Winery - Château Haut-Brion
* Expert NoteDecember 19, 2005
A rare wartime vintage wine, it opens with a lighter, more distant nose than a typical Haut-Brion, but there is sweet fruit and strong floral perfume, quite exotic and nuanced; a bit lighter and without the depth of the better wines, this is still an interesting and certainly quality wine; there is a old-vine sweetness, but it is more feminine than the usual Haut-Brion; medium finish, a bit on the light and sour side, but fun to enjoy at this stage of its life. (16.5/20)
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteDecember 19, 2005
This wine has always puzzled me somewhat, particularly because the nose on almost every bottle that I have had seems damaged when it is first opened, evidencing very musty and funky aromas when first poured, some of this improves over time, but the nose remains somewhat murky and funky with hints of rubber and vinyl mixed with the more traditional aromas of cedar, earth, and tobacco; this is a rich and ripe wine in the mouth though with blended flavors of chocolate, oriental spices, and ripe fruit; long dense, thick finish with lots of ripe black fruits; lacks the elegance of some of the ‘53s, but certainly has the sweetness and richness. (18.5/20)
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteDecember 19, 2005
Intense nose, powerful and very focused, black cherry cough syrup aromas, layers of spices and earth, polished aromas; rich and intense in the mouth; a great wine from a great vintage; layers of black fruits, rich and silky but wonderfully balanced; big flavors here with a wonderful blend of rich black cherries and tart red cherries; long finish, still loaded with notable tannins but quite harmonious; this is tops in my book. (20/20)
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteDecember 19, 2005
– Sweet and ripe fruit on the nose, lots of chocolate and rich fruit, smoke and earth, enticing aromas with a light hint of oriental spice; elegant and surprisingly dense in the mouth; this tastes mature but younger than its age; lots of chocolate and cacao on the palate mixed with ripe black fruits; very smooth in the mouth, supple; medium finish; does begin to break down some after a time in the glass but a very good wine from an inconsistent vintage. (18/20)
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteDecember 19, 2005
Ripe and rich nose, sweet black fruits, caramel, chocolate, herbs with a metallic tinge; surprisingly rich and ripe on the palate, this wine has gone up and down over the years in my notes, but this bottle seems to be doing quite well; there is plenty of sweet fruit, although the wine has a slightly dilute character; earthen, cedar and woody flavors; medium finish, good focus and balance with better depth than most of the wine from this vintage at this age. (17/20)
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteDecember 19, 2005
This has been one of the better wines from this vintage for several years, and this bottle does not disappoint; sweet, perfumed and spicy nose, exotic and ripe laced with black cherry and green pepper aromas, evolving into a more classic Haut-Brion set of aromas defined by earthen, iron ore, cedar and tobacco scents; sweet and ripe fruit flavors open this wine in the mouth, but one can not escape the assertive drying tannins that are the downfall of this vintage; in this bottle, the tannins remain balanced, however, and the wine has a nicely focused center of citrus fruit, cranberries, quince and sweet black fruit; long finish that is sweet but showing the emergence of dryness; needs to be drunk soon. (18.5/20)
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteDecember 19, 2005
Not a vintage often encountered anymore, this was a surprisingly good wine; opened with a classic “Graves” nose of gravel and earth, and then took on the more traditional Haut-Brion character of cedar and cigar box aromas, mixing with smoke and very sweet, somewhat dense and cloying aromas of ripe fruit; deep and rich in the mouth, actually jammy; lots of roasted coffee and slightly overripe fruit flavors; deep and layered, a bit coarse and not as crisp and complex as the wines from the better vintages, but certainly a pleasant wine with enough character to raise it above the fray, particularly for this vintage. (17.5/20)
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteDecember 19, 2005
Classic aromas of cedar, cigar box, tobacco leaf, all mixed with wonderful aromas of sweet fruit and earth; sweet, rich and ripe in the mouth, with thick and intense black fruits in the mouth; tar and sweet spices abound; lots of glycerol in this wine with wonderful mouth-coating textures; long finish, peppery and spicy with layers of fruit at the end; richer and more dense than the ’83, but perhaps not as elegant at this stage of its evolvement. (18.5/20)
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteDecember 19, 2005
Powerful and very elegant nose, floral and sweet, but at the same time loaded with green olive and green pepper aromas, also showing some smokiness and a roasted coffee set of aromas; ripe, rich and fresh in the mouth; this has been one of the best performing ‘83’s in recent years, and it is obvious from this bottle that that is continuing; deep and intense black fruits, sweet but refined; medium weight, not a monster but very balanced; long finish, lots of citrus flourishes at the end add freshness to the dark fruit flavors of this wine. (18.5/20)
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteDecember 19, 2005
A spicy and herbal nose opens this wine, with aromas of green peppers and olives, sweet spices and sweet fruit, but somewhat closed and elusive still; elegant flavors in the mouth, and like the ’89, there is a lot of depth; this wine, much like others in this vintage, is still very tannic and tight though, and does not give up much of its flavor yet; a tight finish dominated by dry tannins and slightly tough, leathery flavors is still the main focus, but with the backward nature of this wine still controlling, I suspect that there will be more fullness and fruit emerging in the next few years as the tannins integrate and recede. (18/20)
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
