This famous bottle was brought to Paris three days ago from the United States and generously offered by our American guest. Unfortunately, the wine was not at its best – probably due to the flight.
I can feel its huge potential, but it is very closed this evening.
I would love to try this wine again some day!

Ruby and garnet-red color.
Austere empyreumatic bouquet of blackberry, cigar box, smoke, and spice.
Beautifully elegant, and smooth with superb structure. Enjoyable, well-balanced aftertaste.
An excellent Haut-Brion from an overlooked vintage.

Initial barnyard aromas, however, after being decanted for a couple of hours, the magic is back!
There are subtle hints of black fruit, smoke, licorice and lead pencil on the nose.
Beautifully round, tight, and well-balanced thanks to some of the most elegant tannin I have ever tasted. Very long aftertaste.
While this wine is definitely delicious now, it has clearly only begun to show its full potential.
What a beautiful wine!

This is the second time in just a few months that I have tasted this wine.
Complex aromas of pure red fruit, tobacco, black truffle, and leather. Multi-dimensional.
Delightfully intense on the palate with a perfect balance. Concentrated and powerful, yet superbly elegant.
What a treat!

Astonishingly youthful color for a 16 year old Bordeaux.
Wonderfully complex, subtle tertiary aromas, with leather overtones.
Full-bodied and mouth filling on the palate, showing generous, fine ripe fruit, spice, and cigar box characteristics. Marvelously well-balanced and round with a long aftertaste.
Almost ready and will easily last a few more decades.

Closed-in barnyard aromas with scorched earth and blackcurrant overtones.
Dry tannin and green extracted flavors.
A flawed bottle?

45% Cabernet Sauvignon – 33% Merlot (harvested before the heavy rain) – 22% Cabernet Franc.
Restrained bouquet, but you can smell the delicacy of the fruit. Still big and tannic on the palate. Great balance. Good middle palate and a long finish.

Nice ruby colour.
Attractive, ruby-red color.
Delicate flavors of violet, smoke, and blackcurrant. Solid structure with fine-grained tannin, lovely, crisp acidity, and remarkable length.
This wine should last for many more years to come.

Soon available

Soon available

Soon available

Dark, purplish, ruby-red color.
Astonishingly complex aromas of berries, ripe red fruit, and spice with balsamic nuances.
Beautiful, very well-focused structure on the palate. Dynamic, well-balanced body with a complex aftertaste with plenty of splendid, ripe fruit.
The wine of the vintage!

Remarkable spicy flavors with hints of tobacco, peony, and chocolate.
Elegant and well-balanced on the palate with very pure fruit. The finish is marked by tannin that still needs to soften. Sweet, velvety finish.
Anticipated peak: 2020-2030.

Unusually high proportion of Merlot (51%) in the final blend this year.
The nose is as flamboyant as the 2003 Pape-Clément.
Delicate aromas of red fruit, cedar, and lilac with a light, but nevertheless distinctive hint of musk.
Fantastic structure on the palate. Penetrating ripe, concentrated fruit with great balance. The tannin tightly-knit but very attractive. Splendid, but not overly long finish.
At this stage, I would give 2003 Haut Brion a score of 90/100 – potentially 96/100 in 20 years.

(61% Merlot)
Fairly expressive nose of berry jam, nutmeg, and cocoa.
The wine gradually opens up in the glass. Well-balanced and elegant with plenty of fresh fruit and fine tannin. I admit it did not particularly impress me when blind tasted.
Give it another 10-15 years.