Wine Advisor
Haut Brion Blanc 2009
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This blockbuster blend of 62% Sauvignon Blanc and 38% Semillon has absolutely amazing texture, with superb lemon butter, crushed rock, quince and marmalade notes buttressed by hints of orange zest and citrus oil. Rich and full-bodied, with a sensational fragrance, this is an exquisite, full-throttle white to drink over the next 30+ years. Utterly profound!
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the chateau. A blend of 38% Semillon and 62% Sauvignon Blanc, this has a more lifted, more feminine nose than the La Mission Blanc with notes of green lemon, grass cuttings, lime cordial and lemon curd. The palate is very well balanced with more vigour and joie de vivre than the Mission Blanc, racy acidity with touches of pear, freshly cut lime and just a faint hint of lemongrass. Cuts away just a little abruptly towards the finish. Tasted March 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Christies' Boardroom dinner from an ex-chateau bottle. This is actually the first time that I have tasted this wine in bottle. It has a crisp nose that it sported out of barrel with grass clippings, fresh gooseberry, Nashi pear and apricot blossom. It is fresh and spice on the palate and demonstrates a little more tension and nervosite than the La Mission Blanc '09. This simply shimmers in the mouth with a touch of lemongrass furnishing the finish. This is better than I originally conjectured from barrel and is drinking wonderfully at the moment. Tasted December 2013.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Because of both time and space constraints, I am not able to provide tasting notes for the 2009 dry white Bordeaux, but it is an extremely strong vintage. Most châteaux equaled the dazzling quality of the 2007 dry whites. That said, the 2009s tend to be less classic than 2007, but more exotic, honeyed, and higher in alcohol, with compelling richness. The 2009s will probably have a shorter evolutionary curve, but these wines tend to last a long time, even in a vintage such as this. They are fascinating dry white wines.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the chateau. Compared to the La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc 2009, I find that this does not have quite the same degree of vigour at the moment, yet the palate is very harmonious and showing great complexity with notes of dried ginger, lemon peel, crushed stone and a little spice. There is wonderful focus and precision towards the finish, a white HB deserving long-term cellaring. Tasted September 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Haut-Brion Blanc ‘09 has a well-defined bouquet with note of cold granite, a touch of Granny Smith apple and yellow flower. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity and pleasant bitter lemon and lime notes, although the finish needs more weight and length. Returning later, it is improving in the glass, not so much on the nose but on the second half of the palate that musters more complexity and weight. Tasted January 2013.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
What a blockbuster effort! Atypically powerful, one day, the 2009 Haut-Brion may be considered to be the 21st century version of the 1959. It is an extraordinarily complex, concentrated effort made from a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc with the highest alcohol ever achieved at this estate, 14.3%. Even richer than the perfect 1989, with similar technical numbers although slightly higher extract and alcohol, it offers up a sensational perfume of subtle burning embers, unsmoked cigar tobacco, charcoal, black raspberries, wet gravel, plums, figs and blueberries. There is so much going on in the aromatics that one almost hesitates to stop smelling it. However, when it hits the palate, it is hardly a letdown. This unctuously textured, full-bodied 2009 possesses low acidity along with stunning extract and remarkable clarity for a wine with a pH close to 4.0. The good news is that there are 10,500 cases of the 2009, one of the most compelling examples of Haut-Brion ever made. It requires a decade of cellaring and should last a half century or more. Readers who have loved the complexity of Haut-Brion should be prepared for a bigger, richer, more massive wine, but one that does not lose any of its prodigious aromatic attractions.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the chateau. The Haut-Brion ’09 is a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc, 14.3% alcohol, pH 3.84. The bouquet is markedly different from La Mission: far more rounded and opulent, much more sweet, ripe fruit with blackberry, red cherry, cassis and a touch of creme de menthe. This is one of the most decedent Haut-Brion’s that I have tasted at this stage. The palate is full-bodied, layers of tannic black fruits, huge structure, dense and demonstrative. Blackberry, a touch of tar and graphite, some black olive towards the finish, almost a tidal wave of flavours. Huge grip on the dry finish, but incredible persistency in the mouth. Tasted April 2010.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
There are 10,500 cases of the 2009 Haut-Brion, from a blend of 46% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc. For technicians, the highest ever natural alcohol, 14.3%, was achieved, with a pH of 3.9, which is about the same as the 1989 and 1990, as well as 1959. This is the kind of wine to send chills even up my spine, and I have been tasting here for nearly 30 years. An extraordinary nose of plum, blueberry, raspberry, crushed rock, and that intriguing floral as well as unsmoked cigar tobacco note (a classic sign of this terroir) is followed by a wine of creamy unctuosity reminiscent of 1989, but there is a freshness, vibrancy and precision that is historic and possibly unprecedented. Some graphite emerges as the wine sits in the glass, but the wine is very thick while at the same time precise and elegant. This is the quintessential expression of one of the greatest wine terroirs of the world. To reiterate, the good news is that there are going to be 10,500 cases of Haut-Brion in 2009, which is about 1,500 more cases than the 9,000 produced in 2005. This wine will probably need 7-8 years of cellaring when released and evolve as well as the 1959 has (which is still a perfect wine today), so we’re realistically talking 50-75 years when stored in a cool cellar. (Tasted once.)
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2009 Haut-Brion is deep garnet colored and slightly closed and shy to begin, slowly unfurling to reveal sensuous notions of warm blackberries, plum preserves, mulberries and blackcurrant cordial with touches of star anise, mocha and damp soil. Full-bodied, taut and tightly wound in the mouth, the palate delivers mouth-coating black fruit and mineral layers with a very firm frame of ripe, grainy tannins, finishing long and earthy. This needs time!
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Union de Grand Cru in London. The Chateau Haut-Brion 2009 is blessed with a very complex, but almost understated bouquet, the Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) much more pronounced here imparting more undergrowth/tobacco aromas at present. Very fine definition and freshness but more taciturn. The palate is medium-bodied with a brightness on the entry that makes up for the introverted aromatics. Very good acidity, fresh and very tense, again the Cabernet defining the finish with touches of graphite and cedar. Grippy, austere finish at the moment, suggesting that this is a long-term Haut-Brion, but going back and forth between the two neighbours, I feel that this has edge in terms of finesse. Tasted September 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Haut-Brion ‘09 plays the idiot savant at first and deceptively seems to miss the complexity of its peers, then voila! It opens gloriously with blackberry, wild hedgerow and crushed stone. The palate is full-bodied with an opulent rounded entry. It is slightly low in acidity, making this forward and approachable. But it remains beautifully balanced with a sumptuous finish to die for. Tasted January 2013.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
You could argue that the 2009 Haut-Brion Blanc is not a subtle wine. It has an explosive bouquet loaded with more glycerine than the example that I encountered back in 2013. This feels richer and more decadent, laden with apricot, crème brûlée and yellow plums. What it might lack in definition it makes up for in sheer gung-ho. The palate follows suit. It is powerful and deep, a Haut-Brion Blanc firing on all cylinders with a sense of lusciousness and decadence – yet there is balance here. There is nothing excessive and there remains that tang of lemongrass on the finish. Those who like hedonism could broach this now. Alternatively give it 10 years in bottle because it will evolve into a fascinating wine. Tasted at a white Bordeaux-themed private dinner in London.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A white of incredible energy and depth of fruit with a grapefruit, stone and peach character. Some hints of minerals and tropical fruit too. It's full and agile with a great backbone of acidity. A blend of 60% sauvignon blanc and 40% sémillon. Usually inverted at 60% semillon and 40% sauvignon. This underwent malolactic fermentation and was aged 14 months in new wood. A truly phenomenal white. 100 points.
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".
1977(1)1978(1)1981(1)1984(1)1987(1)1988(2)1990(1)1992(1)1993(1)1995(1)1998(2)1999(1)2000(2)2003(1)2004(3)2005(1)2006(1)2007(1)
Package Size
