The red wines from Pessac Leognan show beautiful restraint in 2010, with typical earthy, cedarbox characters. The 2010 is far less expressive than the 2009s but for many wines this vintage will likely evolve more slowly and open up to challenge the 2009s in a few decades. However, at this moment in the wine’s life, the flavours are fairly closed, and austerity and very firm tannins dominate. The one exception to this rule is La Mission Haut-Brion, which was singing from the glass – spicy and seductive with layer upon layer of subtle flavours with a long finish. The proof of La Mission’s amazing performance is confirmed by the high quality of its second wine, La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, one of the standout second wines in this vintage.
1. 2010 Château Haut Brion, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby purple 2010 Haut Brion is a rich mouth-filling wine that will take at least a decade to come around. It offers up enticing aromas of cedar, violets, blackberries, blackcurrant, herbs and spices, followed by lovely layers of complex flavours, velvety tannins and a finish that just goes on and on. 20% Cabernet Franc has added spices, herbs and a complexity that comes through in the finish. In short, this is an extremely classy Haut Brion, with finesse, density and depth, and perhaps not coincidentally the lowest level of Merlot in the past 100 years. (98-100)
2. 2010 Château La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby 2010 La Mission Haut-Brion has lovely floral aromatics and notes of vibrant blackberries, cherries, plums, spices and cedar, followed by an amazing depth of flavours and a very long finish. Since 2007, La Mission has been using more Cabernet, toning down the Merlot content, and in 2010 the 62% Cabernet Sauvignon has clearly added depth and structure to an already vivacious wine. The result is a perfect La Mission, made in an expressive style with an intensity and depth that will enable it to age for decades. (98-100)
3. 2010 Château La Mission Haut-Brion – La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby purple 2010 La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, La Mission’s 2nd wine, offers up notes of vibrant blackberries, cherries, plums and cedar, followed by a wonderful array of very precise and focused flavours and a long finish. There is a wonderful freshness to the fruit, and an amazing density and power for a second wine, suggesting it will have the aging potential of many of the grands vins. (93-95)
4. 2010 Château Haut Brion – Le Clarence de Haut-Brion, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, FranceThe deep ruby 2010 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion has aromas of plums, cedar, blackberries and blackcurrant, all echoed in a very dense, velvety, seductive and rich palate. While this full bodied and concentrated wine is quite austere at the moment, it is a great wine for cellaring for at least 10 years, its densely-layered flavours and firm tannic structure pointing to a wine that will age for many decades. (92-94)
5. 2010 Château de Fieuzal, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby purple 2010 Chateau de Fieuzal offers up a very attractive and complex aroma profile of cassis, cocoa, plums and cedar, echoed in the layers of flavours that linger for a long time on the rich, textured palate. This is an unusually classy and impressive Fieuzal, which will last for decades.(91-93)
6. 2010 Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby 2010 Domaine de Chevalier is made in a very soft velvety style typical of Stephane Derenoncourt, the consultant here since 2002. In the past, his style was soft yet precise but recently I have found his wines lacking this precision and this is the case with the 2010 Domaine de Chevalier. While there are lovely plum and blackberry notes, supported by with supple tannins, the wine lacks any excitement on the palate. Having said that, this remains a medium bodied Pessac Leognan wine with charm and grace, but missing the power of the 2009. (91-93)
7. 2010 Château Pape Clémen, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby purple 2010 Pape Clement exhibits aromas of blackberries, plums, cassis, cedar and spices, followed up on both nose and palate by a gorgeous spectrum of flavours, with cashmere-like thick tannins and a long finish. I am often not a fan of Pape Clement, finding it too polished and slick, but here is a lovely textured wine with plenty of substance and charm, coming across as rich without being heavy. In short, this is a gorgeous wine, the most impressive vintage of Pape Clement I have tasted, and a wine that will easily keep for a decade or more. (91-92)
8. 2010 Château de France, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby purple 2010 Chateau de France offers gorgeous aromas of violets, plums, cassis, cedar and blackberries, supported by precise and layered but restrained fruit flavours and velvety and ripe tannins. This is a beautifully-crafted wine, much lighter than some of the extracted Graves reds in this vintage, but nonetheless a good prospect for long term cellaring. (91-92)
9. 2010 Château Rahoul, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby purple 2010 Rahoul has aromas of violets, plums, cassis, cedar and blackberries, with on the palate lovely focused fruit character and velvety ripe tannins. This is a very appealing wine made in a reserved style, requiring at least 5 years of bottle age and ideal for long-term aging. (90-93)
10. 2010 Château Haut-Bailly, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The 2010 Haut-Bailly is fairly deep ruby in colour, its aromas of cedar, violets, blackberries, blackcurrant, cedar and spices, faintly echoed in the subtle and charming but densely packed flavours. Haut Bailly often doesn’t show well en primeur and these flavours are restrained to the point of being stoic, suggesting this wine will need at least 5-8 years in bottle before a true picture of the wine emerges. I would like to re-taste this wine in 6 months time. (90-92)
11. 2010 Château Lespault-Martillac, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby 2010 Lespault-Martillac has gorgeous notes of plums, tobacco, cedar and blackberries, followed on the palate by vibrant and precise fresh plum flavours and wonderful minerality and length. This property, managed by Olivier Bernard of Domaine de Chevalier, has produced a brilliant red to match its white wine in 2010, and for anyone seeking an excellent value claret is one to seek out. (90-92)
12. 2010 Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby 2010 Les Carmes Haut-Brion offers up notes of plums, blackberries, cedar and cassis, followed on the palate by very vibrant fruit with firm tannin density and a fairly long finish. This is a great achievement by Stephane Derenoncourt – a balanced wine, made in an elegant style with a softness in the mid palate. Both samples tasted were impressive. (90-91)
13. 2010 Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby purple 2010 Smith Haut Lafitte has lovely aromatics of blackberries, plums, cassis, cedar and spices, with precise and layered but restrained fruit flavours – much lighter than found commonly in this vintage – and velvety and ripe tannins. A gorgeous middleweight Pessac Leognan. (89-91)
14. 2010 Château Malartic Lagraviere, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby purple 2010 Malartic Lagraviere has aromas of plums, cassis and blackberries, followed by a softness in the middle palate, rounded velvety tannins and a good finish. In a vintage filled with very tannic astringent wines, this is refreshing because of its lighter touch – full bodied, but not thick or chunky, achieving a fine balance. Denis Dubourdieu is the consultant. (88-91)
15. 2010 Château Carbonnieux, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France The deep ruby purple 2010 Carbonnieux has a vibrant, attractive nose of violets, plums, cassis, cedar and blackberries, supported by rich, very ripe but densely packed tannins that are so massive that they hide the wine’s flavours. This wine has good potential but the heavily-extracted tannins mean it will require at least 6-8 years to come around. (86-91)