2015 Chateau Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan 750 ml

Just tasting Haut-Brion gives an insight into why English philosopher John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, and our own American President Thomas Jefferson have all waxed poetic about the château. But touring the property gives you a whole new appreciation.

After inheriting the Haut-Brion property in 1649, Arnaud de Pontac would recognize his wine’s greatness and do something radical: take control of Haut-Brion’s distribution and charge twice as much as comparable wines. The Château’s fame climbed to dizzying heights, and it caught the attention of the aforementioned luminaries. But after 150 more years, and although it’s unthinkable now, Haut-Brion found itself in need of a serious overhaul. Fortunately, American banker and Harvard graduate Clarence Dillon stepped up and purchased the estate. The domaine named for him still owns it today. 

The Dillon family has spared no expense, and the property is sublime: The sacred sandy-gravel terroir and its 80-year-old vines, of course, as well as the gravity-flow tanks, the in-house cooperage, and the reverentially hushed barrel cellar. It’s no surprise that this property produces perfection. 

As far as the 2015—if only Locke, Franklin, and Jefferson could have tasted it. Hailing from one of the top Bordeaux vintages this century, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate couldn’t help striking a grandiose tone about this formidable wine: It “cannot fail to hedonically satiate and intellectually edify all lovers of great Bordeaux.” The Advocate added that the 2015 Haut-Brion has the “blue-blooded tenaciousness to remain this jaw-droppingly impressive, throughout its many guises over time, and for a very, very long time.”