La Mission Haut Brion 1988

Parker: A deep garnet core, very clean. This has a glorious, very pure and beautifully defined nose with the austerity of ’88 claret but with much more fruit intensity than others. Lovely tobacco scents, cigar box. The palate is medium-bodied, understated, beautifully balanced with great precision and focus. Good acidity lending this Mission such vivacity with just that right degree of dryness on the finish to urge you to take another sip. A lovely La Mission and I bet a relative bargain compared to other vintages 94/100

Winespectator: Wine Spectator: Iodine aromas, with tobacco, cedar and sea shells, and earth and ripe fruit underneath. Full-bodied, with slightly chewy tannins and a vanilla, berry and cherry aftertaste. Big and powerful still. I would give it a little more time to mellow. But an impressive wine for the vintage. 94/100