2006 Chateau Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan, France

The 2006 Haut-Brion is considered by many critics to be the finest wine produced at this historic estate in the modern era. It's a monumental Left Bank red that combines Haut-Brion's signature smoky, earthy character with the opulence of a great vintage.

The wine has developed profound complexity over nearly two decades: dark plum, tobacco, iron, graphite, espresso, and the earthy mineral depth unique to Haut-Brion's ancient gravel-over-clay terroir. One of the greatest First Growth values currently available, relative to the 2009 and 2010 blockbusters.

"The 2006 Haut-Brion performed even better from bottle than it did from barrel. Sixty-four percent of the production went into this wine, and while it displays the vintage's powerful tannins and structure, it possesses superb concentration, and the minerality/scorched earth notes of a great Haut-Brion. Medium to full-bodied, with perhaps not quite the fleshiness of the 2005 or 2000, it is built more along the lines of the 1998 and 1996. It is a brilliant effort displaying sensational purity, texture, and length that should be exceptionally long-lived."- 96 Points, Robert Parker