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Château Haut-Brion 2012

Château Haut-Brion, Bordeaux, France

Château Haut-Brion
Bordeaux France
  • 97
    Points
  • The 812 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 13 Pros of
    13 recommend
    this wine
881 97
  • Taste
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Food Pairing

Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic

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The 2012 Château Haut-Brion is a plush, beautifully structured First Growth from a vintage that favored early-ripening Merlot, delivering impressive density and rich texture in Pessac-Léognan. Composed of 65.5% Merlot, 32.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc at 14.0% ABV, it is one of the higher-Merlot blends in modern Haut-Brion history, conferring a lavish, rounded mouthfeel while retaining classic Graves complexity.

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The Story

Among the ultra-elite hierarchy of Bordeaux First Growths, Château Haut-Brion occupies a singular space. While its counterparts—Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, Latour, and Mouton Rothschild—reside in the Médoc north of the city, Haut-Brion stands alone in Pessac-Léognan, just outside Bordeaux’s urban core. It is not merely a founding pillar of fine wine history; it is arguably the birthplace of luxury winemaking as we know it today.

 

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Wine Information

Jean Philippe Delmas / Château Haut-Brion / Vintage 2012

The first notable estate to begin picking for the white wine was Chateau Haut Brion and Chateau La Mission Haut Brion. They began harvesting, September 4, 2012. This was followed one day later by Chateau d’Yquem which started picking Sauvignon Blanc, September 5. Those early pickings are destined to be used in their dry white, Bordeaux wine “Y.” The real news for lovers of Chateau d’Y...

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Vintage 2012

The 2012 Bordeaux vintage report.

The 2012 Bordeaux vintage is a year for vineyard management and workers. Call it a winemakers vintage, or change your tune and call it vineyard managers vintage. Either descriptor works perfectly. Wineries with the financial capacity to take the necessary measures in the vineyards during the season, coupled with the willingness to severely downgrade unripe grapes, will produce the best wines. Even then, it ...

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Average Bottle Price

2026 2020 2016 2015
440€ +7.1% 411€ +28.0% 321€ +5.2% 305€

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.

Latest Pro-tasting notes

15 tasting notes

Tasting note

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Written Notes

At Haut-Brion 2012 marked one of the highest level of Merlot content in the past 20 years with 66% in the blend. There is more structure in Haut Brion than in La Mission this year with plush, firm tannins and good concentration and depth. Very long finish. According to the technical analysis, the numbers for both wines, La Mission and Haut-Brion in 2012 are the same, but Haut Brion stands out with greater complexity and depth. 14.9% alcohol, higher than most in this challenging vintage.

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  • 96p

Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting, the 2012 Haut-Brion has an open and generous bouquet with blackcurrant pastille, cassis and briary aromas the exude very pure Merlot. The palate is medium-bodied with a sumptuous opening that is rare in 2012: rounded and generous, caressing in the mouth with black plum and blackcurrant towards the finish, residues of truffle and white pepper lingering on the aftertaste that turn very savory after 15 minutes—bacon fat or Italian cured meats. There is a lot to love about this Haut-Brion although in this blind showing I scored it the same as La Mission Haut-Brion. Who will stick their neck out as the two wines mature? Tasted January 2016.

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  • 96p
Tasted twice - last time in September 2014. Consistent notes. Intense on the nose and palate. Violets and crushed dark berries, splendid complexity, depth and quite strong structure. Fine effort for the vintage.
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  • 94p
Ruby. Dark berries, some spices, vanilla, detailed, nuanced, some minerals, scented, quite intense nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, intense, ripe, rich, fruity, dark and red berries, hides fifteen percent alcohol well, somewhat sweet, some bitter notes in the finish. Long. 95
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  • 95p
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Information

Origin

Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Above Average

Investment potential

Below Average

Fake factory

None

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

2012 vintage - Tasting notes

07 April 2013


Le Clarence de Haut-Brion
The nose seems understated and reserved at first. However, fine red fruit aromas appear with aeration along with overtones of slightly toasty oak. 2012 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion is full-bodied and powerful with pronounced tannin on the middle palate that tightens up the structure. This tannin is also responsible for the beautiful long aftertaste.
41% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot

Château Haut-Brion red 2012
Merlot plays a special role in this vintage since it forms two thirds of the final blend. The nose is subtle, elegant and very complex, with delicate hints of red fruit, blackberry and blackcurrant as well as more generous notes of liquorice, roasting coffee, oak and a nearly floral side that defies description. The tightly-knit structure is obvious from the beginning.  However, it soon appears that the tannin is also quite rich, making the wine soft, rich, juicy and delicious. It already has a beautiful long aftertaste. The 2012 can vie with the estate's great successes.
65.5% Merlot, 32.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc

La Clarté de Haut-Brion
There is a riot of aromas as soon as you put your nose into the glass. The considerable freshness is complemented by citrus (grapefruit) and tropical fruit (pineapple) nuances and even a touch of white truffle. This same aromatic complexity carries over to the palate, which is remarkably fresh and fruity. 2012 La Clarté de Haut-Brion is rich, with a soupçon of bitterness and a salty tang on the finish that calls for another glass. This is well and truly a delicious wine. 
58% Sémillon, 42% Sauvignon Blanc

Château Haut-Brion white 2012
There is quite a contrast here between the bouquet and the palate. The bouquet is very fresh with overwhelming citrus (pink grapefruit) aromas leading one to expect a very crisp wine. However, it starts out quite rich on the palate, with a great deal of power. The vivaciousness that seemed at first to be only on the nose returns on the aftertaste, accounting for a wonderful long finish. A great vintage for Château Haut-Brion blanc.
45% Sémillon, 55% Sauvignon Blanc

 

 

 

 

Wine Advocate #206
Apr 2013		 Robert M. Parker, Jr. (93-95) Drink: 2016 - 2041 $340-$1130
The 2012 Haut-Brion, which represents only 46% of the production, is a blend of 65% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. One of the stars of the vintage, it is a complete, medium to full-bodied, soft, round, atypically accessible effort displaying lots of minerality along with red and black fruits, exceptional fragrance and purity, a fleshy mid-palate and a long finish. A remarkable fact in both these wines is that the alcohol levels in 2012 hit 14.8%, which nearly equals the record levels achieved in 2010 – that’s astonishing! This 2012 should drink well 3-4 years after bottling, and last for 20-25 years.
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