
When I purchased this five years ago, it was without a doubt the nicest bottle of Bordeaux I owned. 2001 was a good vintage for certain producers, and with Haut Brion being my favorite first growth, I wanted to have one of these with some age to see how they evolve. I slow ox’ed for 1-2hrs, consumed from bottle over the next three hours, and saved the last quarter for the next day.
Amongst quite a few first growths (and a ‘94 and ‘04 Haut Brion) this held its own. Compared to HB, it doesn’t have that brooding power and deep fruit core as intensely, but it wasn’t too far behind. More red fruit/black cherry than the dominant black I normally get with HB. Potpourri, baked black cherries, and cherry pipe tobacco showed strong on both days. No reductive funk to blow off. Faint notes of mocha, scorched earth and peppered strip, but it meshes with the cassis and grippy herbal tannic finish. What I didn’t expect was how vibrant the acidity was on both days. A beautiful example of high quality Bordeaux, and one I wish I had more of. — 4 years ago
@Paul T HB This one is a rockstar! PNP — 2 months ago
Hb Wine. Yum! — a year ago
Tasted blind. Deep, dark amber tinged and tawny color. Hits me immediately as a gravel-influenced Bordeaux and I’m am in Graves with my guess. Notes of tobacco, graphite, ash, earth and gravel stone. Big shoulders, and a little hot. Yet silky in the mouth. I guess 82 La Mish HB. This has plenty of life in front of it, but give it 5+ hrs of air if consuming in the near term as the provider of this wine did. — 5 years ago

@Paul T HB A wine with lovely depth of fruit and ripeness, yet always refined and integrated with ripe fruit, fresh acidity and a long and satisfying finish. It needs another 5 years. I decanted for an hour. 🤷🏽♂️✌🏼🍷😊 — 2 months ago
Intense old cow leather, silken mouth feel, tawny dark. Pretty great and my first HB looking forward to more! At Le Chat Botté — 4 years ago
Rob Brobst III
One of the greats!!! @Paul T HB @Shay A @John Van Trijp — 13 days ago