Ch. La Mission Haut-Brion
Cru Classe de Graves
Pessac-Leognan
2005

The producer

For years Ch La Mission Haut-Brion vied with Ch Haut-Brion as to which was best from vintage to vintage. La Mission was often more floral and elegant, but both shared the rich, ripe fruit aromatics of the very best Pessac-Leognans. In 1983, as if to resolve the dispute, Domaine Clarence Dillon S.A. (owner of Ch Haut-Brion) acquired La Mission Haut-Brion as well. Both wines are at the pinnacle of what the appellation can produce.

La Mission Haut-Brion is situated just across the road from Haut-Brion in the commune of Talence. 27 hectares of vineyards are planted to 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot and around 10% Cabernet Franc. There are also 3.7 hectares reserved for white grape varieties, for the production of La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc. Less than 1,000 cases are made per year.

The red La Mission Haut-Brion, which is a Cru Classe de Graves, ages for an average of 22 months in 100% new French oak barrels and has the potential to age for decades. The annual production averages between 6,000 and 7,000 cases.

The wine

La Mission Haut Brion is generally considered as the one other Graves estate (Haut Brion being the first) to be of 1855 classification first growth quality. It is revered amongst wine afficionados and critics globally; Neil Martin once referred to the wine as “a religious experience”.

Most of the fruit for the Grand Vin is sourced from vineyard plots in the commune of Talence and the blend is usually even between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and complemented by Cabernet Franc. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks and is followed by blending and then ageing in 100% new French oak for 22 months.

A wine of dense texture, full body, and layers of intense black fruits and serious tannins, La Mission is often thought to have more floral aromatics and overall elegance than sister estate Haut-Brion. Patience is rewarded, and La Mission generally shouldn’t be opened until it has reached a minimum of 10 years of age.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.