La Mission Haut Brion 1955 (1.5L)

100 RP / 100 WA / 98 VM

Actual bottle shown.

Tasted 13 Times With Consistent Notes Even allowing for the greatness of Haut-Brion and Mouton-Rothschild, the 1955 La Mission is the "wine of the vintage." It possesses a sweet, cedary, clove, smoke, and black-raspberry-scented nose, and rich, full-bodied, remarkably harmonious flavors that ooze with ripe fruit, glycerin, and heady alcohol. The tannin has totally melted away, and the wine reveals considerable rust at the edge, so it is unlikely that the 1955 will improve with further cellaring. There is no indication of any fragility or decline, so this wine can be safely drunk for 10-15 more years. It is an amazing, complex, superbly well-balanced La Mission-Haut-Brion! - Robert Parker

Tasted at the evening dinner in Southwold. This bottle was brought by John Avery just a few weeks before he passed away and as usual, anything from his uncle’s stash of claret usually leaves you speechless. Quite simply, this bottle is as good as Bordeaux gets. It has a deep, clear hue. The nose is difficult to describe in words: a spellbinding kaleidoscope of red berries, black truffle, a touch of anis and then Cepes. It is complete and heavenly with delineation that is unimaginable. The palate is medium-bodied with immense depth and structure, but by no means a powerful Graves. It is underpinned by melted, fine tannins, a silky texture and indeterminate secondary flavours nigh impossible to pin down. This is even better than the one bottle I tasted from the chateau in 2008. People say there is no such thing as a perfect wine. This fathomless beauty would probably agree, blissfully unaware that it could not be improve in any way or fashion. Thanks John! Tasted January 2012. - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate

The 1955 La Mission Haut-Brion, served from double magnum, presented quite a contrast to what had been a set of mostly delicate wines up until this point. The 1955 La Mission offered up a compelling array of cigar box, ash, smoke, earthiness and dark fruit in a deep, powerful style. There were elements of a wild, almost animalistic quality to the wine that added to its personality. This was a magnificent bottle of an iconic wine. July 2009. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media