2019
Château La Mission Haut-Brion Rouge
tasting notes
Beautiful, deep crimson colour.
The nose is intense, with notes of raspberry and blackberry.
Swirling in the glass reveals surprisingly ripe fruit aromas,
perfectly complemented by hints of understated vanilla, oak and delicate spices.
Starts out round, fleshy and full-bodied, unveiling delicious flavours mid-palate.
Black fruit and liquorice notes come to the fore, followed by juicy and velvety tannins.
This wine improves with each passing day since it was put into barrel.
It demonstrates what we caught a glimpse of at the end of alcoholic fermentation
and that the malolactic conversion hadsomewhat obscured: this 2019 Mission is indeed a great wine.
The weather
The winter of 2018-2019 was mild and dry. Cool temperatures in spring slowed down vine growth. Flowering took place in ideal conditions, without coulure (shot berries) nor millerandage (abnormal fruit set). Storm Miguel swept across the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the 7th of June, although our grapes were fortunately spared. Heavy, regular rainfall was conducive to vegetative growth, leading the vines to develop an impressive leaf canopy. The rain came to a sudden halt on the 22nd of June, and a series of successive heatwaves ensued. July was the third hottest in history after 2006 and 2013, with temperatures reaching a record-breaking 42°C on the 23rd. Fortunately, rain fell on the 26th, followed by cool nights in August, propitious to the synthesis of anthocyanins. Véraison (colour change) was slow but uninterrupted. September was marked by fine, dry and sunny conditions, interspersed by welcome rainfall. Thanks to this ideal spell of weather, all the grape varieties were harvested at peak ripeness and at a leisurely pace.
A few figures
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Harvest Dates
From September 11th to October 2nd
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Blend
Merlot: 53%
Cabernet Franc: 7.5%
Cabernet Sauvignon: 39.5% -
New barrels
78.5%
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Alcohol
14.5%
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Bottling date
From May 7th to 11th 2021
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