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2020 Chateau Haut-Brion Premier Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan

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Chateau Haut-Brion Premier Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan 10112472020

Start Your Wine Collection with 2020 Chateau Haut-Brion Premier Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan

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Why We're Buying

What is there to say about Château Haut-Brion that hasn’t been said already? The first-growth estate has been a staple of Bordeaux’s Left Bank since the 16th century, with loyal patrons including John Locke, Hegel, and Thomas Jefferson. The former US president even called Château Haut-Brion “the very best Bordeaux wine.” The 2020 vintage further reinforces Jefferson’s sentiment, having already earned three perfect scores from critics. The 2020 Château Haut-Brion features a harmonious blend of 42.8 merlot, 39.7 cabernet sauvignon, and 17.5 cabernet franc that yields an opaque purple-black hue. Bright notes of ripe raspberries, blackberries, and black currant come roaring out of the glass with an attention-grabbing minerality. While it has the power and muscularity to rival Arnold Schwarzenegger, 2020 Château Haut-Brion remains light on the palate with a refreshing backbone of acids and a finish that goes on and on. In his review, Jeb Dunnuck posited, “Unquestionably one of the top wines in this impressive vintage.” The Final Sip: If this wine is good enough for Thomas Jefferson, odds are it’s good enough for you too.

Critics Scores

DECANTER
96

Decanter

Concentrated, powerful and precise; this takes a grip and holds on, layers of licorice, grilled coffee bean, chocolate, blackcurrant pastille, cassis bud and a more steely wet stone edge that gives a much needed balance to the richness of the overall feel of this wine. Gunsmoke curls out of the glass after half an hour - this is going to need serious ageing, impressive and powerful stuff.

JAMES SUCKLING
100

james Suckling

This is a superb Haut-Brion with incredible tannins that are wonderfully fine-grained. It’s really powerful. This is very primary with so much grape-generated tannin structure. Very, very long, going on for minutes. Seductive and friendly at the start and then takes you on at the finish with so much structure. Wine of the vintage? Barrel Sample: 99-100

VINOUS
99

Vinous

The 2020 Haut-Brion is shaping up to be one of the wines of the year. Substance, depth and textural intensity elevate Haut-Brion into the realm of the sublime in 2020. All the elements are so wonderfully balanced. Inky dark fruit, gravel, lavender, violet and dark spice build as the 2020 gradually opens with some aeration. Wow.

ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE
100

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2020 Haut-Brion is a blend of 42.8 Merlot, 39.7 Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.5 Cabernet Franc, harvested from 7th to 29th September, with an estimated alcohol of 15 and a pH of 3.8. Opaque purple-black colored, it leaps from the glass with a first wave of vibrant black raspberries, ripe blackberries and mulberries scents, followed by a powerful core of warm cassis, dark chocolate and violets, before bursting into an array of crushed rocks, iron ore, tree bark and black truffles notes. The concentrated, densely packed, full-bodied palate is not in the least bit heavy, delivering a refreshing backbone of red berry and dried herbs suggestions, framed by seamless acidity and very finely grained tannins, finishing on an epically long, fragrant earth note. Simply stunning. Barrel Sample: 98-100

JEB DUNNUCK
100

Jeb Dunnuck

Unquestionably one of the top wines in this impressive vintage, the 2020 Château Haut-Brion checks in as 42.8 Merlot, 39.7 Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Cabernet Franc, all of which will spend 15-18 months in 77 new French oak. Its deep purple color is followed by a thrilling nose of mineral-laced blackcurrants, black raspberries, toast, spice, scorched earth, and graphite. Possessing an almost Lafite-like elegance on the palate, it nevertheless has huge dry extract, full-bodied richness, flawless balance, and beautiful tannins. Per the spec sheet, the alcohol is an estimated 15 with a pH of 3.78, so it’s no shrinking violet, yet it never shows a hint of headiness or being over the top. I finished my note with “Where can I buy some?” I suspect this wine will require a solid decade to hit the early stages of maturity and will be a 30-, 40-, or possibly a 50-year wine.