Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc 2020
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Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
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Dunnuck
Jeb - Decanter
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Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Pure and clear aromas of green melon, apple, flint and stone follow through to a full body with extremely attractive fruit, with vivid and energetic acidity at the end. Lime and pineapple, but subdued and very pretty. 55% sauvignon and 45% semillon.
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Wine Enthusiast
The wine's roundness comes from the ripe fruit. The warm 2020 vintage has produced a wine that is generous, poised between crisp citrus and hints of yellow fruits. The subtle use of wood aging will sustain this wine for its long-term future.
Barrel Sample: 95-97 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc from this reference point estate is a fresher, vibrant white displaying a complex, intense style in its crushed citrus, orange pith, white flowers, and green nut-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has racy acidity, good mid-palate concentration, and flawless balance. I don't think it has the extra "je ne sais quoi" character and dimensions found in the Haut-Brion Blanc, but this is nevertheless a brilliant Pessac Blanc that will evolve for two to three decades. Best After 2027.
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Decanter
Fragrant white flowers, touches of lime blossom and slate-filled citrus. The acidity is fresh, but this is more about texture, and it is extremely successful. Harvest from 19th to 28th August. The minerality, together with freshly cut rosemary and sage notes, is accentuated as it opens, which is an excellent indicator of how well this wine will age. Deft winemaking, as ever, proving why this is one of Bordeaux's best loved white wines.
Barrel Sample: 95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc opens in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, lemongrass, crisp stone fruits and wet stones framed by a touch of youthful reduction. Medium to full-bodied, layered and racy, with chalky structure and a mouthwatering finish, it was bottled under Diam 30. Best after 2023.
Other Vintages
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Wine
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.