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Château Haut-Brion Blanc 2015

Château Haut-Brion, Bordeaux, France

Château Haut-Brion
Bordeaux France
  • 98
    Points
  • The 486 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 22 Pros of
    22 recommend
    this wine
235 98
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    409

  • Producer ranking ?

    31

  • Decanting time

    2h

  • When to drink

    from 2020

  • Food Pairing

    Pan Seared Sea Scallops with Lemon Beurre Blanc

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The 2015 Haut Brion Blanc is a blend of 69% Sauvignon Blanc and 31% Semillon that was picked between 28 August and 7 September. Like the 2015 La Mission Haut Brion Blanc, the bouquet was quite backward despite rigorous aeration, reluctantly proffering aromas of lime, citrus lemon, gooseberry and a touch of tinned peach. The palate is very well balanced with a fine line of acidity, perhaps even more...

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The Story

Haut-Brion Blanc is as renowned as it is scarce, with only about 8,000 bottles available per vintage for a very demanding market. It is often regarded as the greatest white of Bordeaux, although Haut-Brion Blanc’s sibling, Laville Haut-Brion, sometimes equals and occasionally surpasses it. The white vineyards at Haut-Brion are planted to 63 percent Sémillon and 37 percent Sauvignon Blanc, a weighting that gives this wine its particularly plush...

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Wine Information

The year 2015 appears to be the warmest and sunniest, throughout our country, since the beginning of meteorological statistics. A long heat wave and dry period allowed to achieve excellent flowering conditions until the arrival, in August, of miraculous rains. This rain enabled the vines to maintain the necessary water reserves and to provide requisite nourishment for perfect ripeness. The harvest began in September under a clear blue sky. Tha...

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Vintage 2015

Full report of Bordeaux 2015 by Andrew Caillard MW “Next in line in a great series of vintages; 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2015.

 

2015 is a wonderful Bordeaux vintage without the hype or hysteria associated with 2009 and 2010. The wines are generally expressive and generous with wonderful concentration and structure. Given another year in barrel, the wines should gain more complexity and fruit volume. Châteaux, in all sub-regions, are e...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

The 2015 Haut Brion Blanc is a blend of 69% Sauvignon Blanc and 31% Semillon that was picked between 28 August and 7 September. Like the 2015 La Mission Haut Brion Blanc, the bouquet was quite backward despite rigorous aeration, reluctantly proffering aromas of lime, citrus lemon, gooseberry and a touch of tinned peach. The palate is very well balanced with a fine line of acidity, perhaps even more tensile and precise than the 2015 La Mission Haut-Brion with greengage, citrus lemon and a touch of pineapple furnishing the long finish. This is a beautifully crafted Haut Brion Blanc that will reward those with the nous to cellar it for 10-15 years.

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  • 96p
Tasted in April 2016. showed as splendidly as 2015 LMHB and the only thing which put HB in the front of LMHB, was more intensity, more depth and longer finish.
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  • 96p
Bright yellow with green hue. Elegant but persistent nose with pure fruit, fresh grapefruit and tangerine, hints of lime-zest. In the background tropical fruit, passionfruit and mango, hints of vanilla and slightly mineral character. On the palate rich fruit in combination with freshness and elegant acidity, excellent length. A great wine with class, Sauvignon-Blanc driven, with very complex character.
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  • 98p
Pale colour. Intense lemon curd, white flowers, grapefruit aromas with vanilla nuances. Beautiful roundness and density. Lemon curd, grapefruit flavours, fresh long mineral acidity. Pure lemony finish with aniseed notes. Very attractive wine with plenty of potential. Alcohol quite high at 15.3%. 95 points.
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  • 95p
Pale lemon yellow. Apples, pears, peach, ripe gooseberries and a touch of citrus nose. Fresh acidity, fresh, fruity, ripe, intense, elegant structure and body, detailed, layered, long. 94-96
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  • 95p
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Information

Origin

Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Best buy

Investment potential

Good

Fake factory

None

Other wines from this producer

Château Haut-Brion

La Clarté de Haut-Brion

Le Clarence de Haut-Brion

Plantiers de Haut-Brion

Inside Information

The 2015 vintage: Following in the footsteps of the greatest vintages

Spring 2015 (April, May, and June) was very dry. This was conducive to excellent flowering conditions, both quick and even. July was also a dry month. The effects of water stress were obvious in plots with the youngest vines.  Fortunately, it finally rained on July 26th (14 mm), which gave a new impetus to the young Merlot vines and enabled véraison, or colour change, to take place unhindered.

The level of precipitation from March to June was much lower than the average of the last sixty-years.  These drought conditions slowed down vegetative growth starting in July.  This allowed the vine's vigour to be channelled into ripening the fruit.  Another consequence of the cumulative dry, hot summer weather was very thick skins.

 

This led us to look after the vines with the greatest of care, giving tailor-made attention to each one. Leaf and bunch thinning were thus carried out to varying degrees and at different times.  These two operations occurred early in the season and were intense for Merlot and Cabernet Franc, but took place later and were less intense for Cabernet Sauvignon and the white wine varieties. Going through the vines repeatedly to pluck leaves and thin bunches improved ventilation and enhanced ripening.

August was hot as well as rainy – which everyone in Bordeaux had been hoping for. This rain enabled the vines to maintain the necessary water reserves and to provide requisite nourishment for perfect ripeness. The harvest began in September under a clear blue sky. Thanks to this ideal weather, we were able to wait for optimum ripeness for each grape variety.

All the conditions are there to allow 2015 to join the greatest vintages of Haut-Brion and  Mission Haut-Brion.

 

Red wines

Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 
The colour is very deep with attractive red highlights. The first impression on the nose is of ripe fruit. Swirling in the glass shows the bouquet's intensity and complexity.  2015 Clarence is tasty and full-bodied from the very first, going on to show refined, tight-knit tannin. The wine leaves an impression of freshness and plenty of volume, but without heaviness.

57% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon – The harvest lasted from the 8th of September to the 5th of October.

 

Château Haut-Brion
Very beautiful, deep, garnet-red colour.   The nose is ripe and concentrated.  After swirling in the glass, it becomes more complex with hints of very ripe – but not excessively so – red and black fruit. There are also liquorice nuances and a soupçon of clove. The wine starts out with a very soft mouth feel and immediately shows tremendous volume and depth in every respect, with flavours reminiscent of ripe fruit and cocoa beans.  The long aftertaste features mocha and slightly bitter coffee nuances. Barrel ageing will undoubtedly bring out more of this wine's greatness and confirm its place among the finest vintages of Château Haut-Brion.

50% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon – The harvest lasted from the 8th of September to the 5th of October.

 

White wines

La Clarté de Haut-Brion
2015 La Clarté has a very attractive, expressive nose of citrus, especially grapefruit, with lemon nuances. The wine starts out very rich and attractive on the palate with medium volume, as well as plenty of depth and attractive flavours.

27% Sauvignon Blanc, 73% Sémillon – The harvest lasted from the 28th of August to the 8th of September.

 

Château Haut-Brion 
White Château Haut-Brion has a complex nose revealing hints of mango, lychee, pineapple, rose petal, and pepper. The Sauvignon Blanc comes through beautifully here.  The wine is full and fruity on the palate, going on to show breadth, richness, and a superb, saline mouth-watering aftertaste.

69% Sauvignon Blanc, 31% Sémillon – The harvest lasted from the 28th of August to the 7th of September.

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