Haut-Brion’s grand vin is the embodiment of five centuries of tradition and plays a pivotal role in the worldwide history of wine. It is the oldest of the Bordeaux classed growths, the inventor of a new style of wine fashioned in the seventeenth century, and considered the world’s first luxury brand.

Typically more Merlot dominant than other Left Bank wines, the terroir of Haut-Brion is expressed through its empyreumatic bouquet (Havana cigars, chocolate, roasting, cedar wood, and so on). The attack is restrained, with precise yet exceedingly soft tannins. But the power of this wine is revealed in the surprising long mid-palate and even longer finish.

Château Haut-Brion 2022 is the estate’s grand vin from Pessac-Léognan, built around a Merlot-led blend (reported by Jeb Dunnuck as 53.6% Merlot, 35.4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc) and bottled in May 2024. Decanter notes a pH of 3.83 and élevage in 63% new oak, and The Wine Independent reports 14.5% alcohol on the label. Critic response has been consistently excellent, with multiple top-tier outlets landing at 98 points or higher and emphasizing both mass and control.

Aromatically, the wine is described in classic Haut-Brion terms—smoke, earth, and graphite wrapped around dark fruit. Jeb Dunnuck calls it a “blockbuster…with a slightly firmer, more masculine style,” citing “smoky blackcurrants, scorched earth, graphite, violet, and tobacco.” Vinous reviewer Antonio Galloni similarly highlights its scale, writing that it is “powerful and explosive” yet “incredibly reticent,” with “black-toned fruit, gravel, incense, scorched earth and licorice.”

On the palate, several reviewers point to concentration paired with finesse. Decanter calls it “smooth and so juicy…sleek and sophisticated,” adding that there is “sinew but no heaviness,” and that it feels “quite approachable now” with “well integrated tannins and wood.” Jane Anson underscores both intensity and restraint, noting “cocoa bean, espresso, gingerbread spice…given restraint and understated finesse,” while warning that “these are muscular tannins.”

The highest-profile praise includes Jeff Leve’s 99-point review, citing a “seamless finish” that “lingers for 60 seconds or more,” and Dunnuck’s 98-point assessment of a “sensationally layered, seamless” wine with “building yet polished tannins” and the structure to evolve for decades. James Suckling (98) sums up the style succinctly: “one of the deepest Haut-Brions I have encountered in a long time,” and a wine that “will improve for decades,” ideally after 2030.