| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan |
| Colour | White |
| Type | Still |
The undisputed king of Bordeaux's dry white wines. It is produced in miniscule quantities: the 2.8 hectare vineyard rarely makes much more than 500 dozen bottles a year.
The 2024 blend is 44% Sauvignon Blanc, 56% Sémillon. A rare HBB that is more Semillon than Sauvignon. Picked September 4th to 10th. 13.7% ABV, 40% new oak. Yield 38 hl/ha.
After a little shaking, notes of orange blossoms, fresh grapefruit, and just-ripe pineapple slowly emerge from the glass, followed by hints of fennel seed, wet pebbles, and blanched almonds. The medium-bodied palate is so silky and seamless, melting in your mouth with saline-laced citrus and tropical fruit layers, finishing with epic length and depth. Incredible.
The 2024 Haut-Brion Blanc also has a reserved bouquet like the La Mission Blanc and demands more encouragement than usual. Eventually, there are lime, gooseberry, crushed stone and mirabelle scents that start to gain intensity after ten minutes. The palate is very well balanced with a slightly more pithy texture. It is quite peppery, with fine grip and hints of green olive toward the persistent finish. This is excellent.
A blend of 56.1% Sémillon and 43.9% Sauvignon Blanc, the 2024 Haut-Brion Blanc reveals a complex, dense bouquet of smoke, iodine, white fruits and flowers mingled with delicate notes of citrus zest. Medium to full-bodied, it has a sappy and layered palate that's perfectly integrated, with a long, saline and ethereal finish. This vintage beautifully reconciles the intrinsic power of the terroir with the slow ripening of the growing season, resulting in a wine of remarkable finesse and vibrant white-fruited energy.
Silver-lemon colour in the glass. There is a beeswax sheen layered over the stone fruits on this nose, which is broader and perhaps slightly riper feeling than the Mission this year. The wood treatment is glossy but integrated, endowing the wine with more power against its intense but elegant fruit spine. The result is a wine of breadth, tension and zest, with real lift despite its silkiness on entry. A wine with real potential, power and finesse. Very long, a superb effort.
Palest gold in colour, beautiful quality, has intensity and grip, it hugs on to the palate, delivering white peaches, pear, apple orchard, fragrant and charming, with a sweet apricot puree and bitter fennel on the finish. Acidity and structure a little more pronounced here than on La Mission, clearly will go the distance, if a touch less charming right now. 40% new oak, harvest September 2 to 10. 3.22ph. 38hl/h yield
The 2024 Haut-Brion Blanc is seamless and textured in the glass. Silky and creamy in feel, with fabulous balance, Haut-Brion Blanc is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. Marzipan, chamomile, spice, lemon confit and a kiss of French oak are all beautifully woven together. The long, sustained finish is a thing of beauty. 2029 - 2039
Minerally and understated nose, but it’s so pure and bright, showing lots of purity and precision this year. Subtle aromas of seashells, green kiwis, wet stones and meringue follow through to a medium- to full-bodied palate. Lots of texture and energy, yet it remains dry and really long. 56.1% semillon and 43.9% sauvignon blanc.
