Château Haut-Brion 2015

Unusual Haut-Brion, because generously endowed, full-bodied and almost fiery, dense and expansive, you have the impression of sinking into this wine as into a soft and comfortable cushion.

A brick house of a wine, loaded with roasted fig, warmed currant compote and plum reduction flavors that are as broad as they are deep, carried by warm tar, ganache and smoldering bay leaf and charcoal notes. A swath of tobacco through the finish pulls everything together and ties it up with a bow of roasted mesquite. The core shows lean, muscular strength in spades. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2045. 11,250 cases made.

94–96. Barrel Sample. Dark tannins dominate this dense and concentrated wine. It does have some flavors of extraction that will probably disappear as the wine ages further in barrel. For the rest, the black fruits are impressive and shaping up beautifully.

Rich and sumptuous on the palate with huge depth of fruit yet reined in by fresh acidity, with masses of tight tannins. It's already appealing to drink (as are many 2015s) this really needs a decade or more to allow it to fully develop. The 15% alcohol is carried so easily here, with the crushed rock, sage, lavender and warm earth characters making it a standout First growth. Rated as a 100-point wine by many influential judges and undoubtedly one of the wines of the vintage.

This is all about seduction and beauty with tobacco, berries, tea and wet earth. Full-bodied, round and sexy. Love the polished and beautiful tannins. Racy and refined. Try in 2023.

A huge, dramatic wine, the 2015 Haut-Brion is magnificent. Vertical in its construction and towering in its reach, the 2015 is going to need a good decade-plus to even start becoming approachable, as it needs to lose baby fat and develop the full range of its aromatics. Even at this early stage, though, it is wonderfully complete and positively stunning.

If the color does not let you know you're in for a treat, the nose is going to knock you over with its floral, smoke, cigar wrapper, black cherry and cassis notes. The purity of fruit here is off the charts. The wine is all about its silk and velvet textures from that point forward. The finish is so expansive, it feels like it keeps on going, moving across an array of flavors long after you've put the wine where it was supposed to go. This is the best wine yet produced by Jean Philippe Delmas yet. Bravo!

Deep garnet with purple reflections and delicate rim brightening. Tobacco backed black forest berry fruit, delicate hints of liquorice and nougat, candied orange zest, overall an inviting bouquet. Complex, ripe dark cherry, taut, still somewhat demanding tannins, some bitter chocolate on the finish, salty finish, will benefit greatly from a few years of maturity.

The 2015 Haut Brion is a perfect wine that couldn't be any better and is certainly at the top of this great vintage. A Blend of 50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Cabernet Franc, this full-bodied, concentrated, backward, yet sensationally pure 2015 boasts knockout notes of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, ground herbs, and graphite, with a terrific damp earth/minerality quality emerging with time in the glass. Straight, focused, and built like a skyscraper, with a stacked mid-palate, forget bottles for 7-8 years and enjoy over the following three to four decades.

50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet Colour, dense in the centre, lilac shimmer at the edge. Blind tasted, I would have readily guessed at a great Californian just from the Nose. The Bouquet reveals dark chocolate, mint and a hint of eucalyptus. On the Palate fleshy, massive structure, rounded tannins, yet with enough grip for a very long life. The balance is wonderful, the lingering, still concentration-filled finish is already elegantly laden with deep dark tobacco and blueberries. "Are there possibly comparable vintages here?", I ask Jean-Philippe Délmas. He replies: "Hopefully there will never be vintages that compare exactly to an existing Haut-Brion. As a rule, at best they are possible combinations between two vintages. But that is always also just a hypothesis. For us, the important thing is to make the greatest possible wine and we have seized those opportunities this year!" As we parted, he mentioned that the 2011 Haut-Brion is developing magnificently.

50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc. A deep purple-garnet colour, dense in the middle, lilac shimmer on the edges. Had I not known I was sitting at Haut-Brion tasting a primeur, I might well have naively guessed a grand Californian on the nose. The Bouquet: dark chocolate, mint and a hint of eucalyptus. On the palate fleshy, massive structure, rounded tannins, yet with enough grip for a very long life ahead, the balance is wonderful, the persistent finish, still showing concentration, is already brimming with dark tobacco and blueberries. "Are there possibly comparable vintages here?", I asked Jean-Philippe Délmas. He replied: "Hopefully, there will never be vintages that correspond exactly to an existing Haut-Brion. Generally, at best, they are possible combinations between two vintages. But that's always a hypothesis. For us, the important thing is to make the greatest wine possible and we seized our chances this year!". As we parted ways, he also remarked that he would of course have the opportunity to regularly re-taste existing vintages. The 2011 Haut-Brion would develop beautifully. In terms of vintage and current market price, it's currently a real hidden gem.

(50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc) Deep, dense, elegant, silky, complex nose with dark berries, dried fruit, tobacco, fine woods, mint, fine liquorice, fine eucalyptus, dark chocolate. Balanced, densely woven, elegant, multi-layered palate with fine, powerful fruit, silky, elegant structure, dense and varied aromatics, plenty of fine tannin, very long, dense, finely opulent finish with many sweet aftertaste notes. Still has room to develop. 19/20 2024 - 2050

Stately, muscular, nuanced, waves of toasted cumin, black tea, pomegranate, sandalwood, cloves, smoke, tar, tobacco, intense and concentrated, clearly decades ahead. Rich and powerful, leans into the fingerprint of the vintage but makes it its own. Jean-Philippe Delmas estate director, Jean-Philippe Masclef technical director. 78% new oak for ageing.

The 2015 Haut-Brion is composed of 50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet in colour, it rolls out of the glass with a youthful, still primary core of juicy black plums, crushed blackcurrants, and boysenberries, before revealing evocative notes of iron ore, violets, dark chocolate, and licorice with a waft of tar. The full-bodied Palate is packed with muscular black fruits and lots of mineral nuances, framed by very firm, very fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. Stunning!

Monumental body, magnificent textural depth yet without heaviness, tannin and oak of great pedigree, very promising indeed and in our view truly a step above Mission for long-term ageing.

It will be among the legends produced by the château. With a flamboyant character, yet with remarkable tannin quality, with smoky and persistent fruity notes that characterise the vintage. It should of course be forgotten in the cellar for at least a decade.

Deep garnet red. Elegant, subtle and complex bouquet. Great finesse and precision in the nose. Notes of dark berries such as blueberries and blackberries. Fruity and creamy attack. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, rich, elegant and endowed with powerful tannins that reveal themselves subtly through to the finish. The structure provides freshness and breeding. The whole forms an impressive ensemble of delicacy and power. Persistent fruity finish. A truly great wine made for generations to come.

Dark, intense and beautiful colour. Very aromatic nose, pure, subtle, fresh and ripe. Soft on the palate entry, then very caressing and enveloping on the development, with plenty of flavour, the wine evolves long and silky, with a touch of austerity in the finish. However, it lasts very long.