2011 Ch. Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan

The blend this year is 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc. The team here were particularly impressed by the quality of the Cabernets this year and this was borne out by our own tasting as we noticed great complexity on the bouquet. Aromas of crushed rocks mingle with black fruits, while on the palate there is a fine, precise purity and outstanding balance.
(Alun Griffiths MW, Berrys' Wine Buying Director)
Château Haut-Brion

Deep velvety red, wild roses bouquet, taffeta smooth texture, great precision and clarity, restrained and aristocratic.
(5 Stars - Decanter - Bordeaux 2011 coverage - April 2012)

Like its stablemate La Mission-Haut-Brion, Haut-Brion’s 2011 production was small, only 7,600 cases, which is nearly 3,000 fewer cases than in 2009. A blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 19% Cabernet Franc, it is interesting to taste the 2011 Haut-Brion next to the more open-knit, seductive 2011 La Mission Haut-Brion. The former wine is more firm, backward and earthy with a more formidably structured style.

Undeniably elegant, distinctive and original, it exhibits notes of mulberries, plums, blueberries and raspberries. Jean-Philippe Delmas told me that in many ways the 2011 reminds him of the 2008 from an aromatic and structural profile. There is plenty of tannin, and the 2011 has 25-30 years of aging potential. It may be more reminiscent of a vintage such as 1988, but it is better made as well as being the product of a far stricter selection process.
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - April 2012)

Manages to harness the angularity of the vintage extremely well, almost burying the acidity in the core of cassis, black cherry skin, plum pit and maduro tobacco flavors. This is typically among the most backward wines of the vintage when young, and it's still tight and primal, but with admirable length and density already. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Wine Spectator's 2011 Top-Scoring Red Bordeaux
(James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, April 5, 2012 )