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Goedhuis, April 2011, Score: 96-99
The Haut Brion tasting is possibly the most professionally organised of all the châteaux tastings in the primeur season. Tasting in quietness in the tower of La Mission, one couldn't help but bestruck by the immense quality of this superb wine. A wine of huge depth with layer upon layer of complexity and a stunning integration between fruit, structure and reserved power. This is a very fine wine with a long way to go and equal in class to any previous vintage of this great estate'swine. DR
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Neal Martin, April 2020, Score: 97
The 2010 Haut-Brion has a more flamboyant and showier bouquet than the La Mission with copious black fruit, orange blossom, fireside ash and chai tea aromas that are irresistible. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine and supple tannins, firm grip, quite saline in the mouth with strong truffle notes on the finish. Quite brilliant. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the BI Wines Spirits 10-Year On tasting. 2026-2080
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Neal Martin, March 2011, Score: 96-98
A blend of 23% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc, this has a quintessential Haut-Brion nose with that trait of fresh black olives defining the nose straight out of the blocks. It is a little less opulent than La Mission but with slightly better clarity at this stage. The palate displays very fine, succulent tannins and like the La Mission there is a Pauillac-like personality thanks to the graphite imparted by the ripe Cabernet Sauvignon. Wonderful definition towards the finish. This is a superb Haut-Brion.
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Robert Parker, February 2013, Score: 100
As for the 2010 Haut-Brion, it does not have the power of Latour’s 2010 or the intense lead pencil shavings and chocolaty component of Lafite-Rothschild, but it is extraordinary, perfect wine. It has a slightly lower pH than the 2009 (3.7 versus the 2009's 3.8), and even higher alcohol than the 2009 (14.6%). The wine is ethereal. From its dense purple color to its incredibly subtle but striking aromatics that build incrementally, offering up a spectacular smorgasbord of aromas ranging from charcoal and camphor to black currant and blueberry liqueur and spring flowers, this wine’s finesse, elegant yet noble power and authority come through in a compelling fashion. It is full-bodied, but that’s only apparent in the aftertaste, as the wine seems to float across the palate with remarkable sweetness, harmony, and the integration of all its component parts – alcohol, tannin, acidity, wood, etc. This prodigious Haut-Brion is hard to compare to another vintage, at least right now, but it should have 50 to 75 years of aging potential. Anticipated maturity: 2022-2065+. Kudos to the team at Haut-Brion and to the proprietors, the Dillon family, who are now represented admirably and meticulously by Prince Robert of Luxembourg. He has made some changes, and all of them seem to have resulted in dramatic improvements to what was already an astonishing group of wines.Drink: 2022-2065
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Robert Parker, May 2011, Score: 98-100
Following a harvest that finished on October 10, Haut-Brion produced a 2010 that should turn out to be one of its all-time greats ... an amazing feat given what they have accomplished over recent vintages. A blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc that came in at 14.6% alcohol, the 2010 boasts an opaque purple color as well as a gorgeous perfume of scorched earth/burning embers, blueberries, black currant liqueur and crushed rocks. Full and opulent with nobility, finesse, purity and elegance, this amazing effort possesses extraordinary levels of extract as well as formidable, but sweet, well-integrated tannins. It requires 8-10 years of cellaring and should drink well for 50+ years. Drink: 2019 - 2069
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James Suckling, April 2011, Score: 97-98
Wonderful aromas of dark fruits with sweet tobacco and lilac character. Blackberries too. Amazing nose. This is tight and powerful with beautiful tannins and a racy structure. It lasts for minutes. Super refined yet muscular style of Haut-Brion due to a much lower percentage of Merlot in the blend. I like the 2009 better. Its more typical. This is 57 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 23 percent Merlot and 20 percent Cabernet Franc.
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Decanter, April 2011, Score: 19.5
Stunning aromas of beautifully concentrated red fruits, already expressive, even exuberant, a taffeta-like finesse hides great strength for the long term. Drink 2020-45.
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Jancis Robinson, aPRIL 2011, Score: 18++
23% Merlot, 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc. 7,800 cases, not 10,000+ as in 2009. 42% grand vin (compared with 57% in 2009). Full, opulent nose in which the classic Haut-Brion aroma is well masked by lots of slightly austere fruit. Very fine tannins – very drying finish. An extremely slow burner. Much drier than La Mission, and at the moment not desperately expressive. Its lips are pursed at the moment, and so are mine tasting it. Unusual to come across such a long-term wine even here. This may not make a massive impact en primeur because it is keeping so much in reserve. Drink 2028-2045
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Wine Spectator, March 2011, Score: 96-99
Sappy, dense and packed, with layers of kirsch, melted licorice snap, anise and black tea. Just as dense, if not more so, on the finish, with extra tar, violet and blackberry confiture. There's massive grip on the back end, but this is velvety and caressing. Easily the most backward of the first-growths at this stage. Tasted non-blind. -J.M.