94pts Jeb Dunnuck
Black raspberries, dried flowers, tobacco, violets, and a beautiful spicy character emerge from the 2021 Château La Mission Haut-Brion, a pure, medium-bodied, incredibly polished, elegant Péssac-Léognan that has fine tannins, an utterly seamless, graceful mouthfeel, no hard edges, and a gorgeous finish. It plays in the more elegant, fresher style of the vintage yet brings ample depth and richness, has good mid-palate depth, and is already just about impossible to resist. Give bottles just 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades.
93pts James Suckling
A crunchy and juicy red with blackberry, currant and chocolate, as well as cedar. Medium body. Refined tannins. Attractive depth of fruit to this. Drink or hold.
92pts Wine Advocate
The 2021 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion offers up a complex, fresh bouquet with aromas of lead pencil, spices, dark berries and menthol. Medium to full-bodied with a fleshy texture, it’s perfectly balanced with a structuring core of fruit, powdery tannins and a long, ethereal, delicate finish. It’s more polished and round than Le Clarence de Haut-Brion.
92pts Decanter
Gorgeous pink rose floral notes on the nose, so aromatic and pretty with red cherries and strawberries. Tannins are firm on the palate, gripping the tongue but the density is so appealing, bright with high acidity giving a high tone and a chalky edge to the flavor and texture on the tongue. You get the crushed stone and graphite edges too. It's direct and linear, all travelling in one line, just stopping short of sharp but well defined with real clarity and drive. Lovely density of flavor with a weightless texture except for the grippy, mint and slate tannins that are so cooling and fresh. Charming and lively.
92pts Jane Anson
Subtle and sculpted, with clarity to the vivid and ripe sweet cherry, raspberry and loganberry fruits. This is bright and great quality, takes its time to open, but then shows waves of flavour, with smoked earth and campfire smoke. The lower alcohols are unusual in the Haut-Brion range of wines, and it has been several years since seeing anything under 14%, and it takes a moment to adjust to the different weight in the palate. 48hl/h yields after no frost and very little mildew. 27% new oak. Subtle, this takes its time to open.
91pts The Wine Cellar Insider
Medium-bodied, bright, crisp, almost crunchy wine with nuances of herbs smoke, tobacco leaves, and spice that adds complexity to the red, and black currants in the nose, and on the finish. Drink from 2025-2035.
91pts The Wine Independent
La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion 2021 is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a little coaxing and swirling to bring out notes of fresh plums and blackberries, giving way to wafts of lavender, Sichuan pepper, and tilled soil. Medium-bodied, the palate is coated with black fruit and mineral layers, supported by grainy tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing earthy.
90pts Vinous
The 2021 La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion is laced with crushed flowers, sweet red berry fruit, spice and pipe tobacco. La Chapelle is quite floral and delicate in 2021. Its understated personality is quite charming. Bright acids on the finish are a reminder of the cool, rainy growing season.
Winemaker's Notes
Complex, full-bodied and rich… Château La Mission Haut-Brion red invites the most flattering descriptions. The blend adapts according to the vintage, but Château La Mission Haut-Brion red wine always retains its unparalleled charisma.
Blend: 51.3% Merlot, 45.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.5% Cabernet Franc
History
In 1664, Madame de Lestonnac bequeathed the domaine of La Mission Haut-Brion to the Peres Lazaristes, a congregation founded by Saint Vincent de Paul. The "good fathers" worked to restore their property to its rightful worth. After them, the Chiapella family (owners in the 19th century) and Woltner family (owners between 1919 and 1983) never stopped improving the vineyard and modernizing the cellars. Since 1983, the Dillon family, already owner of Chateau Haut-Brion, continues the same policy under the presidency of H.R.H. Prince Robert of Luxembourg.
