2018 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Harvested 27 August to 5 September. 3.27pH.
It's a knockout white wine full of character and grip. It's the second time it's had a majority of Sauvignon Blanc (along with the 2016) because they really benefitted from the freshness that it provided.
Drink 2021 - 2035
Jane Anson, Decanter.com (March 2019)
Tasted side by side, the 2018 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc is unequivocally a few steps ahead of the 2018 Haut-Brion Blanc. I made sure to decant my bottle for three hours before penning a single note, as it always demands aeration. Slightly deeper in colour, which is nothing unusual, it has a more complex bouquet of yellow fruit, peach skin, almond shavings, hazelnut and light lanolin notes, all beautifully defined.
The palate is extremely well balanced with a tangy, marmalade-tinged entry, dried honey and a slight pepperiness toward the finish. Very cohesive and focused, this is a marvellous, quite cerebral La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc. Superb.
Drink 2022 - 2050
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (March 2021)
The La Mission Haut-Brion 2018 Blanc is a blend of 57.4% Sauvignon Blanc and 42.6% Sémillon. It sashays out of the glass with gregarious notes of white peaches, fresh pears and pineapple with nuances of lime blossoms, crushed rocks and sea spray, plus a waft of beeswax. The racy, medium to full-bodied palate is charged with energy, delivering vibrant citrus and tropical fruit layers with a satiny texture and fantastic length.
Completely exceeding my barrel-tasting expectations, this promises to be an earlier drinking style, albeit multilayered, dripping with class, and, yes, it's downright sexy. Give it just a few more months in bottle, and then it should offer decadent drinking for the next 15+ years.
Drink 2022 - 2037
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2021)
Diam closure. Nearly 50% Sémillon.
Very uncommunicative on the nose. Light greenness. There is lots of acidity – notably more than most of these 2018 dry white Bordeaux. Depth and finesse but very much less rich than most of its peers.
Drink 2023 - 2032
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (February 2022)
Dried green mango, kiwi, citrus and green apple on the nose. Essence of grapes. Some stone and flint undertones, too. It’s full-bodied and very tight with layers of fruit and phenolics, yet so integrated and polished. It spreads across the palate—elegance with power.
Drink in 2025
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (February 2022)
A richer, more textured wine than the Haut-Brion Blanc, no doubt due to its larger Sémillon content, the 2018 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc reveals a medium gold hue as well as beautiful pineapple, honeyed lime, star fruit, and floral aromas and flavours. Nicely concentrated on the palate, it's medium to full-bodied and offers beautiful acidity, plenty of depth and richness, and a great finish. A slightly softer wine, it doesn't have the precision of its countermate yet brings more texture and opulence. It's another brilliant white that will benefit from short-term cellaring and evolve for 15+ years or so.
Drink 2021 - 2036
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (March 2021)
About this WINE
Chateau la Mission Haut-Brion
Château La Mission-Haut-Brion is the greatest Graves wine after Haut-Brion and in some vintages is considered the superior wine of the two. La Mission-Haut-Brion is situated just across the road from Haut-Brion in the commune of Talence in the southern suburbs of Bordeaux. Since 1983, both properties have been under the same ownership, Domaine Clarence Dillon S.A.
La Mission-Haut-Brion's vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon 48%, Merlot 45%, Cabernet Franc 7%) lie on a large (up to 18 metres deep in places) gravel bank interspersed with clay. The wine is fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats and then matured in oak barriques (100% new) for 18 months. The wines of La Mission Haut Brion are rich, oaky and powerful and need at least 10 years of bottle ageing before they should be broached.
Pessac-Leognan
In 1986 a new communal district was created within Graves, in Bordeaux, based on the districts of Pessac and Léognan, the first of which lies within the suburbs of the city. Essentially this came about through pressure from Pessac-Léognan vignerons, who wished to disassociate themselves from growers with predominately sandy soils further south in Graves.
Pessac-Léognan has the best soils of the region, very similar to those of the Médoc, although the depth of gravel is more variable, and contains all the classed growths of the region. Some of its great names, including Ch. Haut-Brion, even sit serenely and resolutely in Bordeaux's southern urban sprawl.
The climate is milder than to the north of the city and the harvest can occur up to two weeks earlier. This gives the best wines a heady, rich and almost savoury character, laced with notes of tobacco, spice and leather. Further south, the soil is sandier with more clay, and the wines are lighter, fruity and suitable for earlier drinking.
Recommended Châteaux: Ch. Haut-Brion, Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, Ch. Pape Clément, Ch Haut-Bailly, Domaine de Chevalier, Ch. Larrivet-Haut-Brion, Ch. Carmes Haut-Brion, Ch. La Garde, Villa Bel-Air.
Sauvignon Blanc & Sémillon
The blend used for White Graves and Sauternes and rarely encountered outside France. In the great dry whites of Graves, Sauvignon Blanc tends to predominate in the blend, although properties such as Smith Haut Lafite use 100% Sauvignon Blanc while others such as Laville Haut Brion have as much as 60% Sémillon in their final blends. Sauvignon Blanc wines can lose their freshness and fruit after a couple of years in bottle - if blended with Sémillon, then the latter bolsters the wine when the initial fruit from the Sauvignon fades. Ultimately Sauvignon Blanc gives the wine its aroma and raciness while Sémillon gives it backbone and longevity.
In Sauternes, Sémillon is dominant, with Sauvignon Blanc playing a supporting role - it is generally harvested about 10 days before Sémillon and the botrytis concentrates its sweetness and dampens Sauvignon Blanc`s naturally pungent aroma. It contributes acidity, zip and freshness to Sauternes and is an important component of the blend.
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Description
Tasted side by side, the 2018 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc is unequivocally a few steps ahead of the 2018 Haut-Brion Blanc. I made sure to decant my bottle for three hours before penning a single note, as it always demands aeration. Slightly deeper in colour, which is nothing unusual, it has a more complex bouquet of yellow fruit, peach skin, almond shavings, hazelnut and light lanolin notes, all beautifully defined.
The palate is extremely well balanced with a tangy, marmalade-tinged entry, dried honey and a slight pepperiness toward the finish. Very cohesive and focused, this is a marvellous, quite cerebral La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc. Superb.
Drink 2022 - 2050
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (March 2021)
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