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Haut Brion Blanc 2018

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan
ColourWhite
TypeStill
Grape VarietySauvignon Blanc/Semillon

The undisputed king of Bordeaux's dry white wines. Produced in miniscule quantities. The 2.8 hectare vineyard rarely makes much more than 500 dozen bottles a year from a blend of around 2/3 Semillon and 1/3 Sauvignon Blanc. The precise 2018 blend is 80.6% Sauvignon Blanc, 19.4% Semillon.

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Label

Tasting Notes

Opulent and perfumed for this great white in 2018, with lemon curd, cooked apple, lilac, lime flower, stone, rock and hints of sandalwood. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and compressed with layers of fruit that are integrated and focused. Needs time to open and show its true greatness but stunning. Try after 2025.

99
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2021

A Sauvignon Blanc-dominated release that includes just under 20% Sémillon, the 2018 Château Haut-Brion Blanc reveals a vivid light gold hue as well as gorgeous notes of crushed limes, white flowers, white grapefruit, and obvious crushed rock-like minerality. These carry to a medium to full-bodied white with flawless balance in its fruit, acidity, and alcohol, beautiful mid-palate depth, and an undeniable elegance and purity that's something to behold. It's not a powerful house, but it has a chiseled, elegant, incredibly long style that's going to benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and keep for 20 years or more.

97
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2020

The Haut-Brion 2018 Blanc is a blend of 80.6% Sauvignon Blanc and 19.4% Sémillon—this is the highest level of Sauvignon Blanc in the blend ever. Unsurprisingly, it needs a lot of air at this youthful stage, eventually unfurling bit by bit to offer subtle scents of lemon peel, fresh grapefruit, green mango and yuzu, with emerging suggestions of wet pebbles, struck flint, orange blossom and lime leaves with a waft of oyster shells. The medium to full-bodied palate has a gorgeous satiny texture and lovely freshness offsetting the intense stone and citrusy flavors, finishing long and layered. Give this a good 3-4 years to come around and drink it over the next 15 years or more. 2024 - 2039

94+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (End of Mar), March 2021

It may not quite have the high tension of the 2017 but this is a great white wine. It has wonderful grip and rich apricot fruit with high aromatics that keep up the pace right through the glass. It's extremely good quality and very enjoyable, with real persistency. The juicy finish is full of citrus, lime, freshly cut herbs and slate, bringing tension and minerality. Harvested 27 August to 5 September. 3.37pH.

Drinking Window 2021 - 2035

95
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2019

Peppery and ripe on the nose with tropical passionfruit, guava and ripe lemons. The palate is rich and oily, texturally fat and opulent, yet cut with just enough vibrant acidity. This turns the fruit to fresh pineapple and peach, but this is bursting with juicy fruit. The flinty, smoky minerality comes in waves, complemented by a light toastiness from the oak. Long and increasingly creamy on the finish.

95
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2019

(80.6 Sauvignon Blanc, 19.4 Semillon) | 50% new oak | 14.4% alc | Harvested between 27th August and 5th September This is such a stunning wine and the impact on the palate is terrific. Very closed and very intense, the fruit is firm and arresting and the length is sensational. The oak, while fairly prominent, joins forces with the acidity coming from the awesome Sauvignon Blanc and these two elements work in perfect harmony, drawing out the flavour to a very long finish. There is a nougat and lime pith flavour which is immensely attractive and while it will not be drinking for ten years, it is easy to see that this is the white wine of the vintage. It is interesting that the Sauvignon Blanc level is so high in this wine and that the majority of the Semillon went into the second wine.

19+
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, April 2019
Read more tasting notes...

A dense and ripe white with sliced apples and pineapple and hints of cooked lemons. Round and velvety texture. Flavorful finish. Shows intensity and richness.

95/96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2019

The Haut-Brion 2018 Blanc is composed of 80.6% Sauvignon Blanc and 19.4% Sémillon, harvested August 27 to September 5—this is the highest level of Sauvignon Blanc in the blend ever. It comes sashaying out of the glass with flamboyant notions of warm pineapple, passion fruit, lime cordial and lemongrass and hints of dried mandarin peel, peach blossoms, wild thyme and wet pebbles plus a waft of dill seed. Full-bodied and profoundly fruited in the mouth, the silky, vivacious frame has a lot of intense tropical notions and yet is jam-packed with delicate nuances, finishing with great length and a lot of emerging mineral and citrus layers. Big and beautiful.

94/96+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (April 2019), April 2019

More Sauvignon-dominated (there's 19.4% Sémillon), the 2018 Haut-Brion Blanc is up with the crème de la crème of the vintage and has both richness and freshness. Tart pineapple, citrus blossom, hints of orange blossom, and crushed rock-like characteristics all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant white that has plenty of oomph on the mid-palate, bright acidity, and a great, great finish. It’s another thrilling wine from this estate as well as one of the top whites in the vintage.

94/96+
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, May 2019
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.