La Mission Haut Brion, Blanc 2014

vinous97

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

A magnificent wine, the 2014 Haut-Brion Blanc is drop-dead gorgeous. Ample, broad and intense, but with remarkable freshness, it captures the best of what the season had to offer. Lemon oil, white flowers, white pepper and slate burst from the glass in an extraordinary display of tension, class and pedigree. This is remarkable wine by any measure. Best of all, it should drink well for years and perhaps even decades to come.

vinous96

Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni

The 2014 Haut-Brion Blanc is a wine of texture above all else. It is also tightly wound and built for the long-term. Hints of smoke, slate, pear and citrus gradually unfold, revealing veins of supporting minerality and acidity that give the wine much of its energy. Deep, powerful and exotic, the Haut-Brion Blanc will captivate readers for many years to come. I very much like the sense of energy and overall tension here. The blend is 68% Sémillon and 32% Sauvignon Blanc.

vinous0

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2014 Haut-Brion Blanc is very closed on the nose despite encouragement. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine bead of acidity, fresh in the mouth but lacking the same complexity as the Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, somewhat bitter on the finish. This is a very strange showing and I am not the only taster that cannot make head nor tail of this wine that showed spectacularly after bottling. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

robert_parker94

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc 2014 is a blend of 28% Sauvignon Blanc and 72% Sémillon. It has a well-defined bouquet with lime flower and fresh pear scents that gain intensity in the glass, though never quite achieves the ethereal heights of the "gaff across the road". The palate is fresh with again a keen, fresh line of acidity than Jean-Philippe Delmas remarked is broadly in line with 2011. This is very tense at the moment, sharp and edgy, you could almost say “electric” on the finish that will stand it in good stead by the time of bottling.

robert_parker93

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2014 La Mission Haut Brion Blanc has a surprisingly strict bouquet that needed coaxing from the glass, eventually offering scents of Cornice pear, jasmine and honeysuckle. This is very subtle and clearly will need a few years in bottle, just like Laville Haut Brion demanded. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity, a cheeky pinch of lemongrass enlivening the senses on the entry, quite a feral La Mission Haut Brion Blanc with the Sémillon fully in control on the lightly honeyed, spicy finish. It is a great La Mission Haut Brion, although I remain convinced that the 2014 Haut Brion Blanc has the class this year.