1949 | Château La Mission Haut-Brion | Pessac-Leognan

Detailed Description

There are some vestiges of red fruits remaining, but you need to look deep inside all the cedar, tobacco leaf, cigar box, and tobacco smoke to find them. The finish is short, but such is life when a wine is almost 73 years of age.

Producer Information

Château La Mission is located opposite its big brother Château Haut Brion, just outside the city of Bordeaux. Château La Mission is not as old as Château Haut Brion, because La Mission has its origins in the 16th century. In 1533, Jean de Pontac founded the winery. At the time, Jean de Pontac also owned the current Château Haut Brion. Over the years, the estate has been owned by various owners, including the Roman Catholic Church. The winery has over 35 hectares of vineyards in use. The planting consists largely of cabernet sauvignon and merlot. The average age of these vines is around 25 years. In addition, the winery also produces a small edition of white wine. The white wines are produced from semillon and sauvignon blanc. In total, less than four hectares have been planted with white grape varieties. These vines, on the other hand, have an average age of 38 years old. The vines grow on a soil of gravel, clay and sand. The grapes are harvested by hand in the early morning. The vinification of the red wine starts with fermentation in 180-hectolitres stainless-steel vats. The wine is then transferred to wooden barrels of 100% new French oak. This maturation usually takes 22 months. Between 6,000 and 7,000 cases of this wine are produced annually. The production of the white wine is much lower, with less than 1,000 cases per year. The white wines are also aged in French oak, but for an average period of 15 months and in used wooden barrels. The white wines can be considered as one of the best worldwide.