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  • Country ranking ?

    83
  • Producer ranking ?

    9
  • Decanting time

    3h
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    Roast Leg of Lamb with Mint Pesto & Mustard Crumbs

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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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 wonde...

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Wine Information

1959 was proclaimed the wine year of the century by overzealous journalists. Even though it was an excellent year, it simply was not the best of the century. The year started off with ideal weather conditions. Summer was perfect all the way until the autumn, when the rains came in mid-September. But the rains made way for hot, dry weather, thus setting a magnificent stage for the start of the harvest.

The result was a truly ripe and juicy...

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Vintage 1959

Bordeaux 1959 was proclaimed wine year of the century by overzealous journalists. Although it was a great year, it just wasn't the best year of the century. The year started with ideal weather conditions. The summer was perfect until the fall, when the rains arrived in mid-September. But the rains gave way to hot and dry weather, preparing a magnificent setting for the start of the harvest. The result was a truly ripe and juicy harvest. Reds a...

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Average Bottle Price

2016 2015 2012 2010 2005
1 803€ +13.4% 1 590€ +4.5% 1 522€ +5.8% 1 439€ +61.7% 890€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Full

ending

Long, Extensive and Spicy

flavors

Blackcurrant, Voluptuous, Smoky, Leather, Earthy and Mineral

nose

Intense and Ripe

recommend

Yes

taste

Complex, Concentrated, Well-structured, Full-bodied, Rich, Harmonious and Firm

Written Notes

We went back to HB with a 1959 Haut Brion, which had a great nose that possessed rich cedar and smokehouse aromas and loads of cassis. There were black, smoky fruits here, along with rich, buttery flavors with lots of tobacco and more cassis. Iron aromas emerged, along with band-aid and Worcestershire flavors in a tertiary way. There was solid acid to this rock star Haut Brion (97). 

  • 97p

Full medium red. Grilled nuts and maple syrup on the nose, along with a whiff of old wood; slight suggestion of maderization. Vinous but on the lean side, with a slight hardness. A less-than-stellar bottle that losing its fruit. ($1,395-$1,475): Old aromas of plum, marzipan and nutty oak. Lovely sweetness and mellow fruit enlivened by superb vinosity. Complicating note of tobacco. Very much an old wine but still with considerable appeal and length, if a trace of finishing dryness. But not a great bottle of this wine, which I've scored in the recent past as high as 98 points.

  • 93p
Top shoulder fill, ruby, brick rim. Scented, cigars, cedar, minerals, jasmin, mulberries, figs, prunes, detailed and intense and seductive nose. Layered and complex. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fresh and fruity, lively, detailed, rich, intense and fruity, ripe fruits, figs, leather, spices, exotic, long finish. 98
  • 98p
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Information

Origin

Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Average

Glass time

2h

Other wines from this producer

Château Haut-Brion Blanc

La Clarté de Haut-Brion

Le Clarence de Haut-Brion

Plantiers de Haut-Brion

Inside Information

Wine Advocate #103
Feb 1996
Robert M. Parker, Jr. 93 Drink: N/A $1500-$6902
The 1959 Haut-Brion did not live up to expectations. I have had nearly perfect examples of the 1959, often preferring it ever so slightly to the 1961 when tasted side by side. That was not the case in Munich. Although the 1959 was outstanding, it seemed less concentrated, more disjointed, and more evolved than the 1961, displaying a more roasted aromatic profile, and less sweetness and unctuosity than previous bottles.

The notes for this wine are taken from the description of Series IV - Flight D of the 1995 tasting conducted in Munich by Helga and Hardy Rodenstock. Many years after the tasting from which this note derives allegations were made concerning the authenticity of old and rare bottles of wine sold by Hardy Rodenstock to collectors around the world. The matter has been the subject of numerous articles, litigation and at least one book. Mr. Parker believes that the wines served to him at this tasting were authentic so this note and the others from that specific tasting continue to be posted on eRobertParker.com.

 

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