The 1975 La Mission Haut-Brion is a timeless wine. Still a saturated ruby-black in hue, it unfurls in the glass with a rich bouquet of dark fruits, cigar ash, camphor, loamy soil, truffles and smoke. Full-bodied and muscular, it's an immensely concentrated, highly extracted wine with a deep core of fruit underpinned by an imposing chassis of rich, chewy tannin that still asserts itself on the finish. The 1975 La Mission is one of the most powerful wines produced during the Woltner era at this château. - William Kelley

This is a legend in the market, but I have never thought it was perfection. The nose is impressive with dried stones, sweet tobacco and dried dark fruits. It is full-bodied with loads of ripe fruit, iodine, and sea salt flavors. It is full, powerful, and chewy. Turns dry from the tannins on the finish.

94+ I have had the pleasure to taste the powerful 1975 La Mission on several occasions, and while I have always been impressed with the quality of the wine, I am not quite as smitten with this vintage as several other commentators. The deep and classic La Mission bouquet soars from the glass in a slightly horsey blend of cassis, dark berries, saddle leather, plenty of chipotle pepper, tobacco, herbs, plenty of dark soil tones and a topnote of cigar box. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very complex, with a rock solid core of fruit, plenty of tannins still waiting to be resolved and outstanding length and grip on the very powerful finish. While this wine is already drinkable, it seems to me that it remains a bit primary on both the nose and palate and will continue to improve if allowed to stay in the cellar another five to ten years. There is certainly no rush to drink it, as it is a very structured, old-fashioned style of La Mission that should last for decades to come.

The 1975 La Mission Haut-Brion has been hailed in some quarters as a high point for the estate in the Seventies. My own experience has been one of inconsistency, especially compared to the reliable and, in my mind, superior 1978. According to a half-dozen or so tasting notes from 2000 onward, the 1975 was always robust, dense and nearly impenetrable. One bottle at the vertical in 2008 finally lived up to high expectations, but a follow-up two years later felt charmless. This bottle is conspicuously deep in hue. The nose is backward at first, eventually revealing blackberry, iodine and light licorice scents; later, a touch of gaminess creeps in. The palate is full-bodied and full of sinew, with thick tannins framing the multilayered, ferrous black fruit. This is huge in terms of grip, and almost brutish toward the finish. It’s impressive in stature, but the 1978 possesses greater nuance and more panache. Tasted at a private dinner in Hong Kong. -- Neal Martin