Chateau Haut Brion 1998

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Still incredibly youthful and sporting a lot of fruit, the deep garnet-brick colored 1998 Haut-Brion sashays out of the glass with flamboyant red and black fruits, followed by a train of cassis, blueberry pie and chocolate box notions plus accents of iron ore, dried lavender and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully rich and decadently seductive in its generosity of fruit and velvety texture, offering seamless freshness and finishing with epic length and compelling minerality. Oh so delicious right now, with careful cellaring it should continue to excite through 2045 and beyond."

WEINWISSER: "Sehr dunkles Granat mit violetten und schwarzen Reflexen. Geballtes, ausladendes Bouquet, grosser Reichtum an sehr reifer Frucht, Dörrfrüchte, Bananen, dunkle Edelhölzer, feine Terroirnote wie bei einem ganz grossen Hermitage, dahinter parfümierte Minzen- und Eukalyptusspuren. Fester Gaumen mit opulenter Textur, sehr fette Gerbstoffe, die ebenfalls üppige Extraktion stützend, gaumenumfassende, königliche Adstringenz, auch auf der Zunge stark konzentriert, dunkle Schokolade und Lakritze im langen, fast endlosen Rückaroma. Ein ganz grosser Haut-Brion, der etwas vom 89er und 90er hat."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Sumptuous wine made from 60% Merlot served at the château. Mellow, suave, long and polished. Glorious bottle. Great balance. Saw me nicely on to the Bordeaux-Carcassonne train that afternoon."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Dark color, with decadent aromas of truffles, meat, ripe berries and tobacco. Turns to sweet, crushed berries. Full-bodied, with very polished tannins and a berry and mineral aftertaste. The serious tannin structure is still hiding behind the fruit of the wine. Tightly wound and beautiful. Solid as a rock. A classic wine. '88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2011. 12,000 cases made"

JAMES SUCKLING: "The Haut-Brion showed super decadent character with foie gras, plums and tobacco. It was full body, round and beautifully textured. It lasted for minutes after tasting."

DECANTER: "Agreeably approachable, with plump, plummy fruit aromas and accents of blackberry, spice and smoke. The texture is rich and round, with a supple, fleshy feel and suave tannins supporting the wine without astringency. The wine drinks well now while still seeming youthful and fresh, and there is enough substance to suggest that it will age admirably for years to come. There is a strong dominance of Merlot in the blend (59%), and the wine aged in 77% new oak casks until bottling in August of 2000."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Mineralisch unterlegte dunkle Kirschen, schwarze Beeren, feine Kräuterwürze, rauchige Nuancen von Edelholz, ein facettenreiches Bukett. Am Gaumen elegant, mineralisch, zeigt eher mittlere Komplexität, gut ausgereifte Tannine, angenehme Extraktsüße und Mineralität. Hat nach einer sehr langsamen Entwicklung nun eine gute Trinkreife erreicht und wird dieses gute Niveau sicher länger halten können."