Review of the Estate

Château Haut-Brion is notable for its First Growth status, under both the 1855 and 1973 Médoc classifications, despite its geographical location in Graves. This mark of respect is due to the obsession with quality and continual winemaking improvements that have been the dominant modus operandi at Chateau Haut Brion over the past four centuries.

The modern estate grew from humble origins as a property known as Maison Noble d'Aubrion which was acquired by Jean de Pontac through his marriage to Jeanne de Bellon in 1525.

Pontac was responsible for expanding Chateau Haut-Brion, and creating an international market for the wines, the quality of which was noted by Samuel Pepys who wrote in April 1663,"here I drank a sort of French wine, called Ho Bryan, that hath a good and most particular taste that I never met with." However, Chateau Haut Brion was still known formally as Château Pontac until the late 18th Century when it eventually passed out of the Pontac family’s hands.

Vineyard

Surface area: 106.7 acres

Grape Varieties: 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc

Average age of vines: 36 years

Density of plantation: 8,00 vines per hectare

Average yields: 35-45 hectoliters per hectare

Average cases produced: 11,000 per year

Plateau of maturity: 10 - 40 years

Robert Parker Haut-Brion 2011 Review

Score: 95 Points

2011: Like its stablemate La Mission-Haut-Brion, Haut-Brion’s 2011 production was small, only 7,600 cases, which is nearly 3,000 fewer cases than in 2009. A blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc, it is interesting to taste the 2011 Haut-Brion next to the more open-knit, seductive 2011 La Mission Haut-Brion. The former wine is more firm, backward and earthy with a more formidably structured style. Undeniably elegant, distinctive and original, it exhibits notes of mulberries, plums, blueberries and raspberries. Jean-Philippe Delmas told me that in many ways the 2011 reminds him of the 2008 from an aromatic and structural profile. There is plenty of tannin, and the 2011 has 25-30 years of aging potential. It may be more reminiscent of a vintage such as 1988, but it is better made as well as being the product of a far stricter selection process.

Score: 95