The 2012 La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion is a beautifully balanced Bordeaux with bright red and dark fruit flavors, a touch of earthiness, and fine, polished tannins. It’s elegant and juicy with a fresh finish, showing both softness and structure. Great to enjoy now but also built to age gracefully for years to come.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 92
Published: Feb 22, 2015

Pure and precise aromas of dark fruits and currants with hints of stones follow through to a full body, fine tannins and a fresh finish. Harmonious and very elegant. Better in 2017. 

The Wine Advocate | RP 90
Published: Apr 30, 2015
Drink: 2015-2030

The beautiful second wine, the 2012 La Chapelle de La Mission Haut Brion, has a dense ruby/purple color, sweet raspberry and blackcurrant fruit, subtle earth and spice, supple tannins and an opulent fleshy mouthfeel. It is a terrific second wine and outstanding in its own right. Drink it over the next 12-15 years. 

Decanter | D 89
Drink: 2016-2024

Good slightly earthy Graves bouquet, polished taffeta texture but a greeness is there from the Cabernet Sauvignon that needs to smooth out to ensure a classy future.

Mission-haut-brion.com

Produced in small quantities, this second wine is a gateway to the world of Château La Mission Haut-Brion. Its name is a nod to the chapel of La Mission Haut-Brion, built by Lazarist priests in 1698.

2012 Tasting notes
The bouquet is redolent of red fruit. In fact, this is a paradoxical wine.
It is soft on the palate, yet also quite tannic and, although fresh, it also has a certain warmth and suavity.
2012 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion is full-bodied and juicy, but tightly-wound on the middle palate.
Barrel ageing overseen by a talented cellarmaster will enable this wine to show its character more clearly in the coming months. 

The weather
The 2012 vintage was uneven from bud break, which was disturbed by a cool, wet month of April, to véraison (color change), which took place over a long period. Fortunately, the months of July and August 2012 were ideal: warm and dry.  This fine summer weather enabled us to do everything possible in the vineyard in order to make up for the poor spring weather. For two months, our team worked meticulously to make ripening as homogeneous as possible, and removed any green grapes at véraison.The harvest for both red and white wines began under sunny skies.2012 is a truly fine vintage for early-ripening terroirs such as ours.