2006 CH LA MISSION HAUT BRION CRU CLASSÉ PESSAC-LÉOGNAN - 12x75cl

Tasting Notes

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  Goedhuis, May 2007,
  Score: 93-95

  Power, flesh and structure may be the best words to describe the 2006 La Mission. Its punchy, ripefruit and chunky, gripping tannins are omnipresent and dense. Nonetheless, what it may lack inrefinement at this young stage, it picks up in concentration, confidence and sheer personality.If art could be drunk, this would be a Picasso painting from his cubist years. Wine Spectatordescribed it as "very impressive" suggesting that it "could be the wine of the vintage." And we maynot completely disagree.

• 

  Robert Parker, February 2009,
  Score: 95

  One of the vintage-s top wines is the 2006 La Mission-Haut-Brion. From bottle, it reminds me of the 1998, given its structure and backward style. Dense ruby/purple-colored, it possesses a boatload of tannin, but with coaxing, tobacco leaf, sweet black currant, burning ember, and blue fruit characteristics emerge. While thick and full-bodied, the tannins seem more elevated than I remember from barrel. It is going to be a beauty, but like many of the top 2006s, considerable patience is required. Only 55% of the production made it into the grand vin as Jean-Philippe Delmas made a severe selection. The final blend was 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2006 has one of the highest natural alcohols ever achieved at La Mission, averaging around 14.3%, which is astonishingly high for a Graves. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2035.

• 

  Robert Parker, May 2007,
  Score: 96-100

  This superb effort rivals La Mission's 2005. There are 6,000 cases of the 2006, and general managerJean-Philippe Delmas told me that the Merlot came in at a natural alcohol that exceeded 15%. The final alcohol is a whopping 14.3%, the pH is 3.8, and the blend is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. This utterly profound, exceptionally rich, full-bodied, thick La Mission is undeniably one of the candidates for the "wine of the vintage." It possesses a dense ruby/purple color followed by sweet blue and black fruit notes intertwined with notions of burning embers and flowers. Unctuous, massively fruity, and thick, this is a great La Mission! Anticipated maturity: 2012-2035+. With the elimination of La Tour-Haut-Brion from the Dillon estate's portfolio, theproduction of La Mission's second wine, La Chapelle de la Mission, has dramatically increased to4,000 cases. I rated the 2006 La Chapelle de la Mission (89-90).

• 

  Jancis Robinson, May 2007,
  Score: 17.5

  59% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc. 55% of total production.Deep crimson with strong purple notes. Fairly mild nose and rather voluptuous palate entry. Very fine tannins but with pretty rigid backbone. A certain velvetiness. Round and fine. But muted. Certainly refreshing but there is a little green streak on the finish. Seems weaker than I would have expected. Too much Tour in here? Opened up in the glass more aromatic and playful than the Haut-Brion. But lighter and therefore apparently skinnier.

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Producer

Château La Mission Haut-Brion

Owned by the Dillon family since 1983, La Mission Haut Brion is without doubt one of the mostexceptional wines of Bordeaux. Across the road from Haut Brion, it regularly competes with its moreillustrious older sibling and has even outperformed Haut Brion in certain vintages, such as 2006 when Wine Spectator suggests that it "could be the wine of the vintage".