Chateau Haut-Brion 1. Cru Classé Pessac-Leognan 2020 i trækasse

"100 points. An absolute blockbuster on the palate, this structured, full-bodied, massively concentrated Pessac builds incrementally, with ultra-fine tannins, a deep, layered mid-palate, and a great, great finish. Richer and more concentrated than both the 2018 and 2019 (there are some similarities to 2010), this is a legend in the making." - Jeb Dunnuck

"100 points. This is a superb Haut-Brion with incredible tannins that are wonderfully fine-grained. It’s really powerful ... Very, very long, going on for minutes. Seductive and friendly at the start and then takes you on at the finish with so much structure. Wine of the vintage?" - James Suckling

"100 points. Already seems very at peace with itself, great length, a great food companion, secure future." - Falstaff

"100 points. Top vintage" - Tastingbook.com 

"99-100 points." - Bernard Burtschy

"98-100 points. What is amazing here is the incredible level of density, because it is also light on its feet, perfectly balanced, poised and energetic. Texturally, this is surreal. Picture velvet and polished silk on your palate coating each berry. The fruit offers intensity, purity and length, with a finish that exceeds 60 seconds. The seamless finish could put a smile on the most jaded taster ... If you have the money, this is one of the great vintages of Haut Brion that promises to evolve for at least 4-5 decades with ease" - Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

"98-100 points. A supremely intellectual and fascinatingly beautiful wine – it’s a little like entering a maze." - The Drinks Business

Ved køb af 6 flasker leveres vinen i original trækasse.

Anmeldelser af Chateau Haut-Brion 1. Cru Classé Pessac-Leognan 2020

100/100 Jeb Dunnuck
"I finished my trip through Bordeaux with the 2020 Château Haut-Brion, and it was certainly a fitting cap to the trip. Revealing a deep ruby/plum hue, the 2020 exhibits extraordinary aromatics of ripe black fruits, scorched earth, cold fireplace, and acacia flowers. An absolute blockbuster on the palate, this structured, full-bodied, massively concentrated Pessac builds incrementally, with ultra-fine tannins, a deep, layered mid-palate, and a great, great finish. Richer and more concentrated than both the 2018 and 2019 (there are some similarities to 2010), this is a legend in the making. The blend is 42.8% Merlot, 39.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Cabernet Franc, all of which will spend 15-18 months in 77% new French oak. Hide bottles for a decade, and it should evolve for 50-75 years."

100/100 James Suckling
"This is a superb Haut-Brion with incredible tannins that are wonderfully fine-grained. It’s really powerful. This is very primary with so much grape-generated tannin structure. Very, very long, going on for minutes. Seductive and friendly at the start and then takes you on at the finish with so much structure. Wine of the vintage?"

100/100 Falstaff 
"Dark ruby garnet, purple reflections, deep core, delicate rim brightening. Dark wild berries, a touch of noble wood, ripe cherries, delicate floral nuances of candied purple fruit, sweet tobacco, very inviting bouquet. Complex, juicy, red berry texture, well-integrated, ripe tannins, fine sweetness on the finish, already seems very at peace with itself, great length, a great food companion, secure future."

100/100 Tastingbook.com

99-100/100 Bernard Burtschy

98-100/100 Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
"Dark, ruby, garnet in color, the wine exudes cedar, cigar box, tobacco leaf, smoke, roasted cherries, herbs, spice box and forest floor scents. What is amazing here is the incredible level of density, because it is also light on its feet, perfectly balanced, poised and energetic. Texturally, this is surreal. Picture velvet and polished silk on your palate coating each berry. The fruit offers intensity, purity and length, with a finish that exceeds 60 seconds. The seamless finish could put a smile on the most jaded taster. Do not be concerned with the ABV levels as there is no heat. All of that is buried in the wealth of fruit. If you have the money, this is one of the great vintages of Haut Brion that promises to evolve for at least 4-5 decades with ease."

98-100/100 The Drinks Business 
"This is more floral, with traces of pink rose petals and hint of violets, red and black cherry, cedar, wild blueberries and mulberries, wild spring flowers and oregano, with a trace of walnut shell too. The attack is incredibly cool and gentle – the proverbial plunge-pool that sends little shivers racing up and down the spine – and the power and density is fantastically disguised, in part by the compact nature of the tannins. This seems infinitely layered and so very finely detailed. Yet one is also acutely aware that one glimpse now, at this stage, only the tiniest part of the entire canvas. A supremely intellectual and fascinatingly beautiful wine – it’s a little like entering a maze."

99/100 Robert Parker 
"The 2020 Haut-Brion is more aromatically demonstrative than La Mission Haut-Brion, bursting with aromas of blackberries and raspberries mingled with licorice, cigar wrapper, pencil shavings and nicely integrated new oak. Full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's rich and layered, with an enveloping core of fruit that's girdled by plenty of sweet, powdery tannin. Despite checking in at a similarly lofty alcoholic degree to the 2019, its more granular tannic profile tempers the vintage's sweetness of fruit and lends the wine a more classically proportioned, and more classically structured, profile."

99/100 The Wine Independent
"The 2020 Haut Brion is a blend of 42.8% Merlot, 39.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.5% Cabernet Franc, with a pH of 3.78. Deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with profound blackcurrant cordial, baked plums, and boysenberry preserves notes, leading to an undercurrent of graphite, iron ore, black truffles, and wood smoke, plus a hint of cardamom. The full-bodied palate is tightly knit with black fruit and mineral layers, supported by a rock-solid backbone of grainy tannins and seamless acidity, finishing long and savory."

99/100 Markus Del Monego MW
"Dark purple colour with violet hue and black core. Very elegant, powerful and expressive nose, ripe berries, juicy cherries and plums, mulberries and hints of sloe in the background. Backed by hints of graphite, elegant spiciness, vanille and hints of oriental spices, noble toasting aroma, very complex with aromatic depth. On the palate powerful yet elegant with juicy fruit, tightly structured with ripe tannins, fine acidity, great freshness, elegant fruit, mild spices and subtl oak. A great wine with excellent depth and length."

4,6 stjerner Vivino (70 bedømmelser, 20-12-2024)

Om Château Haut-Brion

“A strong argument can be made that this first growth is the world’s most elegant and aromatically complex wine. Since the 1980s, no first growth has been as consistent or as brilliant in quality as Haut-Brion” – Robert Parker

”Compared to the other First Growths, it will usually be ready to drink at a younger age. But that does not mean it doesn’t age as well. Far from it. In fact, for example, well-stored bottles from 1928, 1929, and 1945 all offer compelling tasting experiences today. Life is too short not to drink Haut Brion as often as possible.” – Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Mere imponerende skudsmål finder du næppe, så vi lader lige citaterne herover svæve et øjeblik…

Selvom Haut-Brions kælderpotentiale ganske rigtigt er enormt, betyder et relativt højt indhold af silkebløde Merlot, at vinen allerede som ung typisk outperformer resten af ”The Big Five”, Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Latour og Margaux.

Tager du samtidig prisforskellen til ovenstående first growth-rivaler med i ligningen, så giver det god mening, når legenden Hugh Johnson MW udpeger Haut-Brion som ”Particular good value within its class”.  

Antallet af 100/100 ratings er meget sigende for den exceptionelle verdensklasse tocifret hos både hos Robert Parker og James Suckling. Inkluderer vi det øvrige anmelderkorps i statistikken, har Haut-Brion 1er Cru Classé gennem tiden utvivlsomt høstet langt over hundrede perfekte vinanmeldelser! 

”Château Haut Brion is possibly the oldest wine estate in Bordeaux. Over the years, it has continued to lead from the front, thanks to a combination of terroir, committed ownership and intelligent use of technology.” – James Lawther, The Finest Wines of Bordeaux

Med en produktion der kan spores helt tilbage til 1525, er Haut-Brion blandt de ældste navngivne vinslotte i Bordeaux. Det blev samtidig den første vin fra området til at opnå kultstatus uden for Frankrigs grænser. Allerede i 1663 nedfældede den engelske embedsmand og skribent Samuel Pepys følgende "topanmeldelse" i én af sine berømte og meget læste dagbøger…

”I drank a sort of French wine, called Ho Bryan, that hath a good and most particular taste that I ever met with.”

Det fortæller alt om slottets urørlige særstatus, at Haut-Brion som eneste udefrakommende rødvin blev indlemmet i den ellers Haut-Médoc-specifikke 1855-klassifikation. Naturligvis med toprangeringen 1er Grand Cru Classé som en ekstra fjer i hatten.

Når Haut-Brion har beholdt førerpositionen helt frem i det 21 århundrede, skyldes det ikke kun terroirets urokkelige kvalitet. Den amerikanske Dillon-familie, ejerne af slottet siden 1935, har ligeledes stor ære af den beundringsværdige og helt unikke kontinuitet.

Således valgte familien Dillon ved overtagelsen at beholde Georges Delmas som ansvarlig for vinproduktionen, som han havde været det siden 1923 under den tidligere ejer. I 1961 kunne Georges give stafetten videre til sønnen Jean Bernard, manden der med tiden introducerede Haut-Brions nu ikoniske flaske, inden turen i 2004 kom til barnebarnet Jean-Philippe Delmas, der er forblevet ved roret helt frem til i dag. Sammenlagt er skabelsen af Haut-Brion altså betroet tre generationer af én og samme familie i en æra af mere end 100 års varighed! 

I sin regeringstid har Jean-Philippe holdt familiefanen højt ved blandt andet at halverere produktionen af Le Grand Vin. Høstudbyttet er således sænket markant, og en langt større andel af druerne går nu til andenvinen "Le Clarence", mens andre sælges fra til hobevis af ivrige købere. Som resultat holdes kvaliteten af Haut-Brion, selv i det andre kalder mindre årgange, med nærmest autopilot-lignende præcision, på eller lige omkring de perfekte 100 point.   

Chateau Haut-Brion er beliggende i den sydlige udkant af storbyen Bordeaux. Her finder vi endnu en af hemmelighederne bag vinenes legendariske niveau. Slottets godt og vel 50 ha er velsignet med op til 27 meter dybe grusbanker, der blev aflejret i mellemistiderne af voldsomme mængder smeltevand fra Pyrenæernes bjergtoppe. Gruset dræner perfekt og holder på solvarmen, hvilket giver små druer med en intensitet og finesse, der ganske enkelt er uden mage i appellationen Pessac-Léognan.

Grand Vin: Château Haut-Brion, 1. Cru Classé (1855 Médoc & Graves) 
2. Vin: Le Clarence de Haut-Brion
Beliggenhed: Pessac-Léognan 
Beplantet areal: 50 ha (samt ca. 3 ha dedikeret til hvidvin) 
Plantede druesorter: 44,4% Merlot, 43,9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9,7% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
Fadmodning: op til 24 mdr. på op til 100% nye barriques (afhængigt af årgangen)