2015 Château Haut-Brion, 1er Cru Pessac-Léognan

Much more aromatic than La Mission. Lovely silky tannins but masses of them. Very strict and savoury. Really dense but manages to be expressive and convincing. A megalith. 14.9%

The 2015 Haut-Brion is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. Thrust, power and pure intensity come through loud and clear in the crème de cassis, blackberry jam, smoke, licorice and graphite flavors. Soaring aromatics and layers of intense fruit, all supported by a beam of firm tannin make the 2015 a wonderfully complete wine that will drink well for many, many decades. The unctuous fruit and baby fat will need time to melt away, but there is little doubt this a magical wine with huge potential for the future. The purity of flavors and textures will take your breath away.

The 2015 Haut Brion, a blend of 50% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, was picked between 8 September and 5 October, and is matured in the same level of new oak (78%) and IPT (75) as the La Mission. It has a heavenly bouquet that like the La Mission bestows instant gratification - a veritable kaleidoscope of aromas so crystalline that you can pick them out one by one: dark plum, blackcurrant, Kalamata olive and graphite. It is tempting to just nose this all day. The palate has an indescribably stunning balance and like the La Mission, there is a paradoxical sense of intensity married to weightlessness. Everything here is so precise, so pure and yet as it crescendos towards the finish, it offers a profundity that is unmatched across Bordeaux in this vintage. Having had the pleasure of many great wines from this estate in the past - 1945, 1955, 1959, 1961 and 1989 - the 2015 belongs among that pantheon.

A structured and powerful Haut-Brion with so much finesse and beauty. Complex and long. It’s full and ultra-refined. Super length and polish. A formed and sexy Haut Brion.