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.--'88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2010.Wine Spectator | 94 WS(Château La Mission Haut-Brion) The 1988 Château La Mission Haut-Brion is a very strong example of the vintage, with the ’88 tendency to a slight leanness nicely complemented by the property’s inherently broad shoulders. The deep and mature nose wafts from the glass in a very complex constellation of sweet dark berries, black cherries, still a touch of medicinal Graves tones, summer truffles, a fine combination of Cuban cigar ash and wrapper, gentle meatiness, a complex base of gravelly soil notes, a bit of smoky new oak and just a hint of violet in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with a fine core, still just a bit of backend tannin, good acids and fine focus and grip on the long and complex finish. This is one of the top 1988s that I have had a pleasure to taste and a very fine La Mission, even if it will always be just a touch sinewy by the rather robust standards of this outstanding estate. It is not quite as sweet in its fruit component (yet?) as the 1983 or 1981, but it may well get there, and if it does so, my score will be a tad conservative. (Drink between 2015-2040)John Gilman | 93+ JGThe 1988 La Mission Haut-Brion is a vintage that I have not encountered for ten years. Now at 30 years old it has a charming bouquet with scents of tobacco and cigar box infusing the black fruit, just as it did a decade ago. It is not powerful but undeniably very refined. The palate is medium-bodied with leafy black fruit infused with bay leaf, clove and black tea. Yes, it is a relatively austere La Mission compared to the succeeding two vintages, but there is a sense of effortlessness about this wine that makes you fall in love. Maybe not quite as vigorous as it was before, but you would still polish off a bottle in no time at all. Tasted at the château.Vinous Media | 92 VMFirm, masculine and tannic with plenty of earth, truffle, asphalt and volcanic characteristics, this burly La Mission-Haut-Brion is bordering on being monolithic/foursquare. It reveals good body as well as plenty of tannin, adequate acidity, a dark plum/garnet color, and classic La Mission terroir characteristics of smoke, scorched earth, spice, roasted meats and camphor. Neither big nor wimpish, it, like many wines of this vintage, appears to be aging nicely. While fully mature, it displays enough youthful characteristics, from its tannin to its vibrant, moderately intense fruit, to suggest it will hold up for another two decades.Robert Parker | 90 RP
