2003
Château Haut-Brion Rouge
Tasting notes
The harvest had shown high sugar levels.
Tannic richness is vast reaching record levels in the Merlots and above all the Cabernets.
The lush tannins are also extremely ripe. They are copious,
silky and smooth filling the mouth and coating the palate with delight.
Strangely, the crispness of the fruit usually fades in such conditions.
Nothing could be further from the truth in 2003.
The wine has retained a highly discernible, smooth and ripe fruitiness, while staying very crisp.
The weather
2003 was without a doubt a very exceptional year in terms of the weather. Although it did not beat the record for lowest rainfall, attained in 1961 (258 mm) for the period April to September inclusive, 2003 comes immediately afterwards with 263 mm. However, in terms of temperature, all the records were broken. Accumulated average daily temperatures for the above period were around 3,161, with the hottest year (1997) until then reaching 3,494, but for 2003 the figure was 3,696; while the average for very hot days above 30°C/86°F is 16, there were 49 in 2003, more than three times as many!
A few figures
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Harvest dates
From August 25th to September 15th
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Blend
Merlot: 58%
Cabernet Sauvignon: 31%
Cabernet Franc: 11 % -
New barrels
70%
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Alcohol
13%
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Bottling date
From 24th to 31st of May 2005
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