- CRITICAL REVIEWS
- WINEMAKER NOTES
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
2001 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan, France
Produced in small quantities, this second wine is a gateway to the world of Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion. Its name is a nod to the chapel of La Mission Haut-Brion, built by Lazarist priests in 1698.
TASTING NOTES
This wine has a very rich purple hue, deep and dense. The first whiff emphasizes the scent of the already assimilated woody element. One notes a touch of the bitter sweetness of licorice combined with blackberries, blackcurrants and mulberries. In the mouth one finds an evident harmony which is divulging its structure bit by bit. There is softness with firmness. The vanilla extract slowly oozes from its bean as the succession
of flavors meld and contribute to the complexity of the ripetannin. Finally the aroma of truffle emerges alongside the nuances of licorice and tobacco so typical in this wine.
Such complexity along with this sort of tannin is characteristic of great wines of La Mission.
The WEATHER
The weather conditions this year were very similar to the ones in 2000. The really hot weather in July (7 days were above 30 degrees) and in August (12 days were above 30 degrees), was very noteworthy. Other than two days of heavy rain, it did not rain very much between July 20th and September 20th. As a result the grapes matured slowly but perfectly. During the picking the weather was extremely mild and generally hot and dry with the exception of two days of heavy rain on September 22nd and October 3rd. We did not harvest during those two days.