2020 Haut Brion Blanc
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Tasting notes
The 2020 Haut-Brion Blanc feels strangely diffuse and a bit dilute on the nose, something highlighted by its juxtaposition against the superior Smith Haut-Lafitte Blanc. The palate is balanced with bitter lemon and lime on the entry, quite cohesive, a slight nuttiness and smokiness furnishing the finish. Maybe it just needs a bit of time? This is a very disappointing showing given its performance just after bottling. That sound is me scratching my head! Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2020 Haut-Brion Blanc also exhibits a deft touch of youthful reduction, unwinding in the glass to offer up aromas of nectarine, peach, grapefruit and Sauvignon botanicals, followed by a full-bodied, broad and fleshy palate that's layered and integrated, concluding with a delicately oak-inflected finish. This, too, has turned out nicely.
The 2020 Château Haut-Brion Blanc is on another level and is clearly in the top handful of whites in the vintage. Extraordinary notes of white grapefruit, crushed citrus, earthy minerality, toasted nuts, and sappy flower notes define the aromatics, and this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, flawless, high, yet integrated acidity, and a liquid rock-like sense of minerality on the finish. White Bordeaux does not get much better, and this heavenly white deserves 4-6 years of bottle age and will evolve for decades.
The 2020 Haut-Brion Blanc has a very classy bouquet, not quite as expressive as the La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, yet very detailed and mineral-driven, with hints of almond and a light hazelnut/fumé scents that loiter off-stage. The palate is very well balanced with a smooth texture, and wonderful depth. It exhibits a little more concentration than the La Mission with a sensual, grapefruit and lemon verbena finish tinged with saffron. Superb, but it deserves time in bottle.
About the producer
Ch. Haut-Brion is the only classified growth in Pessac-Léognan. One of the five First Growths, it is renowned for producing both exceptional reds and whites. Along with its sister estate, Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, it is part of the Clarence Dillon stable.