Wine Advisor
Haut Brion Blanc 2007
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the 2007 Bordeaux horizontal in Southwold. This has a really lovely, beautifully defined bouquet with fresh lemon, grapefruit and dried orange peel. The oak is very well integrated and it develops a smoked meaty tinge with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with grapefruit, spice, a touch of lemongrass and pear. It is quite phenolic towards the finish, but certainly very harmonious with hints of Kaffir lime developing with time. Like the Laville Haut-Brion, it just improves with each passing moment. Tasted January 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A blend of 45% Semillon and 55% Sauvignon Blanc. Again, this has great delineation on the nose with scents of greengage, lemon curd, chalk dust and white flowers. The palate is very well balanced, a real Burgundy character - Corton-Charlemagne comes to Pessac-Leognan! Real vibrancy, here again that almost sorbet like character – mango, citrus fruits and apricot moving towards a more minerally, chalky finish. Good length. This is a superb wine. Tasted April 2008.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Rated - No tasting note given.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Rated - No tasting note given.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the 2007 Bordeaux horizontal in Southwold. The Haut-Brion 2007 displays appealing tertiary aromas on the nose with very fine definition: graphite, dried herbs and a faint touch of mint. The palate is medium-bodied with a dash of pepper on the entry, supple tannins, good grip in the mouth that leads to a backward, tannic, allspice tinged finish. Very harmonious from start to finish, this is a class act. Re-tasted at the property with consistent notes. Tasted September 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A blend of 43% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Cabernet Franc. Like many wines of the vintage, this is loath to reveal its aromas upon first sniff and demands coaxing. Certainly there is a lot of richness with blackberries, creme de cassis, a touch of black olives and oyster shell. Perhaps it does not quite have the supreme focus of La Mission. I am taken more by the palate than the nose. Very pure ripe fruits, seamless tannins, sensuous, quite a ravishing Haut-Brion that is more precocious than many others. This is either going to turn out one degree over-ripe or perhaps the best of the First Growths? I look forward to finding out. Tasted April 2008.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A brilliant effort, the 2007 Haut-Brion offers up aromas of crushed rocks, graphite, plum sauce, raspberries, and black cherries. The aromatics are truly complex for a three year-old wine. While the wine does not possess the fat and succulence of its nearby neighbor, La Mission Haut-Brion, its elegance, finesse, and nobility are apparent. Medium-bodied, rich, and intense with stunning aromatics, it can be drunk now or cellared for 15 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at BI Wine & Spirits' 10-Years-On tasting, the 2007 Haut Brion has a perfumed bouquet with abundant red fruit, sage, sandalwood and black olive scents that just seem to soar from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, beautifully judged acidity and a gentle build in the mouth towards the savory/meaty finish. There is class interwoven into this Haut Brion from start to finish, and the persistence is very impressive. This is just reaching its drinking plateau. Tasted February 2017.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Rated - No tasting note given.
About the Producer
Haut-Brion has long produced the most prestigious Graves Blanc, although it faced strong competition from its neighbour La Mission Haut-Brion, which had been producing its own white wines under the Laville Haut-Brion label until 2009, when it was rebranded as La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc (both estates are under the same ownership). With very small production since the first vintage in 1916, La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc has always been a wine of considerable strength and longevity; its rarity, and the fact that it is the only white wine produced by a first growth in the Graves, makes it highly sought after by collectors. The estate's first growth status does not include white wines and it remains unclassified. Of the 52 hectares planted on the estate, only 2.9 are white: 53% Sémillon and 47% Sauvignon Blanc. (There are also a few rows of Sauvignon Blanc today, but they were not planted in 1989). They are planted on a 27m high hillock opposite the château. The soil is very deep gravel, on a clay subsoil. There is less clay than in Lamena and a different mix of varieties, with much more Sauvignon Blanc in Haut-Brion. The whole estate is located within the city limits of Bordeaux and therefore benefits from a warmer microclimate. Yields range from 25-40 litres/ha. Harvesting is carried out by hand, at maximum ripeness, so that the wines vary from 13% to 14% alcohol. Sorting takes place in the vineyard and the grapes are pneumatically pressed in whole bunches with no skin contact. Fermentation was carried out in oak barrels with native yeasts, but malolactic fermentation was prevented. The wines were decanted every three or four months and aged for 10 to 12 months, with very little stirring of the lees. In the 1980s it was common for wines to be aged entirely in new oak barrels, but today this percentage is around 50%. Production varies from 5,500 to 8,500 bottles. In 2000, the British critic Tom Cannavan enthused: "The nose has a wax and wet wool character, very buttery, with a gorgeous weight of fruit and little floral notes in the peaches, vanilla and nuts. Wonderful fruit ripeness gives a sweet impression, lots of oranges and lush apricots ...... A long, very concentrated and pure finish. Recently, American critic Jeff Leve reported on the 2010 vertical tasting, noting that the 1989 "opens with freshly picked flowers, honey, caramel, grass, lemon and lime aromas. Accompanied by a rich, polished fruit texture, the wine finishes with a blend of citrus flavours".
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