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News
The 1928 and 1929 vintages are considered to be among the greatest back-to-back vintages in Bordeaux history, despite being very different in character. While 1928 was a tannic vintage, 1929 went down in history as the most opulent vintage of the period, until decades later when the great 1959 vintage came along. It was a successful vintage across the board, with the production of ripe, lush, sexy wines on both the Right and Left Bank. Despite critics of the time falsely predicting (as would later befall 1959) that these wines would not last, some of the greatest and most long-lived wines of the century were produced in 1929, specifically on the Right Bank in Pomerol and St-Emilion. These 1929s rank among the most sought-after and expensive wines of all time.
Wine Description
The Story
Château Haut-Brion is the oldest and by far the smallest of the "Premiers Grands Crus" vineyards of the Gironde 1855 classification. Château Haut-Brion is one of the few remaining family-owned domains of the Bordeaux region with a history going back to the 16th century. It has been owned by the American Dillon family since 1935.
There is an amazing dual hit of black fruit and fine-grained tannins here, which is rounded off with a wonderful creaminess. The fruit is encased in a huge structure, which is not always easy to assess when tasting en primeur, but it has a lovely fleshiness to it and the wine is multi-layered with flavours evolving in the mouth. Notes of cocoa, vanilla and tar show towards the finish and it all ends completely seamlessly. The tannins are extremely ripe and well-integrated. Ch. Haut-Brion is often understated at this stage, which serves to underline how fine this wine will be.
Château Haut-Brion Thomas Jefferson, the american ambassador to Paris and later President of the United States of America, visited Haut Brion on May 25th 1787 commenting in his journals about the soils of the vineyards as well as mentioning that there were four vineyards of first quality Château Margaux, Château Latour Ségur, Château Haut Brion and Château La Fite. He also wrote:"Haut Brion is a wine of the first rank and seems to please the American palate more than all the others that I have been able to taste in France.“ Jean de Pontac began constituting the Haut-Brion vineyard, in the Graves region, in 1525.
His descendants went on to produce "New French Claret," the precursor of today's great wines. Their efforts enabled Arnaud III de Pontac to sell his wine under the estate's name as early as 1660. Called “vin de Pontac”, then Haut-Brion, it gained a fine reputation and enormous success in London. The first of the Bordeaux great growths was born. Through the centuries, the owners and managers of Haut-Brion have been obsessed with perpetuating the château's reputation for quality. Classified a First Growth in 1855, Haut-Brion has done everything possible ever since then to maintain its standing. To perpetuate its Grand Cru status, an estate and its constituent parts have to be maintained over the centuries, suitable grape varieties for each plot have to be chosen, and a relentless selection process carried out. Today, a great American family, the Dillons, has been continuing this tradition for seventy years.
Wine Information
1929 AN EXCEPTIONAL YEAR
Very dense color. The wine is powerful and extremely tannic. Good development in the mouth. Though very rich and complex, it is always dominated by tannin.Needs more time to mature.
Weather conditions
Sum of temperatures : 3267°C
Rain : 225 mm
Current vintage notes
A hot, extremely dry year, the driest since the start of the century. The juices were
very concentrated and the wines characterized by an enormous richness of tannin. Wines slow to mature, but with exceptional structure.
Vintage 1929
The year 1929 was an extraordinary year in the vineyards of Bordeaux as well as on Wall Street. When the U.S. stock market crashed in 1929, it produced several unwanted effects abroad, especially in Europe, where many countries had not fully recovered from the aftermath of World War I. In Germany the economic disaster and the resulting social dislocation contributed to the rise of Adolf the United States there were 16 million unemployed – about a third of the available labour force.
In Bordeaux the 1929 is one of the “legendary” vintages of the century. Its reputation was made even greater as the 30s were really a catastrophic decade, and it was not until 1945 that anything of equivalent quality was made. In Bordeaux those sixteen years were one of the longest “dark periods” in the 20th century. The year of 1929 was extremely hot and dry, the driest since the beginning of the century. It only rained for a short period during the harvest, but then the fine and hot weather came back again. The grapes became very concentrated, high in tannins and produced wine to last.
Recommended glass shape
Average Bottle Price
2023 | 2021 | 2019 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2005 | 2000 | 1995 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 160€ +26.4% | 3 290€ +8.6% | 3 030€ +10.4% | 2 745€ +13.9% | 2 411€ +10.1% | 2 189€ +5.4% | 2 077€ +18.3% | 1 756€ -7.2% | 1 893€ +42.5% | 1 328€ +49.2% | 890€ +106.0% | 432€ +23.8% | 349€ |