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: 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan

2016 La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan (Pre-Arrival, Elsewhere $500)

SKU #1299236 99 points Vinous

Outer quote mark The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion was stunning from barrel, and now in bottle. It has a sublime bouquet of blackberries, briar and hints of dark chocolate and rose petals that gain intensity with aeration while maintaining ethereal delineation. It never steps on the accelerator too hard. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is still a veneer of new oak that will need to be assimilated over the coming years. This is a deep La Mission that caresses the mouth. Touches of graphite lingering on a finish that fans out gloriously. Is the 2016 up there with the 1955 or 1989? Nearly. (NM) Inner quote mark (1/2019)

98 points Jeb Dunnuck

Outer quote mark The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion checks in as a Merlot-heavy blend, 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. About as pure and seamless (yet sexy) as they come in the vintage, it offers awesome notes of dried flowers, sweet currants, cedarwood, forest floor, and exotic spices. With a flawless texture, medium to full body, and ultra-fine tannins, this beauty builds incrementally on the palate with terrific mid-palate depth and a stunning finish. It’s sexier and more charming compared to the more backward Haut Brion, yet I suspect it will age just as long. Inner quote mark (2/2019)

98 points Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 57.5% Merlot and 42.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is just a little muted to begin, soon unfurling to reveal slowly growing scents of crushed blackcurrants, black cherries, dark chocolate and candied violets with nuances of crushed rocks, tobacco leaf, forest floor and fragrant earth plus a hint of bergamot. Medium-bodied and exquisitely elegant, the palate offers perfectly ripe, fine-grained tannins and tons of freshness with layer upon layer of perfumed fruit and a very long, ferrous-laced finish. (LPB) 98+ Inner quote mark (11/2018)

97 points James Suckling

Outer quote mark Regal wine, showing alluringly ripe and dark plums, that carries a wealth of complexity in its DNA—fine spices, leaves, graphite, violets and more. The palate has very precise drive and super focused style and delivers authoritative tannins that are arranged in linear fashion. Power with elegance. Inner quote mark (2/2019)

97 points Wine Spectator

Outer quote mark This is super vivid, offering cassis, blackberry, raspberry and blueberry compote flavors that bristle with energy while a mouthwatering frame of anise and apple wood adds electric energy. This is borderline rambunctious but it's bridled well enough and when the fruit and wood sides mesh fully, this will be a rock star. (JM) Inner quote mark (3/2019)

96 points Decanter

Outer quote mark In 2016 La Mission has produced another stunning first-growth ‘lookalike’ which rivals Haut-Brion across the road. Deep, intense in colour, flavour and nose, there are intriguing exotic notes here, allied to a meaty character and pronounced toasty oak. The fruit is sweet and ripe, whilst Asian spices add further intrigue to the mineral-driven finish. No hurry to drink this. (AH) Inner quote mark (11/2021)

96 points Wine Enthusiast

Outer quote mark As so often with this estate, this is a generous, opulent wine. This year a strong tannic element gives the wine a good structure. Smoky, textured and powerful, it needs many years to mature. *Cellar Selection* (RV) Inner quote mark (5/2019)

Jancis Robinson

Outer quote mark Tasted blind. Slightly sweaty nose and then lovely zest and interest. Thick with masses of exotic fruit over massive tannins. Most unusual. Very long. Sweet and spicy! Masses of interest. 18.5/20 points (JR) Inner quote mark (1/2020)

K&L Notes

97+ points, Antonio Galloni - Vinous: "The 2016 La Mission Haut-Brion is flat out gorgeous. Today, La Mission is incredibly primary, with stunning purity in its red/purplish berry fruit. Readers will have to cellar the 2016 for the better part of a decade at a minimum before the telltale aromatics of this fabled château start to blossom in bottle. I adore the 2016 for its gracious personality, fine tannin and remarkable freshness, not to mention that it is absolutely delicious and the kind of wine that is so suggestive of a very bright future." (12/2018)

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2016 La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan

Price: $419.99

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This product is expected to arrive for shipment or pickup by Friday, December 1, 2023.

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Product Reviews:

By: Steve Bearden | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 6/14/2017 | Send Email

Dark chocolate, cherry, smoke, char and tons of mineral characterize this precise, fine powerhouse. This has everything in harmony from the beguiling aromatics, to the fresh and sweet middle and the finish of polished tannin. Exact and weightless.

By: Clyde Beffa Jr. | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 6/1/2017 | Send Email

Huge wine here and some think one of the best of the vintage. Wonderful nose of cassis, spice, and toasty oak. Depth of flavor off the charts. An ager for sure. Hopefully not a crazy price.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends

- Cabernet Sauvignon has come a long way from its role as a blending varietal, however dominant, in the wines of Bordeaux. Today it is the most planted red varietal in the world. Identified as a descendent of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, the late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon needs to be planted in warmer climates to fully ripen. Its small berries can easily be identified for their distinctive blue color, thick skins and high tannins. And while the varietal has its own definitive characteristics: green pepper-like aromas and black currant flavors among them, it is perhaps most prized for its ability to convey terroir, vintage and winemaking. A relatively new varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon started making inroads into the wines of the Médoc and Graves in the late-18th century. Today it is also dominant in the up-and-coming Entre-Deux-Mers region of Bordeaux and can also be found in Southwest France. It is the companion varietal to Sangiovese in Italy's Super Tuscans and is planted all over Europe, stretching to lesser-known winegrowing regions like Russia and Lebanon. In the Americas Cabernet Sauvignon has found champions in every nook and cranny of California and among winemakers in Washington, where it complements plantings of Merlot. In South America, Cab thrives in Chile, but can also be found in smaller amounts in Argentina and even in Mexico.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them.

Sub-Region:

Bordeaux

Specific Appellation:

Pessac-Leognan/Graves

- Graves is the large red and white wine region located to the southeast of the city of Bordeaux along the Garonne River. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the red wines from the area, while the whites are mixtures of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The most important area within the Graves is the village of Pessac-Leognan. Most of the great chateaux, including Haut Brion, a premier cru and the only wine outside of the Medoc to be included in the 1855 Classification, are located in this small appellation. Graves derives its name from the rocky, stony terrain of the region. Many people believe that the stony soil radiates the day's heat at night and thus makes the grapes ripen earlier than the other regions in Bordeaux.