Chateau La Mission Haut Brion 2006

Winemaker Notes

Exuberant describes it best. Its intense color stems from purplish violet. Right from the first swirl one experiences an explosion of diverse aromas with an impressive complexity. One finds raspberries, blackberries, cigars, cedar, coffee, and licorice - so many bewitching scents. The mouth starts with an enveloping feeling of softness. Then the wine expands and invades the senses. From that moment on, the extremely mature tannins take over illustrating the enormous concentration of this wine. An amazing freshness carries this tannic mass, as a railroad train would - chugging along the tracks, carrying it a long, long way to a finish of immeasurable length on the palate. No stopping, no rest, the wine simply evolves with every stage superbly managed from start to finish. Rarely has La Mission Haut-Brion achieved such plenitude. Let us say: 2006 is one of the greatest vintages of La Mission Haut-Brion.

96 Points - Wine Enthusiast

Wonderful sweet fruit, velvet in texture, with concentrated ripe fruits and red berries. This is a wine that rolls sumptuously around the mouth, the tannins certainly dense but full of the same sweetness as the fruit. The final flavour is perfumed and fresh. Deceptively attractive, it will profit from many years' aging.

95 Points - Wine Spectator

Almost jammy, with vanilla bean and coffee undertones. Full-bodied and very powerful, with big, juicy tannins and a long finish. Very big and generous for the vintage, showing exceptional quality. Best after 2015. 6,000 cases made.

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

A somewhat under-the-radar La Mission, the 2006 was generally overlooked following the brilliance of the 2005. A young, dense purple-hued wine that is developing beautifully, it exhibits notes of Asian plum sauce, charcoal, barbecue smoke, roasted meats, graphite and background oak. Full-bodied with good acidity, moderate tannin and a vigorous, powerful youthfulness, the 2006 will age more quickly than the 2005, but it still requires another 5-8 years of cellaring. Anticipated Maturity: 2014-2035.