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  • Country ranking ?

    238
  • Producer ranking ?

    13
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Pork Tenderloin

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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99 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 Tasted 7 Times With Consistent Notes One of the greatest 1961s, La Mission-Haut-Brion has been fabulous to drink for the last 5-10 years. Where well-stored, this wine will continue to drink well for 10-20 years. More developed and drinkable than the 1959, it remains a thick, rich, super-aromatic wine with a textbook Graves bouquet of tobacco, barbecued meats, minerals, spices, and sweet red and black fruits. Dense, full-bodied, alcoholic, and super-rich, this soft, opulently-textured wine makes for a fabulous drink. 

96 points Wine Spectator

 A truly classic Bordeaux that epitomizes complexity and distinction in a red wine. Well-defined but beautifully integrated aromas and flavors of cedar, earth, tobacco, chocolate and plum make it memorable, while a lively, firm texture keeps it fresh to drink. A fabulous taste experience from start to lingering finish. 

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The Story

La Mission Haut Brion is situated in Bordeaux' southern suburb, Talence. From 1919 and until 1983, it was Woltner family, who had owned this property. Under Woltner's reign, La Mission Haut Brion experienced one of its greatest period with string of fine vintages and was considered then as fully on the level with First Growths and sometimes even better than these. In 1983, owners of Haut Brion purchased La Mission Haut Brion and today its Jean Philippe Delmas, who's responsible for this property.

 

La Mission-Haut-Brion's vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon 48%, Merlot 45%, Cabernet Franc 7%) lie on a large (up to 18 metres deep in places) gravel bank interspersed with clay. The wine is fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats and then matured in oak barriques (100% new) for 18 months. The wines of La Mission Haut Brion are rich, oaky and powerful and need at least 10 years of bottle ageing before they should be broached.

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Wine Information

Château La Mission Haut-Brion 1961

Château La Mission Haut-Brion’s tasting notes :

This is a wine of a rare perfection. In spite of its 30 years, it tastes very young. A great wine, rich but very elegant. Truffle, game, heavy fragrances are the distinctive marks of this elegant full wine.
A unique bottle. Suave but complex, an
exceptional harmony make this wine difficult to describe. An impression of harmony and fullness on the palate Marvelous today, but can still age for many more years.

Weather conditions
Sum of temperatures : 3294 °C
Rain : 213 mm
Days where temperature above 30 °C : 27
Harvest : from 12/09/1961 to 25/09/1961

Current vintage notes
At Château La Mission Haut-Brion a short period of intense cold at the end of May caused "exceptional coulure" (the lack of pollinization due to wet or cold weather). A hot summer, but above all very dry (the driest on record). A very fine September yielded a harvest with good maturity and concentration. Harvesting began on September 12th and ended on September 25th.


Chris Munro, Head of Christie's London Wine Department: “A tremendous start to the year 2014 for wine at King Street, London, which realised remarkable results selling 97% by lot and 98% by value. The sale saw strong international participation throughout, which was led by seven bottles of rare Château La Mission-Haut-Brion, 1961 selling for £12,925. There was fierce bidding for a fine collection of Unico from Vega Sicilia, consigned directly from Spain, as twelve bottles of the 1970 fetched £4,465 Elsewhere in the sale, fine Burgundy from Henri Jayer continued to draw bids from around the globe as we saw five bottles of Echézeaux 1983 making £8,225 well above its pre-sale estimate.

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Vintage 1961

1961 - the greatest Bordeaux vintage of all time?

I am writing this during the primeur campaign and I notice that Bordeaux château owners and merchants have been exceptionally quiet this year. I've been following this part of the market remotely for almost 30 years now and have been told about a lot of the "vintages of the century". Once wines are bottled and sold or vice versa, as is the case in Bordeaux, these claims tend to be changed.

Who are the serious contenders for the title of “The Greatest Vintage Ever”?

During the 19th century there were a number of vintages with great reputations made from pre-phylloxera vines. These include the legendary "Vintage Comet" 1811, 1864, 1865, 1870, 1893, 1895 and 1899. Most are too old for anyone now alive to have tasted them in their prime.

During the 20th century, claims were raised for the vintages 1900, 1921, 1929, 1945, 1947, 1949 (by me), 1959, 1961, 1982, 1989 and 1990.In the current century already three of the eight vintages produced – 2000, 2003 and 2005 – were mentioned by an overly excited press as candidates for the title, as well as the superb duo - 2009 and 2010.

In the book “The 1,000 Best Wines Ever Made” 1961 is the Bordeaux vintage most often mentioned, with 22 châteaux. 1945 is mentioned 19 times, 1947 16 times, 1982 14 times and 1959 13 times.

What is the definition of a great wine?

It’s a wine that has an extra dimension giving you an unforgettable drinking experience – in other words, a “Wow!” effect. ". It is a wine that has a long drinking life. It should be good to drink young, but it should also be able to age for a long time without losing its appeal. A good vintage produces wines that meet these requirements.

A great vintage, however, is equally good in all major regions of Bordeaux, both on the left bank and the right bank. It’s also a vintage where something special was produced in every appellation, from the lowest Cru Bourgeois to the most powerful Premier Cru.

1961 meets these requirements better than any other vintage.

This was the vintage where the most incompetent winemaker simply couldn't make a bad wine and the wines drank very well at an early stage; In most cases, they still do this today.

Some extremely impressive wines were produced in 1945, but these came primarily from the Left Bank and many of the wines had excessively high tannin levels, making them increasingly dry as they aged.

1947 produced the most amazing Right Bank wines, but many Left Bank wines had problems with volatile acidity.

1959 has produced a number of wines that are on the same level and sometimes even a bit higher than the corresponding '61, and some experienced wine critics like Michel Bettane prefer 1959 to 1961. But 1959 does not have the same consistent quality at all levels.

1982 undoubtedly produced a lot of very impressive wines but I have the impression that the Right Bank wines lack structure and have not aged very well and that very few Margaux and Médoc wines have had a great success. The twin vintages of 1989 and 1990, or 2009 and 2010 may come closest in overall quality, but it is still too early to judge their aging capabilities.

 

What made 1961 so special?

It was a very small harvest, the smallest since World War II. This was partly due to coulure (cold weather at flowering) and in some parts due to frost on the night of May 30-31, together reducing the yield per plant to about a third of the usual size at that time. period (which, compared to today's harvests, seems tiny). This concentrated the minerals and power of the vine among the few remaining grapes and was the reason for the success of minor châteaux, which would normally produce much higher yields than would be good for their wines.

August and September were hot and extremely dry. This drought meant that maturation took longer than the 100 days usually prescribed. The harvest was delayed until September 22, but benefited from perfect conditions. Thanks to better aging techniques, winemakers avoid the harsh tannins of 1945 and the volatility of 1947. The wines have a very deep color, an attractive nose and a ripe, concentrated and full-bodied fruitiness, with sufficient tannins and acidity to give the wines structure and freshness.

I organized a large tasting of over sixty years from 1961 to 1989 and all the wines were very good, even from small châteaux

 

 

 

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Tasting note

color

Medium, Brick red and Bright

ending

Long, Lingering and Smooth

flavors

Tobacco, Blackberry, Blackcurrant, Licorice, Voluptuous and Leather

nose

Intense, Complex, Charming and Ripe

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Medium tannin, Complex, Balanced, Concentrated, Youthful, Full-bodied, Elegant, Firm, Rich and Drying tannins

Verdict

Excellent and Transparent

Written Notes

A bottle of 1961 La Mission Haut Brion usually is a length ahead of the Haut Brion, but this bottle couldn’t keep pace with the magnum.  There was classic band-aid and charcoal, but it softened in the glass sooner than I wanted, but it was still outstanding with decent richness and long acidity that gained back (96).

  • 96p

At Château La Mission Haut-Brion a short period of intense cold at the end of May caused "exceptional coulure" (the lack of pollicization due to wet or cold weather). A hot summer, but above all very dry (the driest on record). A very fine September yielded a harvest with good maturity and concentration. Harvesting began on September 12th and ended on September 25th. 
Pre-auction tasting at Christie's. Low neck level, otherwise like new. Decanted for one hour before tasting. Good, dark, maturing colour. Very wide, rich and intense nose with ripe fruit, tobacco and some oak aromas. Full-bodied and tannic. Big, thick, complex wine with great balance and very long and soft, seductive aftertaste. Serious wine and one of the many much beloved 1961s. Tasted numerous times with similar notes.

  • 97p

Fabulous aromas of mocha, chestnut and tobacco. Thick, rich, broad and voluptuous, with powerful extract contributing to an impression of great grip. A wine of compelling sweetness. Strong but smooth tannins spread out to coat the entire palate. Late note of saddle leather. This, too, is still developing. Drink now through 2020.

  • 94p
Close to 1955 La Mission in terms of style and quality, but without same intensity on the nose and palate. There was however no doubt, that this wine was sublime and of extremely high quality. Will last for another 5-7 years in the cellar.
  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Average

Fake factory

There is a possibility

Glass time

2h
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