(98-100 points) Burning campfire embers, smoke, flowers, black cherries, blackberries, and licorice are on display in the aromatics. Texturally, you find a creamy-freshness that hits all the right notes. Concentrated, long, deep, and voluptuous, the wine is almost palate staining in its delivery, coating your palate, yet, somehow it remains energetic, and vibrant. Packed with ripe, powerful fruits, the finish builds as it lingers, and expands seamlessly on your palate. For La Mission Haut Brion, this should start drinking well with just 5-7 years of age, yet, it promises to age for decades. The wine blends 58.3% Merlot, 38.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3.4% Cabernet Franc, 13.6% ABV, 3.73 pH. Harvesting took place, September 1-September 18. Yields were low at 23 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2030-2075. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/search-wine-tasting-notes/?szSearch=2025%20brion

(97-99 points) (Pessac-Léognan; 58.3% Merlot, 38.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.4% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 26 hl/ha; 13.5% ABV; tasted at La Mission Haut-Brion). This is darker fruited than Haut-Brion, with the additional Cabernet bringing extra depth, a coolness to the mid-palate and a calm, tranquil, cool and fresh almost plungepool clarity to the wine. I love the gentle hint of cedar and the more obvious graphite notes. I love too the florality – here violet and lily of the valley; there's a little trace of incense too and the plume of smoke from the recently snuffed candle. Gracious in its dark fruit profile – mulberry, sloe, damson and blackberry, with a little black cherry stone. Ample at first, very spherical in form in the mouth, and incredibly dense and compact at the cool core. There's staggering concentration here but so much charm and even accessibility for such a great vintage with so much long-term potential. Long, gently tapering and almost eternal on the finish. Overall, I find this a little more vibrant and vivid, more lifted too than Haut-Brion itself. 97-99

(97-99 points) A blend of 58.3% Merlot, 38.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3.4% Cabernet Franc, the 2025 La Mission Haut-Brion reveals a refined bouquet of smoky cassis, dark berries, spices and lead pencil, framed by a deft touch of new oak. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and layered, it’s built around a multidimensional core of fruit underpinned by fine, velvety tannins, concluding with a long, perfumed and precise finish. Combining depth with energy, it delivers a textural yet controlled expression of power, with a real sense of freshness. The result is a particularly faithful, charming rendition of La Mission, defined by its elegance and overall precision.

(97-99 points) Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 La Tour Carnet rolls out of the glass with notes of juicy raspberries, fresh strawberries, and blackberries, followed by hints of violets, dark chocolate, and mint tea. The medium-bodied palate is soft and racy with bright red berry flavors and a minty kick to the finish. The blend is 69% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. The alcohol is 13.5%.

(97-99 points) The 2025 La Mission Haut-Brion is one of my early favorites in this vintage. Aromatic and vibrant, with striking purity, the Grand Vin is magnificent. Red-toned fruit, blood orange, pomegranate, mint and cinnamon soar from the glass. Beams of supporting tannin lend energy and shape. In a word: compelling. One of the wines of the vintage. - Antonio Galloni

(95-98 points) A Merlot-heavy blend of 58.3% Merlot, 38.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc that's being raised in 60% new French oak, the 2025 Château La Mission Haut-Brion sports a dense ruby/purple hue as well as juicy black raspberries, currants, smoky tobacco, freshly sharpened pencils, and liquid violet nuances on the nose. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a pure, concentrated, layered mouthfeel, focusing tannins, and beautiful overall balance and length. It's a slightly more inward, focused expression of this cuvée, but that's the vintage, and this has tons to love. I suspect the cellar will be your friend.

Deep dark ruby garnet, opaque core, violet reflections, delicate edge brightening. Fine precious wood nuances, some undergrowth, floral touch, dark berry fruit, cherries and plums. Complex, juicy, dark fruit, ripe, finely spiced tannins, mineral, good freshness, subtle extract sweetness, salty finish, shows length and ageing potential.

(96-97 points) A red with lots of muscular tannins that are polished and velvety. It's full-bodied with a chewy mouthfeel and a long and intense finish. Crushed stones, dark fruit and bark at the end. 58.3% merlot, 38.3% cabernet sauvignon and 3.4% cabernet franc. James Suckling Senior Editor

(94-97+ points) Sweet and crunchy, classic nose. Full-bodied with an intense, peppery element. It has a massive tannic backbone with notes of spices, pepper, currants and a fine and fresh aftertaste. It will require significant bottle aging to come around as this is a La Mission built along classic lines.

(95-97 points) Classy and nicely defined fruit on the nose, even if I sense a sweeter touch than is usual, with bramble jelly, dark chocolate, bright raspberry and peony scents. The palate combines a supple and charming sense of poise, with a svelte blanket of bramble, liquorice, dark chocolate, incense and salted fruits, with a dense core of finely grained tannins. This is deliciously bright, confident and controlled, with a fabulous frame of sooty, tightly knit grip, supporting the salted dark fruits, assisted in this by the wines super acidity. A great savoury flourish in the end. A serious grand vin here, with texture, depth and energy. It is a blend of 38.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 58.3% Merlot (again, a higher percentage of Merlot than usual, or rather less Cabernet Sauvignon) and 3.4% Cabernet Franc. The yield was 27 hl/ha this year, and the alcohol is reported to be 13.6%. 95-97/100

Signature finesse coupled with clear intensity and concentration, muscular with a juicy frame and crushed red rose petals on the finish. Huge ageing potential, this stretches out through the palate and delivers finesse and hidden power. 69% 1st wine. 27hl/ha yield. Harvest August 27 to September 19. 59% new oak. 3.73ph