Château Haut-Brion - Pessac-Léognan - Rouge 1999

Wine:

Château Haut-Brion is the only propriety from Pessac-Léognan to have been included in the 1855 Classification. This distinction is enough to hold it up as a giant apart. The wines are titanic heavyweights with civilized tannin whose aging capacity goes beyond several generations. The 1999 is monumental. The fullness on the palate is insane and the almost creamy texture fosters the smoky and blond tobacco notes that charaterize it.

Vinification:

Hand harvested, vinification in thermo-regulated vats, 100% aging in new oak casks for around twenty months (the château is also one of the very few to possess its own cooperage).

Color:

Lively, dark red colour

Nose:

On the nose, great harmony, a superb range of aromas, light aromas of oak, vanilla, caramel, red fruit, blackberries, cherries and liquorice.

Palate:

On the palate, we again find all the balance and fullness of the aromatic range with smoky and tobacco notes. The finish is long and exquisitely soft. Extraordinary!

Temperature:

Serve between 16 and 18°C

Food and wine pairing:

Rack of lamb, large cuts of beef

Cellar aging:

Enjoy up to and including 2015

Château Haut-Brion is the oldest and smallest in size of the vineyards classified "Premiers Crus Classés" in 1855. It is also the only wine from Graves to be included in this classification and the only one to have been classified twice as it also features in the Graves classifications of 1955. The château has been in the Dillon family since 1935.