We were attended by Jean-Philippe Delmas their wine maker.
Ch Laville Haut-Brion (£108.28) Mainly Semillon (85%) with the remainder being Sauvignon, oddly this came close on the heels of having tasted the 02 Vat 1 Semillon from Tyrells, and they both shared a lovelly earthy nuttiness, very distinct from the kind that you'd expect to see in Burgundy - some sort of banana infused honeyed character and fabulous acidity.
Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc (£397.45) - a very nice bottle of wine 50/50 Sem/Sauv, however the incredible price (related to it's scarcity more than any thing else - about 6000 bottles produced a year) rather annoyed me - White hedgerow flowers, very tight with a core of creamy lightly citrus acidity. I'm sure this will open up fabulously, but seriously nearly £400...
Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion - 95% Cab S the rest Merlot. Crushed blackcurrants, red current, very beautiful nose with cederwood and smoked spices. Quite tight with lovely acidity, though lithe.
Bahans Haut-Brion - 75% Cab S rest Merlot. Hints of roast meat and sweet raspberry coulis, some subtle green pepper and a slight pot pourris perfume. Again intense but very lithe, very elegant tannins, ripe but noticable.
Ch La Mission Haut-Brion - 60% Merlot the rest Cab S. Beautiful floral and perfumed nose, sweet red berries and a crushed minerals, some subtle spices and a taut lithe body.
Haut-Brion Rouge - 60% Merlot 20/20% Cab S/Cab F. Lovely pure dark fruits, woodland spices, a broody sort of muscular nose, some spicy licorice notes. Quite tannic but very elegant.
Over all I was quite impressed there's a definite familial relationship between the reds, however not knowing the wines well enough they were all a little on the youthful side fro me to feel confident about scoring them. Also I did feel that they could have used a little bit more flesh..
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