Château La Mission Haut-Brion 1996

Many 1996 are still pretty closed up right now, as it was a vintage with fairly hefty tannins but this is perfect for drinking with a good carafing first. It’s full of generous, rippling berry fruits and soft smudges of cigar box and peat, steady rather than exuberant, with a menthol sign off. Made a perfect match for a homemade Shepherd’s pie in the early months of the year, and gives plenty of optimism for how the Left Bank 1996s are going to perform over the next few years. Drinking Window: 2019-2040. Part of Jane Anson’s top fine wines of 2019. Score – 95. (Jane Anson, decanter.com, Dec. 19, 2019)