Description
1956 red wine gift – Chateau Haut-Brion 1956 for sale at award-winning Arden Fine Wines in London.
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In 1855, the highest distinction of Médoc wines, Premier Cru Classé (First Growth), honoured Château Haut Brion.
In due course, Château Haut Brion became the only non-Médoc domain to join the Médoc wine list and the Graves wine classification.
Although it is not the most concentrated, Haut-Brion, on the other hand, stands out as the most noble of wines from Pessac.
Moreover, the industry recognises its longevity as unparalleled.
In addition, wine enthusiasts always find the silky tannins exceptional.
Furthermore, Château Haut-Brion claims the title of the oldest and yet the smallest of Premiers Grands Crus.
Interestingly, historians trace the first mention of vineyards of Haut-Brion back to 1423.
Subsequently, Jean de Pontac founded Haut-Brion as a wine estate in 1525.
Under Pontac’s leadership, the wine, in fact, first bore the name of this noble and respectable family.
As a result, as its reputation grew, the estate’s name eventually replaced that of its owners.
The English diarist Samuel Pepys noted on Friday 10th April 1663 a visit to the “Royall Oak Tavern, in Lumbard Street…
And here drank a sort of French wine, called Ho Bryan…
That hath a good and most particular taste that I never met with.”
1956 red wine gift – Château Haut-Brion 1956
The 1956 vintage of Château Haut-Brion, a First Growth from the Pessac-Léognan appellation in Bordeaux, originates from a generally poor vintage but has exceeded expectations when well-preserved.
CellarTracker reviews highlight it as a “delightful, delightful surprise” for a wine from a vintage with a “terrible reputation,” showcasing complexity and surprising freshness.
Wine enthusiasts widely regard the 1956 vintage in Bordeaux as a very difficult year due to bad weather.
Despite this reputation, well-kept bottles of the 1956 Château Haut-Brion deliver a pleasant surprise, defying expectations.
A deep mahogany-red colour with considerable browning at the rim commonly appears for a wine of this age.
Reviewers highlight a complex bouquet featuring aromas of malt, smoked meat, buckwheat, iodine, underbrush, hot bricks, and volcanic scents.
Some bottles may also display smoky notes alongside a dark fruit core.
The palate surprises with a full-bodied experience for the vintage, showcasing plumy fruit, though tertiary characteristics often dominate.
Tasters have also detected notes of cassis, tobacco, and herbs.
Some tasters observe that the wine becomes sweeter and fruitier in the glass after being open for a while.
The wine offers a fine, satiny texture with balanced tannins, providing impressive structure despite the challenges of the vintage.
In 1956, Château Haut-Brion had not yet switched to its distinctive embossed bottle in 1958, so the 1956 vintage appears in a standard Bordeaux bottle.
Award-winning Arden Fine Wines in London offers this 1956 red wine gift for sale.
