2016 Chateau Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan Premier Grand Cru Classe 750 ml

After tasting this paramount 2016 Château Haut-Brion at the estate last year, we didn’t need its five history-making 100-point scores to tell us it will go down as one of the greatest wines ever produced. As aromatically stunning as it is structurally profound, this is the epitome of First Growth Bordeaux perfection, or as James Suckling posited, “It can’t get better than this, can it?”

The only other Haut-Brion vintage to receive 100 points from five different publications was the regal 2005, which averages over $1,000 per bottle today. It’s incredibly rare to find any First Growth with so many perfect scores and a three-digit price to match—especially in a superlative vintage like 2016. Which is why today’s $699 offer is such a special opportunity for collectors.

We all recall the moment this bottle was opened at the château last summer. There are few wineries that have the power to awe and humble you from the moment you step on their hallowed grounds, and Haut-Brion is one. Our nervous adrenaline kicked in as we sat down for our lunch with Director Jean-Philippe Delmas, but as the wines in our vertical were poured—1989, 2005, 2016—the youngest wine immediately filled the room with such intoxicating aromas of black cherry, violet, rose petal, and baking chocolate that we all just started grinning at each other, knowing this was a memory we’d be feasting on for the rest of our lives.

A more intimate encounter with the glass revealed secondary currant leaf, cedar, dried herbs, and gravelly mineral, all vying for aromatic dominance. Rich and powerful yet supremely elegant and graceful throughout, layers of black fruit and cassis grow ever more complex with graphite, fresh florals, and exotic spices that build on the palate. A blockbuster now, the firm grip of super-fine tannins will ensure this will be even better in a few years, and drink magnificently for decades (upon decades) to come.

In its vintage recap, “Is 2016 the Perfect Bordeaux?” Wine Enthusiast singled out Haut-Brion as having produced “the best wine I have ever tasted from this chateau,” while Antonio Galloni praised it as “a thrilling wine” with a “nearly indescribable beauty,” and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate declared it “achingly stunning.” Decanter and James Suckling joined that chorus of 100-point reviews, crowning the 2016 Haut-Brion as Bordeaux’s best rated wine in one of the top scoring vintages of any decade.

The storied Bordeaux estate in Pessac-Léognan, which quite literally invented fine wine as we know it today, dates back to 1525, though the château itself wasn’t built until 1549 when Jean de Pontac had it erected. Pontac would live 101 years, bearing witness to the reign of kings Louis XII through Henri III. Inherited in 1649 by Arnaud de Pontac, who, realizing his wine was better than his neighbors', created the first “luxury wine,” by doing something radical for the time—he introduced prolonged barrel aging, took control of the wine’s distribution, and began charging twice as much.

As a result, Haut-Brion’s fame climbed to dizzying heights, catching the attention of diarist Samuel Pepys, the Robert Parker of his day, responsible for the world’s first professional wine review—a glowing account of Haut-Brion. From there, Haut-Brion entranced the English philosopher John Locke, the German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel, Benjamin Franklin, and America’s own Thomas Jefferson—whose eye for exceptional farming practices did not miss Haut-Brion’s unique sandy-gravel soils when he visited in 1787.

As we dined at Haut-Brion, we reveled in every sip of First Growth perfection, and Jean-Philippe told his own version of the château’s illustrious history. Some 150 years after Jefferson’s visit, Clarence Dillon, an American banker and Harvard graduate who held high positions in three Presidential administrations, purchased the estate in 1935. Today, Haut-Brion is run by his great-grandson, Prince Robert de Luxembourg, along with Jean-Philippe, who took over from his father, who passed away last fall after a decades-long tenure as estate manager.

After lunch, we toured the property. The Dillon family spared no expense in upgrading their treasured First Growth. From Haut-Brion’s custom-designed gravity-flow tanks to their own in-house cooperage, their commitment to innovation and absolute quality is palpable and almost spiritual—the pin-drop silence of the barrel cellar feels akin to a house of worship.

Walking the vineyards, Haut-Brion’s unique terroir comes alive in the sandy-gravel soils that so impressed Jefferson. The slight slope to the hill provides ideal drainage and sunlight exposure for the 80-year-old vines, which in turn produce the sacred berries that make Haut-Brion’s Premier Grand Cru Classé just what it is—vinified perfection. 

Of the First Growths, it is often the case that Château Latour produces the most powerful wine, and Lafite-Rothschild the most polished. In our experience, and especially after tasting this remarkable 2016 alongside its 2005 and 1989 vintage peers, there is no equal for Château Haut-Brion’s complexity and longevity.

With its quintuple 100 points, the 2016 Haut-Brion is a rare opportunity to own a piece of history, of perfection. For collectors, it is a luxury not to be missed.