Haut Brion - 1996 (750ml) Size:750ml and black cherry and black

and black cherry and black currant fruit

and red and black currants

The wine hits the palate with extraordinary purity

but gloriously pure

with gingerbread and smoke nuances

Haut Brion - 1996 (750ml) Size:750ml and black cherry and blackWhile in some vintages La Mission Haut Brion and Haut Brion can be close in quality, that is not the case in this vintage. The 1996 Haut Brion, a blend of 50% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc is clearly on a higher plane than the La Mission. There is something much more expansive and complete on the nose: greater depth of fruit, more harmonious with scents of underbrush, tar, black olive and this bottle perhaps less "feral" than I