2016 Chateau Haut Brion 1er Grand Cru Classe Pessac-Leognan

Decanter.com – 97 pts – AH: *Another glorious wine from the Dillon group. Massively dark in colour, the palate is a wonderful mix of dark fruit, exoticism, violet and lilac flowers on the nose, supremely glossy tannins and polished oak. Some meaty, red earth notes are just starting to emerge. This full-bodied first growth still feels very young but will undoubtedly be a great Haut-Brion for drinking over the next 30+ years.* - 12/2021

Falstaff Magazin - 98pts - PM: *Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, dezente Randaufhellung, noch etwas zurückhaltend, dunkler Schokotouch, reife Herzkirschen unterlegt, tabakige Nuancen, kandierte Orangenzesten. Komplex, schwarze Beerenfrucht, straff und engmaschig, präsente, gut integrierte Tannine, angenehme Frische, zart nach Nougat im Abgang, braucht noch seine Zeit, hat alles, was ein großer Wein benötigt.* - 05/2017

Vinum Magazin – 18/20pts: *Komplexe, blumig-fruchtige Aromatik und Noten von Teekräutern; saftiger, voller Bau, grosse Dichte und verblüffende Länge; vereint Frische und Fülle, hat Klasse.* - 06/2019

Weinwisser - 19.5/20pts - GL: *56 % Merlot, 37,5 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 6,5 % Cabernet Franc. Tiefes Purpur mit granatrotem Rand. Komplexes Brombeerbouquet mit Veilchen, erkaltetem Früchtetee und After-Eight-Touch. Was für ein royaler Wein! Erst diese Souplesse und cremige Textur am kräftigen Gaumen, dann explodiert er förmlich und zeigt Cassis, dominikanischen Tabak, Pflaumenhaut und Brombeermark. Er endet schliesslich in einem ewig langen, facettenreichen Finale, was seine grosse Sonderklasse unterstreicht. Der beste Wein aus Pessac-Léognan – mit klarer Tendenz zur Bestnote!*

JancisRobinson.com – 18/20pts – JR: *Tasted blind. Relatively pale garnet. Light and fresh on the nose. Just a tad simple. Lots of acidity and freshness but no great concentration of fruit. Though it’s deceptive as it really opens out on the end. Very refined.* - 01/2020

JamesSuckling.com - (100-100)pts - JS: *This is a monument for Haut-Brion and reminds me of the great 1998 but in a modern and bright style. Full-bodied, very tannic and superbly structured yet always agile and vivid. Its energy and dynamic nature grabs you by the shoulder and tells you it’s great. Staggeringly precise. It can’t get better than this, can it?* - 04/2017
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JamesSuckling.com – 100 pts – JS: *Stunning black fruit with plenty of forest berries in there, the whole picture cool and very delicate, also on the concentrated and highly structured palate. The tannins are very fine-grained, but decisively austere and, together with the vibrant acidity, they propel the finish out towards infinity and leave a breathtaking final impression. A blend of 56 per cent merlot, 37.5 per cent cabernet sauvignon and 6.5 per cent cabernet franc. Very long aging potential, but you could try it in 2023.* - 12/2019

Vinous.com - (95-98)pts - AG: *The 2016 Haut-Brion is shaping up to be one of the jewels of the vintage. Towering, powerful and intense, the 2016 is marvelously complete in all of its dimensions. Gravel, bacon fat, black cherry, smoke, leather and licorice are all pushed forward. The 2016 is quite rich, but never heavy. It is especially polished, even understated Haut Brion built more on finesse than power.* - 04/2017
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Vinous.com – 100 pts - AG: *The 2016 Haut-Brion is quite possibly even more magnificent from bottle than it was from barrel. Powerful and rich, yet not at all heavy, the 2016 is a wine of nearly indescribable beauty. Haut-Brion is often a thrilling wine, but it is rarely this finessed in its youth. Gravel, cure meat, tobacco and cedar are some of the many nuances that develop with air, but it is an extraordinary sense of harmony that really stands out. What a wine!* - 12/2018

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - (97-99)pts - NM: *The 2016 Haut Brion is a blend of 56% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6.5% Cabernet Franc that was picked between 19 September and 13 October. Jean-Philippe Delmas told me that this represents a touch more Merlot than last year's vintage. It clearly has a more powerful and intense bouquet compared to the La Mission Haut-Brion, although maybe not the same killer level of detail and delineation. The palate is beautifully balanced with arching tannins that insistently grip the mouth. There are layers of black fruit, minerals, sea salt and a touch of crushed violets. Unlike the 2015 Haut-Brion, this is more linear, stricter and you could argue more nimble on its toes. Yet maybe it does not quite have the same depth and labyrinthine complexity that made the 2015 such an astonishing wine. Nevertheless, this 2016 is not far behind and it will be fascinating to compare in the future.* - 04/2017
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Vinous.com - 99pts - NM: *The 2016 Haut-Brion has a beguiling sense of purity on the nose, which features scents of blackberry, crushed violet petals, hints of dark chocolate and even a suggestion of fresh fig. Underneath all this is a seam of mineralité that becomes more conspicuous with aeration, tightening everything up. The palate is medium-bodied with filigreed tannin, a satiny texture, perfect acidity and incredible harmony. Everything here is in the right place. Quite sensual in style, conveying an enthralling sense of delineation on the long finish. About as good as you will find in this vintage.* - 01/2019

Thewinecellarinsider.com – 100 pts – JL: * The nose, with its knockout sensations of smoke, mint, cigar wrapper, tobacco and crème de cassis is off the hook. For many wine-lovers that would be enough. But for me, it is the elegance, concentration, complexity, endless length and sensuous textures that hits the bulls-eye. This is one of those dream wines that if you can afford it, it belongs in your cellar!* - 09/2021