Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2000

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2000 has barely budged in its evolution since it was bottled and released in 2002. After ten years in bottle, it still reveals a dense opaque purple color along with a potentially sensational bouquet of blueberries, black currants, graphite, asphalt and background oak. Extremely powerful, full-bodied and superbly concentrated with good acidity and high but round tannins, this massive La Mission-Haut-Brion should take its place among this estate’s most hallowed vintages when it hits full maturity in another one to two decades. I was surprised by just how youthful this wine tasted at age 12. If tasted blind, I would have guessed it to be around 4 to 5 years old. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050.

More range here, with fresh bay and warm tapenade notes leading the way for a well-packed core of macerated fig, black currant and blackberry fruit flavors. Plenty tarry on the back end, but with a velvety edge that hangs on nicely. -- Blind 2000 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2015). Drink now through 2023. 7,205 cases made.

Compared to the 1990, this is clearly a much more 'modern' wine with deep, youthful colour, dark cassis, kirsch and black olive notes on the palate. Powerfully built with firm tannins suggesting this still has a long way to go. Earthy, meaty characters, and a dryness to the tannins confirming the lack of rainfall during the growing season. Likely to flesh out and add richness over the next 15+ years. After a mild winter, spring was very hot and warm, before the onset of extremely dry conditions lasting into September. A very fine, long-living La Mission.

This is tight and beautiful, with a firm tannin structure and a beautiful silky texture. Full and concentrated, with a destiny. In the glass it keeps evolving, notes of iodine, spices, cedar, and earth tempt the senses. This still needs some time to come together. Don’t touch it until 2015.

The 2000 La Mission Haut-Brion is consistent with my most recent note, although I must admit that I felt there was a touch more brett on the nose than the previous example. Black cherries and iodine to the fore, with some undergrowth and Provençal herbs, it is very complex. The palate is medium-bodied, well balanced and still peppery with a saline finish. Excellent, but I'm going to detract a point for that brett. Tasted at the château.

2000 La Mission Haut Brion is a showstopper. Powerful, with a regal bearing, the wine is perfectly ripe, with seamless waves of sweet blackberries, currants, ocean salts and even hints of blue fruits. Rich and intense, with lush, palate-staining textures, it is still youthful with decades of pleasure ahead. It has consistently performed at this high level. Drink from 2026-2060.

On the nose, delicately floral, with fine herbal spice, pleasant berry confit, and a subtle touch of fine oak. The palate is rich in finesse, full-bodied, with crunchy tannins, fruity, already very well balanced, showing good length, an excellent food wine. Store/drink: 40+ years.

Off the charts in every way (if I had to pick a desert island wine, this would be in the top handful), the 2000 Château La Mission Haut-Brion is deep, rich, layered, multi-dimensional, and full-bodied, with a sensational perfume of currants, tobacco, roasted herbs, graphite, and some iron nuances. Powerful and concentrated on the palate, it's nevertheless weightless, with silky, pure, graceful tannins and not a hard edge to be found. Just absolutely sensational, and if this doesn't do it for you, nothing will. Count yourself lucky if you have bottles in the cellar, as it's going to continue drinking amazingly well for another 30, 40, 50+ years. Drink 2026-2076.

Dark, almost black garnet with a fine purple rim. A delicate bouquet of mint and herbs, black berries, prunes, blackcurrant, tobacco, nut shells and dark precious woods—still very reserved and restrained. Dense, concentrated palate with plenty of black fruit and chocolate notes, tobacco, cedar and currants, plus a subtle lingering bitterness; good structure with slightly bourgeois tannins, which is normal for a great Mission. Not a wine for impatient drinkers.

01: Dark, almost black garnet with a fine purple rim. Delicate mint-and-herb bouquet, black berries, prunes, black currant, tobacco, nut shells and dark precious woods; still very reserved and restrained. Dense, concentrated palate with lots of black berries and chocolate notes, tobacco, cedar and currants; still a fine bitterness, good backbone with slightly bourgeois tannins—exactly what you’re used to from a great Mission. Nothing for the impatient! Shortly before bottling: near the turn of the century! (19/20). 05: Served at home as a finale after a few Missions (1985, 1986, 1990). Still very closed, but already delicate on the nose: noble woods, fine caramel, hazelnuts, rock sugar, complex. On the palate, meaty, far finer than Missions usually are; you could easily mistake it for a Haut-Brion. Certainly a great wine, but probably no longer with the chance of ever cashing in its possible 20/20. Considering its price, there are much cheaper alternatives at the same level. I tasted a small remainder again three days later: absolutely fresh, as if just opened, which bodes well for its longevity (19/20). At the Coburg in April 2006 at a dinner: wonderfully sweet, juicy, a lovely vanilla note and almost buttery in flow. The youthful sin was worth it in every respect. 10: Now it has earned its 20 points. Developing splendidly. A tremendous powerhouse nose, showing a subtle, noble hint of aceto, Hasch-Hisch, herbs, eucalyptus. On the palate simply crazy. A sip you won’t forget anytime soon. (20/20). 11: The colour is not significantly darker than the ’99, i.e., garnet with ruby and purple reflections. Volatile start to the nose, black berries, smoke, spicy depth with truly wonderful terroir perfume. Firm on the palate, fine texture, a slightly green-bitter note. Far from what I have in mind for this wine. So one has to assume a touch of cork taint. No rating for this bottle at the Non-Business-Mission vertical at Kreuz Emmen. (20/20). 12: Extremely dark purple with black reflections. A dream bouquet, very layered: lots of fine exotic wood notes, cardamom, cinnamon, cake fruits, arabica coffee, truffle—an intoxicating and moving aromatic picture; you could smell it for hours. Great, perfect palate, a peacock’s wheel of very ripe Cabernet aromas, juicy, silky, and at the same time powerful. These descriptive words somehow don’t fit together at all, yet they show the possible range of this absolutely perfect Mission. Among the best 2000s and among the best recent Missions. Anyone who finds the slightest flaw here should become a private detective and stop drinking wine immediately. (20/20). 20: Deep garnet with a dense core. Virtually no signs of maturity to be seen. The bouquet takes off right away—with dramatic complexity and incredible nasal power. Lots of ripe fruit, the typical Mission herbal note, and traces of profound meaty depth and the fullness-giving Merlot component. It goes quite deep, showing dark chocolate notes, Havana tobacco and Périgord truffle. The longer the air contact, the more clearly the parade of herbs appears. An incredible perfume. On the palate, this gigantic Mission combines finesse and power with dramatic length. Great today and, most certainly, in the decades to come as well. Whereas I used to rate it as rather boisterous, today—20 years after the harvest—it has found its perfect harmony. (20/20).

Deep, complex, fruity, creamy bouquet with notes of black berries, dried plums, dark tobacco and mahogany. Concentrated, dense, powerful palate with plenty of fine tannins, a focused structure, dense dark fruit and intense aromatics. Very long, dense, concentrated finish. 20/20. Drink – 2050.

Just beginning to fully blossom into truffles and crushed roses, still with the autumnal fruits cradled by firm but fine tannins. A thoroughly seductive wine, easy to fall into, at a great moment to drink, giving hints of tertiary while still walking the line. Jean-Bernard Delmas director.

A truly great wine, complete in structure and texture, with very noble tannins, perfectly balanced despite its monumental stature. Tremendous potential for ageing.

A great wine with a more classic, straighter profile than its illustrious neighbor Haut-Brion. The palate is balanced and precise, with volume perfectly framed by an elegant tannic structure. Long, fresh finish.

Logo on the cork: an upside-down T (Trescases) Dark, intense color, slightly evolved. Intense nose, reduced and a bit animal, needing aeration. Smooth on the attack, melting as it develops, powerful and mellow on the mid-palate; the wine picks up pace on the finish, ending very long and complex. Too bad about the nose that day.