Haut Brion vs La Mission 1964-2003

[Winona Chief]

Tonight's tasting - get back to you later after I've had a chance to sober up.

[Nicklasss]

:-0

Nic

[JimHow]

Those are two pretty good wines.

[Tom In DC]

Running in the high roller set!

[dstgolf]

Suspense mounts. Chris's heavy head keeping us all waiting in anticipation.

[Winona Chief]

Still in recovery mode but here are a few thoughts:

This was a great tasting with a wonderful dinner at Taberna del Alberdaro (a Spanish restaurant in DC). The event was organized by Bijan Jabbari who puts together high end wine dinners. I was quite lucky to be invited to participate.

All the wines were in good shape and seemed correct. I could detect no obvious faults. I didn't take any notes as usual so these are just my impressions.

We started with Champagnes, and the 1996 Taittinger Comtes Blanc de Blancs was a whole level above the 2005 and 2009 Dom Perignon served with it. There was also a 2007 Corton-Charlemagne white Burgundy - only got a very small pour so I don't really have any impression.

The 1964 and 1970 LMHB were both very elegant and aromatic, very nice. The 1970 HB was a bigger and richer wine.

The 1982 HB was mature and ready to go but the 1982 LMHB, though very impressive, needs more time. The 1982 HB was one of my favorite wines of the night

Both the 1990 HB and LMHB were wonderful and in great place for drinking now but with capacity for further aging. Two more favorite wines of the night.

Once again the 1998 HB and LMHB showed very well - early in their drinking windows and oh so good. I had these side by side twice last year so this was no surprise to me.

Both the 2000 HB and LMHB were impressive but tasted SO young - these probably need aging for at least 10 more years.

The 2001 and 2002 HB were very good and seemed characteristic of these vintages.

The 2003 HB and LMHB were both big and bold and fruity - seemed pretty 2003 to me.

We finished the evening off with a 2009 Suduiraut that was very tasty but not too complex.

It was a challenging walk home from the subway after all this.

Chris Bublitz

[stefan]

Lots of great wines there. It is always fun to compare Haut Brion to LMHB.

Your taking the subway after a night like that made me laugh. It calls to mind the time that Lucie and I met Francois for a high end dinner in Paris. We took the metro there, but Francois took pity on us and had his chauffeur drive us home in his limousine.

[Winona Chief]

Stefan, It wasn't all that bad getting home last night. Not like that time 10 years ago, after a horizontal tasting of 25 red Bordeaux from the 1996 vintage, when I fell asleep on the last train and went past my station. A lot of fun trying to hail a cab staggering around in the middle of night.

Chris Bublitz

[Winona Chief]

Now for some real tasting notes on this event, see Kevin Shin's extensive descriptions on Cellar Tracker:

https://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp ... 5d2390ee3a

One interesting subject discussed at the dinner was the change in style at La Mission. Bernard Burtschy (wine critic at Le Figaro) explained that La Mission used to be a much more elegant wine as shown by the 1964 and 1970 but has become richer and more powerful in recent vintages (particularly since 1982).

I brought the 1970 La Mission to this event as a kind of throwaway extra bottle - I had purchased it for $99 at the clearance sale at Wide World of Wines about 4 and a half years ago. I was quite surprised that it was in such perfect condition. I also provided the 1990 Haut Brion that I had purchased on release. Unfortunately, I can no longer afford First Growths.

I would be interested in hearing other BWEers experiences with the wines of Haut Brion and La Mission.

Chris Bublitz

[stefan]

Chris, IMO Haut-Brion is the most consistent of the First Growths; in particular, it produced excellent wine through the 1960s when the other firsts often did not. I have hardly ever drunk H-B and LMHB side by side, but I generally prefer H-B.

[dstgolf]

Chris,

Fabulous night by the sounds of it. I'm on the same page as Stefan that the few times that I've enjoyed HB beside LMHB the former over shadowed the latter by a long shot. Often the problem with these large tastings is that you become to picky comparing usually fabulous wines on their own with one another. A problem that most would love to have though!

One of my biggest disappointments was the 82 LMHB expecting a 100pt wine to give an amazing wow factor and I was left somewhat wanting for a wine that was supposed to be exceptional and fell short of expectation and not unexpected from most 100pters.

[Winona Chief]

I started out with La Mission almost exclusively (of the two) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, drinking the 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1970 so I don't really have much experience with 1960s or early 1970s Haut Brion. Since the 1978 vintage, I have been enjoying both fairly equally. I really like them both a lot and can't say I prefer one or the other.

Chris Bublitz

[JimHow]

I have had some sublime LMHBs, including the '81, '83, '85.

[stefan]

I laugh, Chris, because 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1970 (as well as 1962 and the fabulous 1961, beaten only later by good bottles of the 1982) Haut-Brion sold us on H-B in the 1970s and 1980s.

[Winona Chief]

Danny,
You know, one critic's 100 point wine isn't necessarily going to be your (or my) idea of a 100 point wine. Had a few 100 pointers that I didn't even want to drink - might be great in 20 or 30 years. That being said, I thought the 1982 was really really good but too young. And the 1982 Haut Brion next to it was in such a great place right now.

Stefan,
Well for me La Mission is what was easily available for me in DC back then. I like them both a lot now but those early years with La Mission (and Palmer and Latour and Pichon Lalande) when I was just getting into wine bring back fond memories.

Chris Bublitz

[dstgolf]

Chris,

You hit the nail on the head. The 82 HB against the LMHB isn't comparable. The LMHB pales by comparison. HB is such a much more perfect wine in all respects and it was only given 94pts so take these ratings as a guide and not gospel !!! 100pt wine should be perfect by definition and most fall short.

[DavidG]

What an awesome tasting. Some random Haut Brion thoughts:

Haut Brion was the first first growth I drank and it’s been my favorite for over 30 years.

One of my earliest case purchases was the 1982 HB, bought in the late eighties from David Schildknecht at Pearson’s in DC for probably less than a tenth of what it costs today.

I haven’t had the same vintages of HB and LMHB very often, let alone side by side, but usually prefer HB. 2000 was an exception, where I preferred the La Miss.

1989 Haut Brion remains in the top 5 wines I’ve ever had.

[sdr]

Quicky review by vintage where I’ve had both more than once:

1959-
Haut-Brion: fabulous at best, variable, even years ago
La Mission Haut-Brion: fabulous, earthy, also variable
Tie Score
1961-
Haut-Brion: equal to ‘59, nothing better since, more concentrated
La Mission Haut-Brion: parallels Haut-Brion, really intense, magnificent
Tie Score
1966-
Haut-Brion: austere, okay, not special
La Mission Haut-Brion: many bottles spoiled by volatile acidity
The winner- Haut-Brion
1970-
Haut-Brion: weak, can smell pretty good, though
La Mission Haut-Brion: mostly spoiled by volatile acidity, fair if sound
The winner: Haut-Brion
1975-
Haut-Brion: pretty good, classic profile
La Mission Haut-Brion: massively concentrated and rustic, controversial, I love it
The winner: La Mission Haut-Brion
1982-
Haut-Brion: great, elegant, classic, at peak
La Mission Haut-Brion: fabulous, still young, huge, classic
The winner: either one, depends on what style you prefer
1989:
Haut-Brion: modern day masterpiece, very young still
La Mission Haut-Brion: very good, sometimes disappointing, not a true classic
The winner: Haut-Brion
1990-
Haut-Brion: wonderful, fragrant, medium body, delicious
La Mission Haut-Brion: variably, very good
The winner: Haut-Brion

Sorry, no 21st century examples yet

As others have noted, it’s usually fairly easy to tell them apart, the Haut-Brion lighter and more elegant, the La Mission Haut-Brion more intense, smoky and coarse.

Stu

[Blanquito]

Loved a bottle of the 83 LMHB in December and the 85 LMHB is awesome, but so far from what I’ve tasted, I’m a Haut Brion man.

Great notes, Chris.

[Nicklasss]

Nice notes.

I have been lucky to taste these wines a few times and they surely offer the best of Graves. From memory, I liked very much the 66, 82, 88, 94 , 98 (still young) Haut-Brion and the 82, 85, 86, 95 (still young), 98 (still young) La Mission.

I would give the edge to Haut-Brion as the 82 and 88 are special for me.

The 02 La Mission opened with dstgolf was having an excellent nose, but not a great mouth.

Looking forward to a small sip of Comte Flaneur's 1989 La Mission at BWE Denver...

Nic