2016 Château Haut-Brisson St.-Émilion Grand Cru 750 ml

If we could buy stock in Bordeaux, Château Haut-Brisson is where we’d park our money. Instead, we stock up every chance we get. Complex, velvety, and full of energy, the estate’s seamless 2016 delivers textbook Right Bank character that feels closer in quality to its $80 neighbors. 

That's especially true with this release, a hypnotic 94-point St.-Émilion bursting with ripe aromas of wild plum, blackberry, cedar, dried herbs, anise, cigar, and balsam. The wine yields savory notes of tobacco, toast, and clove before its firm, velvety tannins draw out a sweeping finish.

When we’re tempted to break out the precious First Growths in our cellar, we reach for this—and we’ve never been able to secure enough for an offer until today. The bean counters in your house will love this as much for its value as for its $80+ complexity. 

Haut-Brisson benefits from the diversity of its two sun-kissed, south-facing estate vineyards: One is on the limestone plateau of Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse, and the other crests the gravelly hilltops of Saint-Sulpice de Faleyrens, directly next door to Château Monbousquet’s $80 source material. The estate’s 30-year-old vines add layers of complexity, which reward both early drinking and patience. This nuanced red could easily cellar for 15 years.

When owner Peter Kwok first bought the estate in 1997, his first order of business was hiring his close friend, superstar winemaking consultant Michel Rolland, who helped convert the estate vineyards to 100% organic farming. The purity of his Merlot and Cabernet Franc immediately grabbed the attention of major critics like Robert Parker who wrote, “Haut-Brisson has won accolades from this publication since [Kwok’s] first vintage,” advising Wine Advocate readers to “keep a close eye on this property since quality is very impressive.”

Rolland remains to this day, though Haut-Brisson’s iconic roster has since expanded to include some of the brightest brains in Bordeaux, like 100-point viticulturist Thomas Duclos (Château Beau-Séjour-Bécot, Troplong Mondot, and Château Canon) and 100-point winemaker Jerome Aguirre (formerly of Château La Violette and Château Le Gay). Though we’ve been fans for years, every vintage seems to leapfrog the last one in savory, spicy, black-fruited mystique—putting the estate on a trajectory that will make its current pricing seem quaint within the decade. 

That course felt meteoric in 2016, when Bordeaux’s Goldilocks weather meant ample rain in the spring and a hot, dry summer that ripened impeccable grapes while adding a thrilling rush of acidity thanks to unusually cool evenings. The result was a vintage so “epic” that Vinous critic Antonio Galloni recounted being unable to “sleep at the end of even the longest days [of tasting] because the wines are exhilarating, emotional, and incredibly delicious to taste.”

Touring the beautifully terraced property with General Manager Jean-Christophe “JC” Meyrou on our last trip to Bordeaux, we felt the same, sensing a palpable energy humming through the estate that wasn’t limited to the wine in our glasses. We doubled down, brokered a deal, and finally secured enough to share today. 

Mark our words, if you’re unfamiliar with Haut-Brisson, it’s a good time to get acquainted. Those who took a long position on Bordeaux’s most famous names when they were still affordable know the drill, and Haut-Brisson won’t be a bargain for long.