Pessac-Léognan · first growth (1er grand cru classé) in 1855
Château Haut-Brion: available vintages, prices and pairings
Haut-Brion and its neighbours owned by the same family, La Mission Haut-Brion and La Tour Haut-Brion, old vintages included, vintage by vintage, with the format, the indicative price and what to expect from it today: ready to drink, or to keep. Tick what interests you, and the quote goes out with your selection.
Vintages on the price list
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Three wines, one owner
Three separate estates, on either side of the same road in Pessac, brought together by the same family.
Château Haut-Brion
The only red outside the Médoc classified in 1855, and as a first growth. Merlot and cabernet sauvignon in similar shares, a little cabernet franc. Softer when young than the Médoc first growths, it still needs fifteen years and holds for fifty.
Château La Mission Haut-Brion
The neighbour, across the road, a Graves classified growth, bought by the same family in 1983. Denser, darker, also built for very long ageing.
Château La Tour Haut-Brion
A Graves classified growth whose vines were absorbed into La Mission after the 2005 vintage. The bottles remaining are old vintages.
Haut-Brion is the first Bordeaux wine sold under the name of its estate: in 1663, the English diarist Samuel Pepys noted drinking a “Ho Bryan” in London. The family of Clarence Dillon, an American banker, has owned it since 1935. The vineyard is now surrounded by the town of Pessac, like that of Pape Clément. Its second wine is called Le Clarence de Haut-Brion. The other châteaux of the appellation are on the page Pessac-Léognan wines.
Haut-Brion and La Mission share the same gravel terrace, small quartz pebbles lying over a subsoil of clay, sand, limestone and faluns (shelly marl). These deposits, from twenty centimetres to more than three metres thick, are drained by the Peugue and the Serpent streams. Haut-Brion covers 51 hectares, 48 of them in red varieties; La Mission, 29 hectares, nearly 25 of them red. For Haut-Brion, 2000 was a year of record heat, with a dry, scorching summer; 2002, a very dry year, harvested without a drop of rain. At La Mission, 1998 benefited from an exceptionally hot August, which suits this early-ripening terroir.
What to serve it with
- An old vintage: woodcock, partridge, hare (wine with game). A simple dish: the wine makes the meal.
- A vintage fifteen to twenty-five years old: saddle of lamb (wine with lamb), beef fillet with truffles (wine with beef).
- With cheese: an old Comté, a truffled Brillat-Savarin (wine with cheese).
Which vintage for which occasion
For a birthday or a wedding anniversary, the year you want, if the table has it (birth-year vintage). For a collector, a first growth in its original wooden case (which wine to give). To compare two neighbours, Haut-Brion and La Mission from the same vintage, side by side.
Why was Haut-Brion classified in 1855 when it is not in the Médoc?
The 1855 classification was based on wine prices, and Haut-Brion was already selling at the level of the three Médoc first growths. It is the only Graves red included. It has also been a Graves classified growth since 1953.
Are Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion the same wine?
No. Same family, same team since 1983, neighbouring vineyards, but two estates and two wines. La Mission is not classified in 1855; it is a Graves classified growth, and its great vintages sometimes sell at first-growth prices.
When should you drink a Haut-Brion?
Allow fifteen years before opening it and fifty years of good form, a little more in a great year, a little less in a weak year or in half-bottle; for La Mission, twelve to forty years. The table applies this rule to each line; it is not a tasting note, and a badly stored bottle ages faster.
Are the prices shown the quote prices?
They are the indicative prices from the price list, incl. VAT, per bottle of the format, excluding delivery. The quote confirms the price, the availability of each vintage and the shipping; the delivery grid gives lead times. For a vintage not in the table, the quote request is still open.