Savoir-faire
The wines of Château La Mission Haut-Brion owe their success to the singularity of their terroir, but also to the savoir-faire of the dedicated professionals who achieved such exceptional results.
The Harvest, the culmination of a whole year’s work
To produce great wines, we need beautiful and good grapes. The grapes are harvested by hand according to their ripeness, then sorted and de-stalked (the stalk is separated from the fruit) leaving only the quintessence, which will determine the greatness of the vintage. The fruit is placed in vats where the temperature will gradually increase and fermentation can begin.
“The greatness of a vintage depends on the optimal
quality of each harvested grape.”
From grapes to wine, a moment of truth in the winery
The grapes harvested and the berries placed in vats, the temperature rises… Now it is time for fermentation to begin. Thanks to technology and precise temperature control, the fermentation is fully controlled. Two weeks later, when the colours, tannins and main aromas have contributed their full potential, it’s time to drain the vats. This is the moment of truth, each vat containing a wine with its own unique personality.
The blending, a fundamental step
At Domaine Clarence Dillon, parent company of Château La Mission Haut-Brion, we have developed a centuries-old blending culture, a true expertise and signature. The blending tastings are done as a team, with the Cellar Master, the Vineyard Manager, the Technical Director and the General Manager. They bring together samples from the properties; each person tasting the same wines and all comparing their opinions. The first session is always a blind tasting, so as not to be influenced by the origins of the parcels and thereby give full rein to the senses. Twenty or so vats are tasted and thirty or forty blends are tested before the puzzle eventually falls into place.
Shaping exceptional and unforgettable wines
The best wines are selected for the blend of Château La Mission Haut-Brion red and are matured in barrels for 18 to 20 months. Maturation contributes to wine’s development, gently oxygenates it and smoothens it. The period of maturation is the art of incorporating the barrels’ woodiness into the wine, to ensure that the wood of new barrels never dominates the wine. Every year, the percentage of new barrels is reviewed, according to the vintage’s characteristics and the wine’s profile. The first racking is done three months after the wine has been placed in barrels and is then done every three months or so, using a method called à l’esquive. It is lengthy and challenging, but a traditional task we perpetuate at the estate, because it is the one that handles the wine with the utmost care. During this procedure, an appraisal of the wine’s quality and the decision to stop racking depends solely upon the person who scrutinizes the wine in the glass, assisted simply by the light of a candle, throughout the racking process. Racking ends as soon as the wine appears cloudy.
A truly passionate team of experts
