Château La Mission-Haut-Brion 1961

LA MISSION-HAUT-BRION
Château La Mission Haut-Brion has been in possession of the Dillon family (also the owners of Château Haut-Brion) since 1983. The wine-making team between the two properties is shared. The vineyards of La Mission Haut-Brion are located across the road from Haut-Brion; however there are significant differences between the two properties. The majority of the vineyards at La Mission are located in the Bordeaux suburb of Talence which is slightly flatter and the soil is slightly richer with a gravel soil over a sub-soil of chalky sand. Whereas the vineyards of Haut-Brion are located in nearby Pessac with a slightly lower density of planting. As Stephen Brook wrote in The Complete Bordeaux that the major difference is in the wine style with La Mission as “more robust, more virile, more overtly tannic than Haut-Brion, and it doesn’t easily match the finesse of the First Growth”. Although some critics consider that in certain vintages La Mission outshines its illustrious neighbor.
Château La Mission-Haut-Brion 1961
Pessac (Graves), cru classé
Levels: top shoulder; stained labels, one lightly bin soiled label, one heavily bin soiled label, mixed importers
2 bottles per lot