundred points for the 2000 La Mission Haut Brion, making it six occasions Parker has given the estate this score. Jancis Robinson, MW describes La Mission as "the quintessential insider's wine" while David Peppercorn, MW holds the estate's consistent performance over the last century as justification to classify La Mission as a Premier Cru, as was done to Château Mouton Rothschild in 1973. In 2009, the Liv-ex Bordeaux Classification considered Château La Mission Haut-Brion as a potential First Growth along with Château Mouton Rothschild and the four estates classified in 1855: Château Haut-Brion, Château Margaux, Château
Winemaker Notes
2012 Château La Mission Haut-Brion has overtones such as liquorice typical of very ripe grapes, but also fresh nuances reminiscent of menthol. Fruitiness and a touch of oak round out the wine’s aromatic complexity. The alcoholic degree is once again high, but this gives the wine a sort of lightness and ethereal quality. However, this impression is misleading because the wine is, in reality, very powerful. The rich tannin adds a silky texture and the taste profile is altogether charming, with tremendous balance. 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion has the beautiful long aftertaste of all great wines.
About Winery
Château la Mission Haut-Brion is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, classed among the Crus Classés in the Graves classification of 1953. The winery, located in close vicinity of the city of Bordeaux, belongs to the wine region Graves, in the commune of Talence with additional property in Pessac.
The château also produces a second wine from younger vines, La Chapelle de la Mission, since the 1991 vintage, and the dry white wine Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc since the 2010 merger of Château Laville Haut-Brion.
American wine critic Robert Parker awarded the maximum one hundred points for the 2000 La Mission Haut Brion, making it six occasions Parker has given the estate this score. Jancis Robinson, MW describes La Mission as "the quintessential insider's wine" while David Peppercorn, MW holds the estate's consistent performance over the last century as justification to classify La Mission as a Premier Cru, as was done to Château Mouton Rothschild in 1973. In 2009, the Liv-ex Bordeaux Classification considered Château La Mission Haut-Brion as a potential First Growth along with Château Mouton Rothschild and the four estates classified in 1855: Château Haut-Brion, Château Margaux, Château
97 points Jeb Dunnuck
Continuing to show brilliantly, the 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion is a quintessential Graves, boasting a deep purple color as well as heavenly aromatics of blackcurrants, tobacco, scorched earth, graphite, and licorice. It’s a big, full-bodied beauty yet has a weightless, elegant style, building tannins, and a great finish. It needs a solid hour in a decanter if drinking today and promises to evolve beautifully for another 3-4 decades. (11/2019)
96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting, the 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion showed brilliantly. It has an intense, floral bouquet with rose petals and strawberry preserve, hints of sous-bois and tobacco gently unfolding in the glass, gaining more earthiness as it aerates in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, broad and spicy with hints of bell pepper suggesting high quality Cabernet Franc. It fans out gloriously with a sustained tertiary finish that completes what is a wondrous La Mission Haut-Brion from Jean-Philippe Delmas and his team. (NM) (10/2016)
96 points Vinous
One of the clear wines of the vintage, the 2012 La Mission Haut-Brion shows off a vertical sense of structure along with imposing tannins and serious depth. The flavors are dark, bold and extremely vivid. Dark red cherry, smoke, grilled herbs, graphite and blackberry jam are some of the many notes that come alive on the finish. This brooding La Mission needs a few years to settle down after which it will offer spectacular drinking for several decades. In a word: magnificent! (AG) (1/2016)
96 points Wine Enthusiast
*** Cellar Selection *** This is closed up, dry and tough on the outside. But you can feel the rich weight and the dark tannins along with the powerful structure. That makes this wine both replete with a firm character and also full of generous, concentrated black fruits. It's a powerful wine, ready for good aging; drink from 2022. (RV) (5/2015)
