Château La Mission Haut-Brion
44°48′55″N 0°36′20″W / 44.81539°N 0.60565°W
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Pessac_Mission_Haut-Brion_01.jpg/220px-Pessac_Mission_Haut-Brion_01.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/La-Misson-Haut-Brion-1978.jpg/220px-La-Misson-Haut-Brion-1978.jpg)
Château la Mission Haut-Brion is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, classed among the Crus Classés in the Graves classification of 1953. La Mission Haut-Brion is the sister property of the First Growth Château Haut-Brion. The winery, located in close vicinity of the city of Bordeaux, belongs to the wine region Graves, in the commune of Talence with additional property in Pessac.
The château also produces a second wine from younger vines, La Chapelle de la Mission, since the 1991 vintage,[1] and the dry white wine Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc since the 2010 merger of Château Laville Haut-Brion.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/76/La_chapelle_de_la_mission_haut_brion_2007.jpg/220px-La_chapelle_de_la_mission_haut_brion_2007.jpg)
In the early 16th century, the land belonged to the family de Rostaing, of the house of de la Tour d'Esquivens, then called Arrejedhuys, planted with vines before it was passed to the Lestonnac family in 1540.
In 1919 it was sold by Victor Coustau to Fréderic Otto Woltner.[2][3] Woltner's sons, Fernand and Henri, considered innovators of viticulture, restructured the vineyards to yield better grapes. Henri Woltner who became manager of the estate in 1921, in addition to being credited as having pioneered the use of glass lined tanks in the vinification process in 1926,[3] came to be known as a "wine-maker genius".[5]
For many years considered the chief challenger to its historically more significant close neighbour Château Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion sold wines at high prices, but this was considered justified as they "produced some remarkable bottles".[4] The prolific Woltners ran operations at the neighbouring Château La Tour Haut-Brion for the widow Marie Coustau since her husband's death in 1923, who upon her death in 1933 left the chateau to the Woltner family in her will, and in 1931 the Woltners had acquired the nearby Château Laville Haut-Brion where they produced a dry white wine considered one of the best in Graves.[5]
After the death of Henri Woltner in 1974 and his brother shortly after, the estate was run by Françoise Woltner and Francis DeWavrin, daughter and son-in-law of Fernand Woltner.[3] Though standards were maintained, family discord led to the sale of the estate, along with La Tour Haut-Brion and Laville Haut-Brion in 1983,[1][3] to Domaine Clarence Dillon, owners of Château Haut-Brion since 1935[6] while the DeWavrins moved on to run Chateau Woltner in Howell Mountain AVA.[7] Although the historical competition between Haut-Brion and La Mission has been absent in recent years, through the supervision of manager Jean-Bernard Delmas, and later Jean-Philippe Delmas, the original terroir of the vineyards has been upheld and La Mission has remained distinctive.[1]
American wine critic
Estate mergers
With an aim to simplify the number of wines produced, Domaine Clarence Dillon decided that the grapes from the La Tour Haut-Brion vineyards would be blended into La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion starting with the 2006 vintage, and as the vines become older, use them for the production of the grand vin.[11]
In March 2010, it was announced that the wine of Château Laville Haut-Brion would cease to be bottled under that label, and instead produced under the name Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, beginning with the 2009 vintage.[12]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Ch%C3%A2teau_La_Mission_Haut-Brion.jpg/220px-Ch%C3%A2teau_La_Mission_Haut-Brion.jpg)
Production
Situated on uniquely stony soil,[3] the vineyard area extends nearly 21 hectares (52 acres) between the two portions in Pessac and Léognan, with a grape variety distribution of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 7% Cabernet Franc.[2]
The estate annually produces on average 6,000 to 7,000
References
- ^ a b c d Robinson, Jancis, Financial Times (2008-05-23). "The insider's choice". Financial Times.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d Kissack, Chris, thewinedoctor.com. "Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion".
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ ISBN 1-84000-927-6.
- ^ a b Lichine, Alexis (1967). Alexis Lichine's Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits. London: Cassell & Company Ltd. p. 314.
- ^ ISBN 0-85533-002-3.
- ^ Barnes, Laura, Caterer (2007-01-01). "Premier Chateau". itp.net.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Epicurious Wine Dictionary. "Chateau Woltner".
- ^ Le Journal du Vin (May 21, 2007). "Château La Mission Haut-Brion" (in French). Archived from the original on October 17, 2007.
- ^ theis-vine.dk Chateau Haut Brion Archived 2008-06-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Danish)
- ISBN 1-84000-927-6.
- ^ Kakaviatos, Panos, Decanter.com (2004-04-07). "Haut Brion drops La Tour".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Anson, Jane, Decanter.com (March 10, 2010). La Mission Haut-Brion white changes name Archived 2010-03-14 at the Wayback Machine