La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Léognan 2005

100 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Utterly seamless and as insanely good as it gets, the 2005 Château La Mission Haut-Brion checks in as 69% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc raised in a mix of new and used barrels. Its deep ruby/plum hue is followed by an incredible perfume of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, chocolate, leafy herbs, and graphite that’s to die for. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, with tons of structure, it nevertheless glides across the palate with no sensation of weight or heaviness and has incredible length on the finish. This is a quintessential, opulent, sexy La Mission that isn’t far off the style of the 2009. It needs air to show at its best today but is unquestionably in the early stages of its prime drinking window. It will evolve for another 30-40+ years in cold cellars. Drink: 2024-2065. (4/6/24)"

100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent): "The 2005 La Mission Haut-Brion is a blend of 69% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-brick in color, it slowly grows on the nose to offer earthy suggestions of damp soil, wild mushrooms, and crushed rocks, over a flamboyant core of warm cassis and fruitcake, plus a hint of Sichuan pepper. Medium to full-bodied, with an electric backbone of energy and firm, ripe tannins supporting the generous fruit, it finishes with incredibly persistent earth and mineral layers. This evocative beauty is just entering its drinking window, yet has the stamina and stuffing to give a further 40 years+ of pleasure. Purchased by Domaine Clarence Dillon in 1983, the vineyard is smaller than Haut-Brion, at 75 acres. It is very close to Haut-Brion - about a 5-minute drive - with some of the vines located near the Chateau, but there are sections of vineyard located further away in Talence, to the east of Pessac, and thus with a very different terroir / style, with sand, gravel, chalk, and clay soils. The planting density is very high at 10,000 vines per hectare. La Mission Haut-Brion tends to be more gregarious, opulent, and rich than Haut-Brion, as demonstrated by this 2005. Alcohol 14.5%. Drink: 2022-2062. (7/20/22)"

100 points Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider): "Inky dark in color, with its best days needing another decade or more in the cellar, what a wine! Thick, intense, dense, concentrated, powerful, and palate-staining, this is an other-worldly wine caught in its youth. The finish passes the 60-second mark and keeps on going in its seamless manner. Make no mistake, this is a future legendary LMHB that if you have the money, grab it. It is a wine for the ages. Drink from 2025-2080. (Feb 2024)"

99 points Neal Martin (Wine Advocate): "The 2005 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion is a stellar wine that is not for my generation but the next (and I ain't that old). It has a very expressive bouquet, the Merlot exceptionally animated and vibrant, manifesting scents of dark plum, blackcurrant, hints of leather and warm gravel lurking just behind. Returning to my glass after a couple of hours the bouquet is even more complex with lovely mint and juniper berries joining the chorus line. The palate is structured, as is typical of the 2005s, with a fine line of acidity, layers of black fruit, mint and tobacco. It fans out wonderfully on the finish. Stunning - but it deserves another decade in the cellar. Drink 2022-2060. Tasted November 2013."

98+ points Robert Parker: "Another massive effort, the inky/purple-colored 2005 La Mission-Haut-Brion is broodingly backward and foreboding. The aromatic profile offers hints of charcoal, freshly laid hot tar, truffles, graphite and black fruits. Full-bodied, powerful, tannic and almost painfully extracted and concentrated with tremendous structure, good acidity and a massive finish, this infant wine is largely unchanged since I first tasted it from bottle. If everything comes together in 10-15 years, this brilliant 2005 should merit a triple digit score. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050+. (Aug 2012)"

98 points Natalie Earl (Decanter): "What an incredible sensory experience! A wine that's perfumed and elegant yet also powerful and loud. Fragrant rose petals and red berries are complemented by smouldering embers, dried mushrooms and liquorice. The structure is dense, the tannins a thick weave, but it's not overbearing. It has delicacy and an endless finish. Drinking Window: 2024-2040. (6/8/24)"

98 points Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux): "A little more approachable than the Haut-Brion at this moment in time, but still at the very beginning of its drinking life, with decades ahead of it. Expect your senses to be drenched in pulses of electricity running through the palate, studding the waves of loganberry, blackberry and red cherry fruits. Feels carefully delineated and in balance, luscious and sculpted, with peony floral notes as it opens up. A classic Mission Haut-Brion, exceptionally impressive. 100% new oak. Alcohol 14%. Drink: 2022-2055. (6/20/22)"

97 points Wine Spectator: "The Indian spices and blackberry on the nose are so enticing and inspiring, leading to a full-bodied palate, with very polished tannins that caress. Goes on and on as this builds on the palate, with a mineral and berry aftertaste. For long-term aging. Best after 2015. (3/31/08)"

97 points and 'Top 100 Cellar Selection of 2008', Wine Enthusiast: "Dark and dense, but with such opulent fruit, this is a year when La Mission shows its softer, richer side by comparison with neighbor Haut-Brion. There is spice and exotic and generous red fruits to give with the concentration. It has great power, but it also has a velvet structure. (May 2008)"

97 points and 'Top 100 Wines of 2008' Wine & Spirits: "[$1,200 list] A glorious vintage of La Mission, this young wine buzzes with energy in the mouth. All of the flavors, whether herbal, earthy or vinous, seem to refer back to the tiny pebbles of this terroir. The texture is silken, the finish exclamatory and grand. It has a racy beauty, the kind of effortless strength Nureyev's choreography projects in Le Corsaire. One of the wines of the vintage, this has a high proportion of merlot in the blend (69 percent). It's more accessible than Haut-Brion, but still has the stamina for long-term aging. (Oct 2008)"

19.5-20 points The World of Fine Wine: "Surprisingly accessible given its youth and formidable structure. Baked red dark fruits on the nose, along with some exotic spice and toasty oak. What really stands out here are the purity and silkiness -- not a hair out of place on this one. A brilliant wine, surely destined to go down as one of the all-time great La Missions. (Issue #32; 2011)"