Château Haut Brion Blanc - Pessac-Léognan 2016

Bettane & Desseauve

97-98 / 100

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/3/2017

Le sommet absolu de son appellation, magnifiques notes de verveine, harmonie de la prise de bois, suavité sans égal en blanc sec de Bordeaux. Un peu plus ample et parfait cette année dans son bouquet que Mission.

Wine Advocate

92-94 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/2/2017

The Haut Brion 2016 Blanc is a blend of 70.5% Sauvignon Blanc and 29.5% Sémillon picked from 1-13 September. I found a little more complexity and mineralité here compared to the La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc this year, scents of chalk and lime flower complementing the citrus fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, notes of lime cordial, orange zest and grapefruit, almost flinty towards the finish that lingers long in the mouth with great vigor from start to finish. This is excellent, but not the best Haut Brion Blanc that I have tasted in recent years.

The Wine Cellar Insider

97 / 100

byJeff Levethe4/27/2017

Full bodied and concentrated with sweet, polished, fresh, citrus, honeysuckle, grapefruit and lemon peel. Sweet, ripe and forward, this can be aged of course, or enjoyed in its youth, The wine was produced using 70.5% Sauvignon Blanc and 29.5% Semillon. The harvest took place from September 1 to September 13. The wine reached 13.85% alcohol with a pH of 3.23, this represents only 31% of the harvest.

Vinous

93-96 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe4/26/2017

The 2016 Haut-Brion Blanc is rich, ample and captivatingly beautiful. A wine that fills every corner of the palate with its intensity and breadth, the 2016 represents one the few peaks of true excellence among the whites of the year. The blend is 69% Sauvignon and 31% Sémillon, but above all else, Haut-Brion Blanc is a wine of place. That is especially evident when tasting it next to the La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, which is so clearly Sauvignon Blanc-dominated, whereas the Haut-Brion Blanc maintains a great deal of its own personality and signatures. In the glass, the 2016 is voluptuous, racy and impossible to resist.

Decanter.com

95 / 100

byJane Ansonthe4/25/2017

This opens very beautifully in the glass with a high level of aromatics, but just needs a few minutes to reveal these tight citrus peel and pink grapefruit flavours. Haut-Brion have navigated a tough year for whites far better then most, as you would expect. This has volume through the mid-palate and a well constructed, dancing minerality on the finish. 30% grand vin for the white, from a blend of 70.5% Sauvignon Blanc and 29.5% Sémillon aged in 35% new oak. Drinking Window 2019 - 2035

matthewjukes.com

19,5 / 20

byMatthew Jukesthe4/25/2017

(70.5 Sauvignon Blanc, 29.5 Semillon) | 48% new oak | 13.85% alc. | Harvested between 1-13 September Picked before the rain and made from a predominance of Sauvignon Blanc for the first time ever, this is a historic wine and it is also a thriller. It is heretical to say, but if Montrachet was planted to Sauvignon Blanc it might taste like this. Thanks heavens it is not, so this is the only place on earth where you can taste this flavour. It is atypical, awe-inspiring and never-ending. The fruit is searingly dry but also bitingly fresh and layered. The oak is sublime - I could eat a stave for lunch. The finish stayed with me for a few days. It is sheer heaven in a glass. 19.5++

Wine Enthusiast

95-97 / 100

byRoger Vossthe4/19/2017

Barrel Sample. This opulent, rich and generous wine has a fatness to it, which is happily contrasted by lemon acidity from the high proportion of Sauvignon Blanc in the blend. It is ripe and densely fruity, as well as richer and spicier than in some previous years.

Jamessuckling.com

96-97 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/5/2017

Layered with a round and rich texture and body. Full and flavorful. Lots of dried-apple and pineapple character. Very long finish. Exotic and ripe. We will see which is better.