La Mission Haut Brion 2006 (1.5L)

97 DE / 96 WE / 95 RP / 95 WA / 95 WS / 94+ VM / 19 JR

Colour still tight and inky at 10 years old. Smooth, silky, very expressive; this is so powerful it almost lulls you into a false sense of security with the tannin integration on the first attack. Deceptively concentrated, this has persistency and freshness, plus layers of crushed black fruits, tar, cigar smoke and saffron. Right up there with the best wines of the tasting. - Decanter, Jane Anson

Wonderful sweet fruit, velvet in texture, with concentrated ripe fruits and red berries. This is a wine that rolls sumptuously around the mouth, the tannins certainly dense but full of the same sweetness as the fruit. The final flavor is perfumed and fresh. Deceptively attractive, it will profit from many years' aging. Cellar Selection. - RV, Wine Enthusiast

One of the vintage's top wines is the 2006 La Mission-Haut-Brion. From bottle, it reminds me of the 1998, given its structure and backward style. Dense ruby/purple-colored, it possesses a boatload of tannin, but with coaxing, tobacco leaf, sweet black currant, burning ember, and blue fruit characteristics emerge. While thick and full-bodied, the tannins seem more elevated than I remember from barrel. It is going to be a beauty, but like many of the top 2006s, considerable patience is required. Only 55% of the production made it into the grand vin as Jean-Philippe Delmas made a severe selection. The final blend was 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2006 has one of the highest natural alcohols ever achieved at La Mission, averaging around 14.3%, which is astonishingly high for a Graves. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2035. - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

Tasted blind at Southwold ’06 Bordeaux tasting. This is rich and decadent on the nose with blackberry, damson, fruitcake and Asian spices: complex and well defined, very generous at the moment. Violets developing with further aeration in the glass. The palate has great weight and density, firm, sturdy tannins, good definition, assertive and perhaps even brash with confidence, leading to a chewy, reticent finish that shuts up shop and says come back later...in about 10-15 years. Almost Pauillac-like in style at this early juncture, but the La Mission has the upper hand over Haut-Brion at the moment. - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate

Almost jammy, with vanilla bean and coffee undertones. Full-bodied and very powerful, with big, juicy tannins and a long finish. Very big and generous for the vintage, showing exceptional quality. Best after 2015. 6,000 cases made. — JS, Wine Spectator

Medium ruby-red. Roasted redcurrant, scorched earth, minerals, roasted herbs, Cuban cigar tobacco and licorice on the rather forbidding nose. Densely packed but with a light touch thanks to penetrating acidity and minerality. Showing no easy sweetness today, with red fruits lurking in the deep background. Finishes with chewy, serious tannins whose youthful toughness calls for a decade of aging. - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media

Tasted blind. Rich, savoury beef-extract nose. Racy and thick. Massively flattering and concentrated. Rich but not too sweet. Sinewy. - Jancis Robinson