Wine By Bok - 10/10 Stars
STILL YOUNG. You won’t believe this, a 58 year old bottle and I was still screaming that it was young! To rub it in, this bottle was from a 375ml half sized bottle which was supposed to age faster. Also, serving next to the legendary 89 doesn’t help as both are extremely youthful. The 59 was simply almost an identical clone of 89, except that it has a lot more depth and sophisticated tastes, coupled with countless layers, except that tannins are still lurking around. I think this really needs another 30 years.
Vinous - 100 points
The 1959 Haut-Brion is, in my view, the most moving of the utterly profound wines on the table. Ripe and flamboyant, the 1959 races across the palate with kirsch, mint, licorice and tobacco, all in an unctuous, flashy style that captivates all the senses. A darker and more voluptuous version of the 1961, the 1959 has it all. Layered and sweet on the palate, with fabulous depth and breathtaking complexity, the 1959 boasts superb polish, a long, seamless finish and tremendous harmony. At times, the 1959 exhibits an almost Burgundian-like sense of finesse and lightness on the palate. Quite simply, this is as good as it gets. The 1959 shows no signs of fading; rather it is likely to gradually lose intensity over the next 10-15 years, although it may last well beyond that. I wasn’t born when the 1959 was made, so I can only imagine what it must have tasted like as a young wine. Even today, it is incredibly rich. In a word: unforgettable. (12/2014)
John Gilman - 100 points
The 1959 vintage of Haut-Brion was the first legendary bottle of claret that I ever had the pleasure to taste in my career in the wine trade, and I have had the good fortune to taste it with some frequency over the last twenty years. This most recent bottle of ’59 Haut-Brion was in pristine condition and every bit as magical as the wine can be when the stars are aligned. As most readers will be aware, this was Jean Delmas’ very first vintage in charge of the winemaking at the estate and he obviously hit the ground running! The bouquet is pure, vibrant and bottomless, as it soars from the glass in a blaze of ripe cassis, dark berries, cigar ash, gloriously complex, dark, gravelly soil tones, black truffle, a touch of nutskin and plenty of smokiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and brilliantly complex, with perfect, seamless balance, a sappy core and a very, very long, smoky, roasted and laser-like finish. This has always been a bigger, more powerful vintage of Haut-Brion, but this bottle seems to just be starting to develop more 1953-like elegance to go along with its stunning depth and length. Along with the 1928 and 1953, this is the greatest vintage of Haut-Brion I have ever been lucky enough to taste! (3/2017)
Specifications
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Sub-Region | Pessac Leognan |
| Classification | 1st Growth Medoc |
| Vintage | 1959 |
| Grape | Cabernet / Merlot |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Critics Score | 100 Points |
| Bok Rating | 10/10 Stars |
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