2019 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan Bordeaux 750 ml

Robert Parker famously wrote, “I have more bottles of La Mission-Haut-Brion in my private collection than any other wine in the world.” 

For over 600 years, La Mission Haut-Brion (or “La Mish” to its ardent devotees) has charmed royalty, beguiled founding fathers, and seduced the world’s most prominent wine critics with its trademark elegance, complexity, and longevity. It’s a sister property directly adjacent to Haut-Brion, the storied 1855 Premier Grand Cru Classé. It benefits from the same historic third-generation Dillon family stewardship, as well as three generations of direct management under the Delmas family, not to mention the same First Growth terroir and unique Pessac-Léognan micro-climate.

Due to its wind-protected suburban location, the vineyard is usually a couple of degrees warmer on average than its neighbors. That, and its well-draining sandy soils, which are uniquely full of gravel and quartz, give the wine “a precocious and early-maturing style” according to Parker.

Master of Wine Jancis Robinson describes La Mission as "the quintessential insider's wine,” as it’s often overlooked in favor of its slightly more famous (and flashy) First Growth peers. We know better, and after one inhale of its powerful bouquet though, we were reminded of exactly why La Mission Haut-Brion stands with the best of the Left Bank.

2019 La Mission Haut-Brion is a powerhouse of a bottle that's already showing plenty of flash and excitement today. Despite its location across the road from stately Haut-Brion, it’s a more flamboyant, opulent wine—but there’s muscular tannins woven through its fabric and it has a long life ahead of it.