Β Tasting Notes
Neal Martin 95
You cannot really go wrong with the 2001 Haut-Brion, which showed similarly to the one tasted just a few weeks earlier. The bouquet positively gushes with black cherries and violets, incense and here, a little more black olive. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins and sweet ripe black fruit laced with graphite, blood orange and hints of Provençal herbs on the substantial finish. It is drinking now but will give pleasure for 20-30 years more.
Anticipated maturity: 2022-2048
Vinous 92+
Full red-ruby, less bright than La Mission. Brooding aromas of raspberry, nuts, menthol and game. Dense, rich, chewy and deep but a bit youthfully closed, showing less personality today than the 2001 La Mission. Larger but not longer. Finishes with building tannins and a minty nuance.
Wine Advocate 95
Tasted blind at Bordeaux Index’s 10-Year On horizontal. This has a very elegant bouquet with blackberry, briary, potter’s kiln and bacon fat with fine delineation and lift. The palate is medium-bodied with great freshness on the entry, very good acidity with red-berried fruit interlaced with cedar, graphite and leather. Very good depth, very feminine and focused with ample freshness on the finish that seems to have Γ’β¬Εfilled outΓ’β¬Β in recent years. Excellent. Tasted March 2011.
Jeb Dunnuck 96
The 2001 ChΓ’teau Haut-Brion is fabulous stuff, with a mature yet lively style in its ripe black fruits, scorched earth, tobacco, and spicy wood-like nuances. With medium to full-bodied richness, it has a round, layered mouthfeel, beautifully integrated tannins, and no hard edges. In short, it’s a thrilling, mature Haut-Brion that’s drinking at point today. It should continue evolving gracefully, yet there’s no need to delay gratification at this point. The 2001 is 52% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 12% Cabernet Franc, pulled from just 50% of the total production.
