Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2001

The 2001’s juicy, peppery, meaty bouquet reveals notions of black currants, black cherries, tobacco leaf, and smoky barbecue. This expressive, medium-bodied, seductive La Mission has shed most of its tannin, revealing a gentle roundness. The wine builds incrementally in the mouth, finishing with impressive purity and length. Neither the biggest nor most flamboyant La Mission-Haut-Brion, it is a classic example to drink over the next 10-15 years while waiting for the bombastic, massive 2000 to evolve.

Very complex, with blackberries, flowers and minerals. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and a fresh, sweet fruit aftertaste. Refined La Mission. Beautiful. Best after 2008. 600 cases imported.

Very expressive of the ‘warm bricks’ character. Heady and rich. Full and broad. Seductive and yet not the most refreshing. Dry finish. But lots of hedonism here. Long and reverberant. (JR)

The 2001 La Mission Haut-Brion is less complex on the nose than the preceding millennial vintage. There is more blue fruit here, and perhaps greater purity compared to the 2000, though it does not quite possess the same amplitude. The saline, medium-bodied palate delivers supple tannins and hints of tangy black olives (kalamata, maybe?), and shows wonderful substance and grip toward the pure finish. Jean-Philippe Delmas commented on the “surprising depth” of the 2001, which is true. But for now, the 2000 has a bit more personality. 13.2% alcohol. Tasted at the château with Jean-Philippe Delmas.

Mint leaf, cigar wrappers, cedar, blackberries, currants and a touch of smoke pop on the nose. The palate has softened and filled out, giving you softness to the fruit and roundness in the elegantly textured finish. 30–60 minutes in the decanter, and this is good to go. Drink from 2025–2037.

Opened four bottles. They ranged from mushroomy to oxidative on the nose, and on the palate from bitter to austere. In fact, they were all faulty. Bitter and austere. Yet I’ve had 19/20 experiences here before.

02: Less Mission – more Haut-Brion! Compared to 2000, the 2001 vintage had about 10% less Mission (6,400 cases), but about 2% more Haut-Brion (11,800 cases). The Mission is more concentrated and showed slightly higher alcohol by volume in its figures: 13.57% vol. versus 13.18% vol. for Haut-Brion. Note from the en primeur tasting: dark, deep garnet with ruby and violet highlights. Noble, delicate bouquet, lots of blueberry fruit mixed with ripe yet slightly floral Cabernet spice, chocolate and mint tones, dark pralines, rosewood notes, warm and aromatic. Velvety, meaty palate, plenty of fat in the tannins which already show roundness on the outside but present, on the inside, a characterful, unfortunately slightly firm note; only on the finish does the massive tannin structure come to the fore, hinting that this is a wine that will exude a certain charm early on, yet still belongs to the very long-lived Missions. In direct comparison, Mission brings more aromatics and also a bit more flesh than Haut-Brion. Together with Pape-Clément, the undisputed leader of the appellation. So at the moment clearly better than Haut-Brion. 05: Dark, saturated garnet-purple. Creamy, sweet bouquet, slightly lactic, butter and roasted almonds, pralines and light caramel, absolutely noble, even if for now still somewhat affected by the sweetness of the barrique. Lots of charm on the palate, complex, soft and silky, almost reminiscent of a modern Napa wine; behind that, ripe, blueberry Cabernet Sauvignon with a clear cassis note. Great Mission, which also indicates that the old technique is clearly over, which may suggest a new flavor profile for this château long regarded as very traditional. 08: In Vienna, the wine flowed in abundance with Tafelspitz at the Hotel Sacher. Caramel, red cherries, pink pepper, very elegant with an initial drinkability that is still far from actual peak enjoyment. (19/20). 09: Dark, dense garnet. Herbal bouquet, tobacco, currants, fine smoky notes, pumpernickel. Great palate, meaty, showing terrific concentration, elderberry, blackcurrant, round on the outside, powerful inside, brilliant length. Keeps gaining and is one of the not-so-secret stars of the vintage. Back then, still far cheaper than the Premiers and thus a great value buy. 10: At a lunch at La Mission. Everyone was delighted. You can already fetch the corkscrew. But don’t drink the whole case right away. (19/20). 12: Dark wine-red, beautiful core, no signs of maturity yet. Delicate, very multi-layered bouquet, showing an initial, gentle opening, red and blackcurrants, but also some blackberries, a hint of cinnamon and fine woods, seductive roasted notes. Harmonious palate, beautifully laid out and with a very fine, still supporting astringency. Pure elegance. Here finesse and power come together. One of the strongest purchase recommendations for true Mission fans. 14: At a dinner at Haut-Brion. It was decanted exactly on point and gave enormous pleasure. 15: Magnum bottles at Schloss Brandis on the R&R evening. That was almost infanticide. The bottles were extremely young. A gigantic Mission. Patience pays in Pessac! (19/20). 16: Drunk at the Gupf. Gave a lot of pleasure and was emptied (too) quickly. 16: At the big 2001 tasting in Eschenbach. While I was removing the capsules and uncorking the bottles, Patrick Bopp decanted the bottles about two hours before the start. He always sniffs over the funnel and plastic sieve while pouring. When it was Mission’s turn, he muttered, “not again, I also had six bottles of that. Only one was really great, the others showed a certain oxidation. They all went into the spaghetti sauce!” And since this was the case, it made little sense to open even more bottles and we served them with the explanation that Mission 2001 has a bottle problem. Of our four bottles, only one was somehow good. So it’s a massive bottle lottery… 18: Yet another almost spoiled bottle at the Kracher tasting in Podersdorf. (19/20). 20: Medium-deep garnet, gently lightening at the rim. The bouquet is fragrant, multi-layered with an elegant entry. The remaining berry notes fluctuate from red to dark-berried, light leather and licorice, and on the flow a gently full malty note shows. On the palate it comes across as surprisingly feminine, showing a very special grace. The extract still has a fine, sandy texture and demonstrates that it can remain in this wonderful plateau of drinkability for a very long time. Its small problem that evening was that it had to hold its own in the lineup against 2000 and 2004. But it did quite well. An insider tip among the “medium” Mission vintages. Unfortunately, there are no bargain offers for this wine in the Swiss wine-buying network. (19/20).

Captures the easy drinkability of the 2001s at this stage, heading towards 25 years old, still a vibrant pale raspberry colour and now crammed with soft caressing tannins. The fruit character is all finessed spun raspberry and redcurrant puree, with tobacco and white truffle waves through the finish. Easily passes the level test - meaning that the level of this glass goes down extremely quickly, as it is deliciously moreish. Harvest September 17 to October 6, 75% new oak for ageing after a summer that saw almost no rain between July 20 and September 20, with just a few days of more challenging weather during harvest. Jean-Philippe Delmas director.

Haut-Brion 2001 is a beautiful wine that is both dense and elegant, marked by lovely smoky notes. It has length, plenty of finesse and class. A great success.

Logo on the cork: inverted T (Trescases) Dark color, medium intensity with some evolution. Discreet nose, fruity and vanilla. Silky on the attack, perfumed mid-palate, flavorful, with a supple body yet clearly present on the second part of the palate; the wine finishes long, with a lovely cedar note. Above all, it’s essentially impossible to spit out.

The nose fully opens up after a few minutes of aeration, releasing subtle notes of smokiness, precious woods and candied black fruits. The palate is dense, still compact, with well-defined tannins and lovely volume. The finish then lingers at length. Broader than Haut-Brion.