Chateau Haut-Brion 2014 i trækasse

“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 i sine første årtier ofte 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”.  

Efter mere end 10 år på fad og flaske en Haut-Brion i forrygende form!

Anmeldelser af Haut-Brion 1. Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan 2014

98/100 Tastingbook.com

97-98/100 Vert de Vin
"The nose is elegant, aromatic, fine and offers a quite crispy side. It reveals fleshy notes of strawberry / blackberry combined with hints of cassis, violets and a touch of blueberry. The palate is fresh, deep, intense, complex, racy, dense, tight and has a beautiful silky / velvety matter. The mouth expresses / opens slowly, gently. It expresses notes of red fruit (cherry, strawberry), blackberry, hot stone and slight notes of flowers associated with a touch of flint, chocolate and licorice on the finish. There are also very subtle spicy notes. Tannins are elegant and well built. Good length. A beautiful wine!"

97/100 Wine Enthusiast
"With seriously dense tannins, this shows great structure. Rich and full of ripe fruit, it also has a fresh streak that gives it a lift. The structure will allow the wine to age over many years while the fruit and acidity will give it crispness. "

97/100 James Suckling
“Beautifully perfumed with rose petals, violets and currant bush. Full body, very silky tannins and bright acidity. Tannins are super fine-grained. Goes on for minutes. Racy and refined. Persistent. Drink in 2025.”

97/100 Vinous, Antonio Galloni
"One of the stars of the vintage, the 2014 Haut-Brion is an exceptionally beautiful and vivid wine. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, tobacco and menthol are some of the notes that run through the 2014. Just as it did from barrel, the 2014 boasts tons of opulence, intensity and richness. Dried flowers, tobacco, menthol, licorice and smoke wrap around the huge, baritone-inflected finish. Readers should not be in any rush with the 2014, as it is likely to require a number of years before it even starts to drink well. The blend is 50 % Merlot, 39 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 11 % Cabernet Franc."

97/100 La Revue du Vin de France

96/100 Robert Parker
"The 2014 Haut Brion is a blend of 50% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 39% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 11 September and 10 October, cropped at 42.9 hectoliters per hectare and raised in 70% new oak. As I observed when I made the comparison in barrel, the Haut Brion exudes more red fruit than La Mission Haut Brion, adorned with wild strawberry, bilberry, tobacco and again, just that hint of menthol in the background. The palate is very fresh and taut on the entry. The acidity is very nicely pitched and there is a touch of marmalade and blood orange that is tangible at the back of the mouth. There is real frisson to this Haut Brion, not quite as seductive and as smooth as its sibling over the road, but very persistent in the mouth. I noticed that over 15 to 20 minutes that the Haut Brion just gained more and more complexity, putting a small distance between itself and La Mission, as if determined to mock my opinion in barrel that La Mission would have the upper hand! Be my guest. Haut Brion has an inch, just an inch ahead of its "rival" sibling."

96/100 Wine Spectator
"Loaded with warm tar, singed juniper, plum reduction and cassis notes that are perfectly melded, giving this a remarkably supple edge. The finish lets tobacco, bay leaf and incense accents glide in. Shows lovely mouthfeel and superior refinement overall."

96/100 Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider 
"Deep ruby in color, sweet, fresh and concentrated with layers of lushly textured, sweet, red and black fruits, this wine is bolstered with smoke, tobacco and tar. Silky, smooth and concentrated with velvety tannins flowing with pure cassis, the freshness feels good on the palate and will only get better."

96/100 Tim Atkin, Master of Wine
“Haut-Brion is often the least showy of the first growths at this stage and that's the case once more in 2014. It's a pretty backward wine, dominated by acidity and tannin at the moment, but with its grassy, leafy fruit lying just below the surface. Elegant and restrained, it's a connoisseur's red.”

96/100 Falstaff
"...definitely suggesting complexity: moist gravel and herbs, some spice is already developing in the glass. Densely packed palate, sticky-grainy, tactile-mineral coupled, well-integrated mature acidity, defensive juiciness, structurally very persistent, with intense minerality, firm to chew. Very compact wine, evidently extracted to the maximum of what is possible in the vintage. 50 percent Merlot, 11 percent Cabernet Franc, 39 percent Cabernet Sauvignon."

96/100 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

4,6 stjerner Vivino (917 ratings, 20-12-2024)

Anbefales til lam, oksekød, and, vildtkød og indmad. Servér ved 16-18°C.

2014 Haut Brion er et blend af 50% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon og 11% Cabernet Franc. De håndhøstede druer gennemgår optisk sortering, og vinifikationen foregår på relativ klassisk manér. Modnet 20 mdr. på barriques fra Haut-Brions eget bødkeri (70% nye, medium-minus toast).

Chateau Haut-Brion er beliggende i den sydlige udkant af storbyen Bordeaux. Den amerikanske Dillon-familie har været ved roret siden 1935, men vinproduktionen på stedet kan spores helt tilbage til 1525. En af hemmelighederne bag vinens formidable niveau er de særligt dybe grusaflejringer, som slottets 51 beplantede hektar er velsignet med. Gruset dræner perfekt og holder på solvarmen, hvilket giver små druer med ekstra intensitet og finesse. Chateau Haut-Brion har siden 1855 været klassificeret Premier Grand Cru Classé.

Om Château Haut-Brion

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)