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Region or Appellation: Pessac Leognan/ Bordeaux / France
Classification: 1er Grand Cru Classé
Vintage: 1999
Blend: 60% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon & 12% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol ABV: 12.5-14.5 %
Sweetness: Dry
Drinking Window: 2005-2040
Closure Type: Cork
Critic tasting note: (1999 vintage) "Ready to go, this medium-bodied, earthy, herbal, leafy, cedar, smoke, red currant and tobacco-loaded wine starts off well on the palate but finishes shorter than I would like. The tannins and a bit sandy in the finish. What you see is what you get, this is not a wine for long-term aging. 94 Points" - Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
Jean de Pontac began constituting the Haut-Brion vineyard, in the Graves region, in 1525. His descendants went on to produce “New French Claret”, the precursor of today’s great red wines. Their efforts enabled Arnaud III de Pontac to sell his wine under the estate’s name as early as 1660. It gained a fine reputation and enormous success in London. The first of the Bordeaux great growths was born!
Haut-Brion’s history has been marked by many famous men: Count Joseph de Fumel (Field Marshal, Governor of the Province of Guyenne, and Mayor of Bordeaux), Talleyrand (Foreign Minister of Napoleon I, Emperor of France) and, more recently, C. Douglas Dillon (American ambassador to France and US Secretary of the Treasury during the Kennedy administration).
In 1961, Haut-Brion was the first of the great growths to use stainless steel fermentation vats, and continues to be in the forefront of innovation thanks to the meticulous selection of the ideal clones for each grape variety used at the estate.
