Its color is a very deep red. The nose, at first reserved, opens up softly and slowly. Notes of minerals are followed by red berries, then an earthy whiff dominated by an aroma of fresh ground coffee beans. Before you know it the wine charms you with all of its incredible complexity. The mouth is silky. The treatment of this vintage's special tannins renders them astonishingly suave. Their freshness carries them along eventually towards an unending length on the palate.
One will without a doubt need great patience to await the future when one can truly profit from the potential of this great vintage of Château Haut-Brion.
Vintage
The 2006 vintage is the fruit of a very contrasted climate. During that year, the environmental conditions were changing in a very unusual manner, passing from one extreme to another, throughout the entire year right up until the end of the grape harvest. Fortunately, within this strange context, spring and summer were both, in general, hot and dry. One hundred seasonal workers, labouring day after day for three full months (early leaf-thinning at the end of June, a green harvest and then a secondary leaf-thinning), allowed wine-maker to wait patiently for the absolute peak of each variety of grape on every parcel of the vineyard. Thanks to this great work, as well as a very meticulous sorting process, the fermentation vats were filled with a homogenous collection of perfectly healthy, fully-ripe berries.
Weather
Sum of temperatures: 3571°C
Rain: 315 mm
Days where temperature above 30°C: 32
Harvest: from 29/08/2006 to 29/09/2006
Rain: 315 mm
Days where temperature above 30°C: 32
Harvest: from 29/08/2006 to 29/09/2006