Chateau HautBrion Premier Cru Classe PessacLeognan

About this WINE

Cabernet Sauvignon

Chocolate, vanilla, black currant, cedar, pepper and high tannins Cabernet Sauvignon is the jet setter of grapes. It travels all over the world, but being a late bloomer, it thrives in warm climates. When it matures, it is famous for intensity and depth of taste, balanced with a solid acidity due to the gentle ripening.The tiny, thick-skinned grape is packed with flavour, dark blue colour and tannins. Grown all over the world, the flavours vary. In France, it is often blended with the softer Merlot or the cooler Cabernet Franc, and is usually a bit higher in acidity.In the southern spheres, su

Malbec

Plum, black cherry, black berry and vanillaMalbec and Argentina are often used synonymously, but this enticing grape actually originates from France. Malbec never grew to be a French star and was mostly used as one of the six allowed blends in Bordeaux varietals.Cross the continent to Argentina and discover a story that is quite the opposite. Here it flourishes as the signature grape in Argentina’s sundried climate, which has a big say in what flavors and aromas to expect.With dark, inky colors and flavor and aromas reminiscent of plum, black cherry and blackberry the Malbecs from Argentina ar

Merlot

Known as Cabernet Sauvignon’s partner in crime, Merlot is a soft, fleshy and easy to grow grape that ripens easily, which makes it one of the world’s most planted wine grapes. This plummy little chum makes a lovely blend with said partner-in-crime, softening the tannic structure of Cabernet Sauvignon, while adding fruit and flesh to the mix.Climate has a lot to say about the taste of Merlot. When the climate is hotter as in California, expect a more fruit-forward and soft Merlot, in contrast to the herbaceous and mineral character of cool-climate Merlots from Bordeaux.Merlot has had quite a jo

Petit Verdot

Dark fruits, minerals, smoke, spicy, high in alcohol and tanninsOriginally from the Bordeaux region, this dark-skinned grape can prove quite a challenge in the vineyard. As an early budding and late-ripening grape, Petit Verdot is susceptible to frosty spring weather and early winter, which makes it difficult to grow.When the grape does reach its full ripeness, it produces wines that are full-bodied with mouth-gripping tannins and rich in color. Because of this, Petit Verdot gained its fame as a popular blending grape in Bordeaux wines, but today it only plays a smaller part in the blends.The

Cabernet Sauvignon

Malbec

Merlot

Petit Verdot

About this WINE

The Producer

Château Haut-Brion is a French wine, rated a Premier Grand Cru Classé (First Growth), produced in Pessac just outside the city of Bordeaux. It differs from the other wines on the list in its geographic location in the north of the wine-growing region of Graves. Of the five first growths, it is the only wine with the Pessac-Léognan appellation and is in some sense the ancestor of a classification that remains the benchmark to this day.When he purchased Château Haut-Brion in 1935, Clarence Dillon restored it to its former glory and to the elite circle of the most legendary wines in the world. T...