Wine Advisor
Haut Brion Blanc 2012
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Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting. The 2012 Haut-Brion Blanc has an entrancing bouquet of honeysuckle, fresh pear and greengage that is beautifully defined and seamlessly enmeshed with the oak. The palate is well balanced with just a patina of new oak, smooth and harmonious, fine mineralité here with a spicy finish that leaves the tongue tingling. This is very well crafted and it will just get better and better. Yes, my drinking window does advise ten years in bottle, since in my experience only this and the late Laville Haut-Brion age so magnificently. Therefore, that score may well rise in the future if I am ever afforded a chance to re-taste this superb white Bordeaux. Tasted January 2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A prodigious blend of 55% Sauvignon Blanc and 45% Semillon, the 2012 Haut-Brion blanc is the Montrachet of Bordeaux. Incredible notes of crushed rocks, spring flowers, lemon butter, tangerine oil, honeysuckle and candle wax soar from the glass of this full-bodied white. It totally hides any evidence of being aged in 100% new oak. Sadly, there are fewer than 800 cases of this fabulous Pessac-Leognan. It should age well for a half century. Bravo!
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Haut Brion Blanc is a blend of 45% Semillon and 55% Sauvignon Blanc, picked between 5th to the 14th September. It has a lifted gooseberry, chalk dust and bruised apple bouquet that opens beautifully with time. The palate is lively on the entry like La Mission although I am not quite so sure it has the same complexity. It is beautifully balanced though and with a lovely waxy texture towards the finish courtesy of the Semillon. Tasted April 2013.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Easily the top wine of Pessac-Léognan, the 2012 from Haut-Brion has extraordinary flesh and intensity, with an unctuousness and thickness that is almost hard to believe for a dry white wine. The high proportion of Semillon in this blend has given the wine an almost liquid mandarin orange note intermixed with caramelized citrus, honeysuckle, fig and crushed rock. This absolutely profound dry white wine is full-bodied and capable of lasting 40-50 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Southwold 2012 tasting, the 2012 Haut-Brion has an open and generous bouquet with blackcurrant pastille, cassis and briary aromas the exude very pure Merlot. The palate is medium-bodied with a sumptuous opening that is rare in 2012: rounded and generous, caressing in the mouth with black plum and blackcurrant towards the finish, residues of truffle and white pepper lingering on the aftertaste that turn very savory after 15 minutes—bacon fat or Italian cured meats. There is a lot to love about this Haut-Brion although in this blind showing I scored it the same as La Mission Haut-Brion. Who will stick their neck out as the two wines mature? Tasted January 2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2012 Haut-Brion, which represents only 46% of the production, is a blend of 65% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. One of the stars of the vintage, it is a complete, medium to full-bodied, soft, round, atypically accessible effort displaying lots of minerality along with red and black fruits, exceptional fragrance and purity, a fleshy mid-palate and a long finish. A remarkable fact in both these wines is that the alcohol levels in 2012 hit 14.8%, which nearly equals the record levels achieved in 2010 – that’s astonishing! This 2012 should drink well 3-4 years after bottling, and last for 20-25 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Grand Vin is a blend of 65.5% Merlot, 32.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, which is one of the highest percentages of Merlot. It has a ripe, generous bouquet with hints of orange blossom and liquorice infused the red fruit profile. The Merlot clearly defined the character of the 2012. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm grip on the entry – more so than La Mission. This is deeper and more structured than the La Mission, perhaps quite masculine which is quite surprising considering the blend. It has great length. This is one of the great successes of the vintage and there is a clear gap between here and La Mission. Tasted April 2013.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2012 Haut Brion (65% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc) is certainly one of the candidates for the wine of the vintage, with a dense purple color, classic nose of crushed rock, lead pencil shavings, black raspberry, blueberry and flowers. The wine shows subtle barbecue smoke notes in the background, but is full-bodied, stunningly concentrated and builds incrementally, yet finishes with luxurious, almost extravagant amounts of fruit and intensity. From only 46% of the production, this is an absolutely remarkable effort from the Dillon family and their winemaking team of the two Jean-Philippes. Drink it over the next 30-40 years.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2012 Haut-Brion Blanc is utterly captivating from the very first taste. An intensely mineral-infused bouquet makes a strong opening statement. Gunpowder, graphite, lemon oil, sage and mint open up with time in the glass. Rich and expansive on the palate, the 2012 possesses remarkable depth and nuance. It should drink well for several decades. Today, the 2012 is superb, but it should be even better in another few years.
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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