2012
Château La Mission Haut-Brion Rouge
tasting notes
2012 Château La Mission Haut-Brion has overtones such as liquorice typical of very
ripe grapes, but also fresh nuances reminiscent of menthol.
Fruitiness and a touch of oak round out the wine’s aromatic complexity.
The alcoholic degree is once again high, but this gives the
wine a sort of lightness and ethereal quality.
However, this impression is misleading because the wine is, in reality, very powerful.
The rich tannin adds a silky texture and the taste profile
is altogether charming, with tremendous balance.
2012 La Mission Haut-Brion has the beautiful long aftertaste of all great wines.
The weather
The 2012 vintage was uneven from bud break, which was disturbed by a cool, wet month of April, to véraison (color change), which took place over a long period. Fortunately, the months of July and August were ideal: warm and dry. This fine summer weather enabled us to do everything possible in the vineyard in order to make up for the poor spring weather. For two months, our team worked meticulously to make ripening as homogeneous as possible, and removed any green grapes at véraison. The harvest for both red and white wines began under sunny skies.2012 is a truly fine vintage for early-ripening terroirs such as ours.
A few figures
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Harvest Dates
From September 19th to October 9th
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Blend
Merlot: 62%
Cabernet Sauvignon: 38% -
New barrels
74%
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Alcohol
15%
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Bottling date
From June 13th to 19th 2014