2010 Chateau Haut-Brion - 1er Grand Cru Classe Pessac-Leognan

Decanter.com – 98 pts – CC: *This magnificent wine has lost some of the almost frightening intensity it had en primeur (15% alcohol), but it is still far too young to drink, even at 13 years of age. The profuse, youthful aromas of ripe plum, fig and blackberry fruit are accented with smoke and mineral notes. The texture is rich and substantial, with a significant tannic grip, but plenty of crisp acidity helps bring the wine into line. While it still needs a few more years in the bottle before it is ready, this should last for generations.* - 07/2023

Falstaff Magazin – 100 pts – PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, dunkelbeerig unterlegte schokoladige Nuancen, reife Zwetschken, ein Hauch von Dörrobst, zartes Karamell und Honig, ein Hauch von Trockenkräutern im Hintergrund. Elegant, ¬seidig und weich, extraktsüße Textur, delikat und leichtfüßig, man spürt kaum etwas von der innewohnenden Kraft dieses Weins, feines Nougat im Abgang, nahtloser Stil, sehr lange anhaltend, großes Potenzial.* - 12/2018

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - 100pts - RP: *As for the 2010 Haut-Brion, it does not have the power of Latour’s 2010 or the intense lead pencil shavings and chocolaty component of Lafite-Rothschild, but it is extraordinary, perfect wine. It has a slightly lower pH than the 2009 (3.7 versus the 2009's 3.8), and even higher alcohol than the 2009 (14.6%). The wine is ethereal. From its dense purple color to its incredibly subtle but striking aromatics that build incrementally, offering up a spectacular smorgasbord of aromas ranging from charcoal and camphor to black currant and blueberry liqueur and spring flowers, this wine’s finesse, elegant yet noble power and authority come through in a compelling fashion. It is full-bodied, but that’s only apparent in the aftertaste, as the wine seems to float across the palate with remarkable sweetness, harmony, and the integration of all its component parts – alcohol, tannin, acidity, wood, etc. This prodigious Haut-Brion is hard to compare to another vintage, at least right now, but it should have 50 to 75 years of aging potential. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2065+.* -02/2013

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NM (01/14): *Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. The Haut-Brion 2010 is a stunning wine
that provoked a few perfect scores around the table. It is blessed with a compelling bouquet with superb
precision and focus: wonderful mineralité, slightly conservative and withdrawn and yet displaying immense
clarity and terroir expression. With continued aeration there is just a hint of the sea surfacing and one never
detects the 14.6% alcohol. The palate is backward, tannic and broody, but immensely powerful and
multi-layered. This is a multi-dimensional wine, very long and persistency in the mouth with a bewilderingly
complex finish (100/100)*

Vinum Magazin – 18,5/20pts: *Auffälliger Gegensatz zwischen der komplexen, erstaunlich klassischen Aromatik mit blumigen und fruchtig-würzigen Komponenten und Kräuterakzenten und der wuchtigen, extraktreichen Art am Gaumen mit eng sitzendem, pulvrigem Tannin, dem feurigen, langen Finale. Wird seine vollendete Harmonie erst in zwei Jahrzehnten entfalten! 2030-2050* - 03/2013

WeinWisser – 19/20pts: *57 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 23 % Merlot, 20 % perfekter Cabernet Franc, Ertrag: 39 hl/ha. Sehr dunkles Purpur mit lila Reflexen in der satten Mitte. Feinduftiges Bouquet, rote Pflaumen, blaue Beeren und schwarze Fruchtnoten, nach und nach mit den klassischen Gewürznoten von Havanna, Zeder, Mokka und dunklen Edelhölzern. Erstaunlich saftiger Gaumen mit feinem, fast zartem Stoff, schwarze Kirschen und Lakritze, gebündeltes, harmonisches Finale mit viel Rückaromatik. Schon präsenter als La Mission, aber mit grossem Potenzial.* - 05/2011

JancisRobinson.com – 19/20pts – JR: *A little less dramatic than La Mission 2010 on the nose. Savoury and a bit low key but velvety textured and with masses there. Really very exciting with mass and pace. A great Haut-Brion with such energy and savour.* - 01/2020

Vinous.com – 98+ pts – ST: *Good full ruby-red. Complex, expressive, very showy aromas and flavors of cassis, menthol, smoke and tobacco complemented by violet, milk chocolate and sweet spices. Fat, sweet and concentrated in the mouth, with an almost liqueur-like ripeness to its highly concentrated, palate-saturating flavors. Finishes ripe and savory, with huge but plush tannins and lingering notes of blueberry and minerals.* - 07/2013

Vinous.com – 97 pts – NM: *The 2010 Haut-Brion is a bit of a monster at the moment. I don't mean that pejoratively. Black fruit, melted tar and Earl Grey soar on the nose, perhaps showing a little more /mineralité/ than prior bottles. The palate is huge (more concentrated than the 2010 La Mission served alongside); it's almost burly and grippy with a muscular finish. This is going to need many years to be tamed. Tasted at the château.* - 09/2022

Thewinecellarinsider.com – 100 pts – JL: *Intense, deep aromas of earth, burning wood, truffle, hot bricks, tar, licorice, espresso, smoke and blackberry. There is an incredible sense of purity in the fruit. The wine is rich, concentrated and multifaceted. Each layer of the finish delivers something new, making it one of those rare wines you want to keep going back to. Frightfully expensive, but if you have the money, coupled with the patience to age the wine for more than a decade, and probably closer to 20 years, along with a cold cellar to keep it in, this is a wine for the ages. The finish kept building and expanding for close to one minute.* - 05/2013