Château La Mission Haut-Brion 1996

Fully mature, with a big, fragrant bouquet of damp earth, weedy underbrush, asphalt, Asian soy, and ripe plums and cherries, this medium-bodied 1996 appears to be on a fast evolutionary track. It reveals plenty of delicious fruit, soft tannins and enough acidity to provide definition. I was surprised by how open-knit and mature this wine has become. Anticipated maturity: now-2020.

Licorice, blackberry, mineral and cedar on the nose. Full-bodied, chewy texture, with lots of tannins, but finishes a little short and dry. Ready.--'95/'96 Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now.

Many 1996 are still pretty closed up right now, as it was a vintage with fairly hefty tannins but this is perfect for drinking with a good carafing first. It's full of generous, rippling berry fruits and soft smudges of cigar box and peat, steady rather than exuberant, with a menthol sign off. Made a perfect match for a homemade Shepherd's pie in the early months of the year, and gives plenty of optimism for how the Left Bank 1996s are going to perform over the next few years.

61% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon. Looks very much more evolved than the Bahans 1996. Great edge and evolution. Some oyster shells – certainly something edgy and marine on the nose. Fully evolved on the palate. Lovely mellifluous texture. Just gorgeous now with the fruit fully open and the tannins in retreat. A mineral edge. Not especially long or powerful but at its peak. So clean and health giving. (JR)

The 1996 La Mission Haut-Brion is an improvement on the previous vintage, though it remains a couple of steps behind the high point of the decade, which came two years later. This is quintessential 1996 Pessac, featuring scents of warm gravel and scorched earth on a nose that might be classic to some, but a bit dour to others with a penchant for more hedonistic wines. It’s a structured 1996, drier and more austere than the 1998, but there is good grip and delineation, if maybe just a little leafiness toward the finish. Over the years I have found a bit of bottle variation, and this example falls between the best and worst. Overall, I expected more given the vintage. Give this a couple of hours’ decanting. Tasted at the Vinous 1996 horizontal at Berry Brothers & Rudd.

Burning wood, smoked herbs, leafy tobacco, and sharp red currants with a peppery edge shape the perfume. Crisp, firm, and slanting towards austere in the palate, this is an old-school-styled wine that some tasters will appreciate more than I did. Drink from 2023-2045.

Alarmingly pale color. Already opening bouquet with aromas of compote and overripe berries, quite sweet on the nose, with a subtle note of deerskin. On the palate, medium-bodied to rather light, again showing a lovely extract sweetness, still gently rough around the edges, yet elegant. In such a great vintage, shouldn’t there be more there? The price increase versus the 1995 is in no way justified.

Jean Bernard Delmas told me before pouring the barrel sample: <div style="font-style:italic;color:#990033">Yields were significantly lower than in the 1995 vintage. We will therefore release around 25% less La Mission onto the market. The wine doesn’t have the warmth of the previous year, which is why the tannins currently seem a bit hard. But I believe we have produced the finest Mission since the Château has been owned by the Dillons (18/20).</div> Earthy, herbal bouquet, cherry notes, almost a touch of minerality, deep yet rather slender on the nose. Firm palate, sandy texture, lots of almost essence-like extract at medium concentration; feels bourgeois, almost old-fashioned in style, a Cabernet-driven classic. Unfortunately, all the barrel samples were more promising than the finished bottles (?!). On arrival I was genuinely taken aback when I re-tasted the 96 La Mission at the Château in autumn: markedly lightening colour, only moderate depth. Sweet, plummy aromas with compote-like notes, backed by a tobacco spice. On the palate a slightly dominant, almost drying acidity makes it come across rather austere. It seems tired, yet clearly lacks concentration. I’m so disappointed by this sample that I’m taking a point off and seriously asking myself whether it wasn’t an outrage (demand notwithstanding) to ask so much money for such a meagre Mission. 00: Blind tasting note: alarmingly pale colour. Already opening bouquet scented of compote and overripe berries, quite sweet on the nose, with a subtle venison-leather note. On the palate medium-weight to slender, again a lovely extract sweetness, still gently roughening, showing elegance. In this great year, was there really no more to be had? The price premium over the 95 is nowhere near justified (17/20). 04: Fairly light garnet, clear early signs of maturity. Intense, wild Cabernet bouquet: lots of herbal tones, iodine, Irish moss, hints of green Cabernet and fresh walnut shells; keeps gaining with air. Fleshy, muscular structure, firm extract, still astringent, magnificent length. A wine not to be underestimated, still a good 10 years away from its optimal drinking maturity. But it has improved since the en primeur sample. 06: Still far too young, but now safely on an 18/20 trajectory. Much deeper than before and showing the classic tobacco and walnut-shell note. Two hours decanting. (18/20). 11: Medium-dark garnet, first orange glint at the rim. Apothecary-like aromas, ethereal, walnut shells, red plums, medium-sweet, still a bit closed. First nuances on the palate, round tannins, medium body, tending toward greatness and elegance, though the depth—for this terroir—could be a touch more pronounced.

Spicy, fresh, powerful bouquet with plum, tobacco, precious woods, mocha and black pepper. Velvety, dense, sweet, powerful palate with a finely creamy texture, good tannins, intense spicy aromatics, and a long, full finish. 18/20 drink – 2032

Nervy and delicate, but lacking lift and tension for a wine of this reputation, terroir pedigree and price. From 1998 onward, the owners set things right.

Logo on the cork: an inverted T (Trescases) Bad bottle Dark color, medium intensity, showing evolution. Intense nose with ripe fruit, then smoky, animal notes, leather and tar. The palate is caressing at first, fruity through the mid-palate, but quickly shifts to tannins that are a little too harsh for the estate. Medium length.