JS94: Purity of blueberry, blackcurrant and chocolate character here. Shell and iodine. It’s full-bodied, chewy and structured with lots of cool tannins that lead long through the center of the wine. Second wine of La Mission. Needs four or five years to soften.

JD94: I loved the 2018 La Chapelle De La Mission Haut-Brion, which ranks with some of the finest second wines out there. Showing the classic elegance that is the hallmark of this terroir, its ruby/purple color is followed by beautiful notes of black raspberries, mulberries, damp earth, graphite, truffle, and espresso roast. Rich, medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated, and light on its feet, it still brings plenty of concentration, ripe, seamless tannins, and serious length. It reminds me of the 2016.