Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 1998

One of Bordeaux's most iconic wines, Château La Mission Haut-Brion reveals profound aromas of cassis, blackberry, black cherry, graphite, cigar box, cedar, smoked earth, and exotic spice. Powerful yet impeccably refined, it offers velvety tannins, remarkable complexity, and extraordinary aging potential.

Food Pairing: Pair with beef Wellington, roast lamb, venison, duck breast, truffle dishes, aged Comté, or wild mushroom risotto.

98 Points - James Suckling

The La Mission Haut-Brion was even better. It showed so much iodine, chili and currants with a distinct warm stone character in the nose. It was full-bodied with ultra-velvety tannins and a fabulous finish. Plenty of licorice also came out of the glass. It's a fabulous wine now.

90 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Firm, masculine and tannic with plenty of earth, truffle, asphalt and volcanic characteristics, this burly La Mission Haut-Brion is bordering on being monolithic/foursquare. It reveals good body as well as plenty of tannin, adequate acidity, a dark plum/garnet color, and classic La Mission terroir characteristics of smoke, scorched earth, spice, roasted meats and camphor. Neither big nor wimpish, it, like many wines of this vintage, appears to be aging nicely. While fully mature, it displays enough youthful characteristics, from its tannin to its vibrant, moderately intense fruit, to suggest it will hold up for another two decades.