Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc 2015
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Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Parker
Robert - Decanter
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Spectator
Wine
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Winemaker Notes
This wine has a very beautiful deep garnet-red color with a complex, charming bouquet featuring roasted and toasty aromas as well as hints of black fruit and vanilla. Elegant, concentrated, powerful, and well-balanced on the palate. The aftertaste is long with remarkably smooth tannins. It is a great wine with fine ageing potential that will richly reward patience.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Intense aromas of Sicilian lemons with hints of peaches and green apples. Full-bodied, yet tight and agile with steely, fruity and fresh character. Shows energy and brightness.
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved both the red and white from Larrivet Haut-Brion. Starting with the 2015 Château Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc which is based largely on Sauvignon Blanc, it gives up a big nose of white peach, citrus, caramelized lemons and hints of leafy herbs. With an exotic, ripe, beautifully textured personality that stays fresh and vibrant, it should keep for a decade or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Larrivet Haut Brion Blanc, a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, did not quite deliver the requisite complexity and vivacity on the nose compared to the likes of La Tour Martillac or Olivier this year. The palate is well balanced, however, with a keen thread of acidity, hints of tropical fruit with fine salinity on the finish. It actually finishes in better fashion than it begins. Barrel Sample: 90-92
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Decanter
Such a pretty aromatic profile, both subtle and refined. Lemon meringue, white flower and orange clementine come to mind. The attack is almost soft, leaving the impression of tenderness and yet with a sneakily long finish. Less new oak in recent years and less systemic leaf clearing have improved the quality here. It lacks the level of verve from the 2014 vintage, but it has greater opulence. 'It is coherent, from start to finish', Strasbourg-based sommelier Paulo Puel remarked. 'You have lots of pleasure drinking it', he added. Drinking Window 2020 - 2025
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Wine Spectator
his takes a flattering approach, with creamy gooseberry and lemon curd flavors gilded by honeysuckle and white peach notes. The long verbena- and shortbread-fueled finish is quite alluring. Drink now through 2021
Other Vintages
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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.