Let’s say you have two choices of wine. Both are the same style, both have multiple 100 point reviews, but one is almost half the price of the other. The two wines are the 2016 Haut Brion or the Lafite. I’ve honestly never had either one, but I would like to with the only issue of being able to afford one of these wines. Any thoughts?
Let’s say you have two choices of wine. Both are the same style, both have multiple 100 point reviews, but one is almost half the price of the other. The two wines are the 2016 Haut Brion or the Lafite. I’ve honestly never had either one, but I would like to with the only issue of being able to afford one of these wines. Any thoughts?
Without knowing anything more, I would choose Haut Brion because (1) it is my favorite Bordeaux producer and (2) it is more distinctive than Lafite. There really is nothing at all like Haut Brion other than arguably La Mission Haut-Brion, but if you like Lafite then other Pauillacs can deliver an experience that is at least in the same genus, even though it might be a different species. I’m not sure anything else is even in the same phylum as Haut Brion.
What is the difference of La mission versus just Haut-Brion?
I’ve generally found Haut Brion to be more elegant and to show more of the funky character that makes both great chateau, while La Mission Haut-Brion is more powerful, but still incredibly agile. They are separate estates but the owners of Haut Brion acquired La Mission Haut Brion in 1983. La Mission Haut Brion is generally considered to be one of the best of the Super Seconds even though it was not classified in 1855.
Do you have any experience with past vintages and the style of the two houses? They are far from the same style IMO. I prefer Haut Brion and would choose it even if the prices were equal, though I’m likely in the minority. Two bottles of Haut Brion vs. one of Lafite is a no-brainer for me.
Do you have any experience with past vintages and the style of the two houses? They are far from the same style IMO. I prefer Haut Brion and would choose it even if the prices were equal, though I’m likely in the minority. Two bottles of Haut Brion vs. one of Lafite is a no-brainer for me.
I don’t have experience with either one. I was just perplexed on why the Lafite would be double the price with practically the same ratings.
The price difference is supply and demand. Demand based on reputation. Lafite might be “better” than Haut Brion to a majority of the population but unlikely most would say it’s worth twice as much based on taste alone, i.e. blind tasting. Lafite is a great wine but it commands an extra premium based on the name and the reputation as “best” Bordeaux making it more desirable.
I really appreciate it and I am going togo with the Haut Brion. Thanks
Price / quality really doesn’t scale or work for top wines. Price is driven purely by supply / demand and there are many factors other than quality that feed into that: wines with very low production, wines with high name recognition and cachet as status symbols etc. When faced with your “dilemma”: buy the one that’s half the price of the other!
I agree with all of this. Haut Brion might be the best wine in the world spanning the vintages. In my completely subjective opinion, of course.
Go with the 95 pointer thats half of the price of HB
I agree with many of the comments here, with some personal thoughts:
- Haut Brion over Lafite
- La Mission Haut Brion over Haut Brion, if price a factor
- Backfill on a more mature bottle of Haut Brion over a 2016
- A case of 2014 Les Carmes Haut Brion over one bottle of Haut Brion
More on the third point, if you want to try one, why not try one that is actually ready to drink, rather than dropping $650 for a wine that needs 20 or more years? For example, the 1998 Haut Brion (a Parker 99) and the 1996 Haut Brion are both less than the 2016, and you will have change to spare.* Since you are highlighting the multiple 100-point scores, I would rather drink a less-heralded, but mature Bordeaux (say like the 95-point 1996 Haut Brion), over a supposedly perfect but painfully youthful and potentially closed, 2016 Haut Brion.
If you are willing to spend that kind of money, and want a potentially earth-shattering wine experience, grab a pristine bottle of the 1989 Chateau Haut Brion with a friend and share it over a nice dinner. Hard to imagine a more perfect bottle of Bordeaux, the archetype of Bordeaux, IMHO. The 1990 is amazing as well, and you should be able to find it for just a little bit more than the 2016.
- Ideally, you would even give the 1998 and 1996 a few more years, but they are into their early drinking window, IMHO.
If I saw 100 points on a bottle, I’d probably RUN.
help me out. Why?
I really appreciate this advice, and this is exactly what I am going to do. I did already buy the Haut Prion Future and Chateau Pavie Future. Thankyou for your help.
I guess the first question I have to ask - what types of wines do you normally drink? Second, are you purchasing this for your own consumption or to eventually sell? Three, if you plan on drinking, how long will you hold?
I guess my knee jerk reaction is - who cares what the score is unless that reviewer ‘aligns’ with your palate? If you do not know, to me, you are ‘playing into the game’ of wine that I don’t completely understand - unless you are doing this for an investment.
Sorry I can’t offer any more advice, but without knowing your background and ‘intentions’, it’s a bit of a shot in the dark.
And last but not least, and this is not meant as a diss about anyone on this board, but why listen to any one particular person here unless you have shared palates / experiences?
Cheers.
You never know what is going to happen with the price. As to the score/price ratio - it depends on who gave the wine 100 points. If it was Parker, that matters. If it was someone else, that matters less on the secondary market. Since Parker isn’t scoring wine these days, it’s a crapshoot as to who, if anyone, will have any major influence on the market.
Haut Brion has the longest pedigree of any wine I’m aware of - Samuel Pepys wrote about it in the late 1600s. They basically came up with many of the practices that are currently used - estate bottling rather than having a negociant do the blending, not using Syrah or other grapes, racking, etc. And it’s flat out delicious, based on my palate rather than someone’s rating.
But it’s way too expensive for me to buy - as someone mentioned above, at some point price and quality separate and as the price goes up, the separation becomes ever greater. As to buying a “100 point wine” at all - if someone else’s opinion matters to you and somehow validates your purchase, go for it. Otherwise taste widely and buy what you like.