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  • Country ranking ?

    835
  • Producer ranking ?

    59
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    St. Francis Mission Style Beef Stew

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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate / A gloriously seductive, classic Haut-Brion showing the most savory side of this elegant, finesse-styled wine, the 1985 Haut-Brion has reached its plateau of full maturity. The color is a deep ruby/garnet with some lightening at the edge. A very complex nose of cedar, dried herbs, smoke, creosote, and black cherries, plums, and currants jumps from the glass. In the mouth, it is round, concentrated, medium to full...

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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

Château Haut-Brion’s tasting notes :

A VERY GOOD YEAR
A great Haut-Brion, velvety and with a great elegance. A poweful wine, complex and with a long finishing.An outstanding bottle.

Weather conditions
Sum of temperatures : 3185 °C
Rain : 311 mm
Days where temperature above 30 °C : 16
Harvest : from 23/09/1985 to 08/10/1985

Current vintage notes
A great wine of a late year. A drought never seen, one of the hottest years of this
...

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Vintage 1985

Bordeaux 1985/ An extraordinary vintage. Particularly elegant in their early years, these wines are now mellow and suave with considerable finesse. The Médoc wines, supple with mellow tannins, are deliciously soft and fruity. The Pomerols and Saint Emilions possess a marvellous combination of concentration and finesse. The dry white wines are rich and complex. The sweet wines are ample, honeyed and fruity.

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Average Bottle Price

2018 2016 2015 2014 2012 2010 2005
485€ +15.2% 421€ +8.2% 389€ +2.9% 378€ +3.0% 367€ +3.7% 354€ +89.3% 187€

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

Medium

ending

Medium

recommend

Yes

Written Notes

Tasted blind at the 1985 Bordeaux horizontal, the 1985 Château Haut Brion is a lovely wine at the peak of its powers. It has an elegant bouquet with sandalwood and dried rose petals that combine effortlessly with vestiges of red berry fruit. I noticed how with time in the glass, it offers a "side order" of wild girolles! The palate is medium-bodied with a fine seam of acidity, delicate tertiary and leather tones infiltrating the red berry fruit, and while it does not have the audacity of the 1989 or 1990, the finesse on the finish completely wins you over. Simply drink, sit back and savor. Tasted July 2015.

  • 93p

A beautiful wine with such an expressive aroma, I mistook it for Chateau Margaux. The finely-grained texture of the tannins and the incredible finesse of this wine tasted blind would be hard to mistake it for anything except a first growth or top second growth from Bordeaux. This nearly 30-year old Haut-Brion is at its glorious peak right now. (95)

  • 95p

Haut Brion – aromatic and complex nose of blackcurrants, very stylish, excellent sweetness, truffles, great balance, silky fruit and tannin. 20 more years? Impressive stuff. 96p.

  • 96p

Wonderful garnet red colour with slightly brick red hue. A magnum almost in perfection with an aroma reminiscent of ripe elderberries, mulberries and hints of dried black currants, mild spices, graphite, Cuban tobacco, cedar wood and a touch of cold smoke. On the palate the tannins were charming, with a velvety character, the flavour was reminiscent of balmy spices, ripe berries and hints of earthy minerality. A wine with great elegance and persistence, a perfect magnum! 98/100

  • 98p

Dark core, lots of sediments, brick rim. Earthy, some mint, some blackberries, tobacco, floral notes, exotic notes with air, . Fresh acidity, few tannins, some earthy notes, some mint, figs, smooth texture, light tobacco note, served blind a mature bottle with answer in hand, long. 94

  • 94p
Château Haut-Brion 1985 Open and developed nose with truffle, spices, cedar, decadent, dark plummy fruit, flowers, smoke, warm gravel and leather. Perfect Bordeaux nose! Full bodied, rich, very smooth and velvety, decadent dark plummy fruit with notes of leather, spices, licorice, black tea, flowers, truffles and dark chocolate. Very long seamless and smooth finish with fine, caressing tannins and mineral notes. Excellent Haut-Brion Drink now-2025+ 95p.
  • 95p
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Information

Origin

Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Other wines from this producer

Château Haut-Brion Blanc

La Clarté de Haut-Brion

Le Clarence de Haut-Brion

Plantiers de Haut-Brion

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