Winemaker Notes
A lovely pale yellow color, with green glints. The nose is concentrated with fruity scents of citrus, mango and pineapple. Swirling reveals concentration and depth of aromas. On the first taste, the wine is rich, fresh, wide and taut all at once. It develops and is full, with lots of flavor and no heaviness. At times Sauvignon in exuberance, sometimes Sémillon in fleshiness and careful structure. This Haut-Brion is ultimately a superb harmony of aromas and taste, between Sauvignon and Sémillon, which have given us their very best thanks to the conditions of this vintage.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is racy and aromatic, with blossom honey, lemons, limes and crushed stone. Some Thai basil, too. It’s medium- to full-bodied with fresh acidity and plenty of energy. Solid and polished in the Haut-Brion way.
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Wine Enthusiast
White-berry aromas with a white-flower floral character. The wine is intense with white-orchard fruits and lemon acidity and a core of wood aging. Still young, the wine will drink from 2027.
Cellar Selection -
Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2021 Château Haut-Brion Blanc, and it's a candidate for the wine of the vintage. Incredibly pure notes of ripe golden fruits, citrus, white flowers, and a kiss of background spice and oak all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with both richness and freshness. It unquestionably plays in the fresher style of the vintage, yet this beauty brings ample mid-palate depth, a rich, layered texture, and awesome length. It’s a killer white that will evolve for 20-30 years if well stored.
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Vinous
The 2021 Haut-Brion Blanc was very impressive from barrel. Now in bottle, it has a complex, finely delineated bouquet with dried white flowers and a touch of beeswax percolating through the green apple and Conference pear aromas. The palate is quite harmonious and tensile, full of energy and focused, with a dab of stem ginger popping up on the finish. There’s real sustain on the close here—a superb Haut-Brion Blanc. –Neal Martin
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Decanter
Quite herbal and green on the nose, aromatic but intensely. Full and intense also on the palate, bright lemon and grapefruit, some bitter and spied touches too. Again like the red wine, Haut-Brion steps it up a notch in 2021 giving more body and richness than La Mission. Tangy, lively, upfront, tense but also direct, this has character and a flavour that lingers long after its left the mouth. A memorable wine in 2021. Structured and compact.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Blanc is a standout example of what this iconic estate is capable of producing, revealing a complex bouquet of pear, white peach, nectarine and spices. Full-bodied, round and fleshy with an enveloping core of fruit, it’s seamless and satiny, girdled by bright acids and framed by chalky, structuring dry extract.
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.