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La Mission Haut Brion Blanc 2015

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan
ColourWhite
TypeStill
Grape VarietySauvignon Blanc/Semillon

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Label

Tasting Notes

The 2015 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc has a relatively conservative bouquet, yet one that is well defined and focused; subtle gravel notes filter through the citrus fruit, white peach and honeysuckle aromas. The balanced palate features gorgeous dried mango, peach and white pepper notes. The acidity is supremely well judged, and a wonderful spiciness dominates the persistent finish. Compelling. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

95
Neal Martin, vinous.com, July 2019

This is so powerful with incredibly subtle fruit character of pineapple, peaches and apples. Some lees and cream. Full-bodied yet remains agile and tensioned. Wonderful finish. Hard not to drink now. For now or ageing.

98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2018

The 2015 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc is a blend of 67% Semillon and 33% Sauvignon Blanc. It waltzes out with flamboyant notes of lemon meringue pie, ripe apricots, and spiced pears, plus suggestions of fennel seed, beeswax, and white pepper. The full-bodied palate has a wonderfully creamy texture with a lively backbone to cut through the dense, opulent layers, finishing long and spicy.

96
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, November 2022

Floral, honeyed nose. Big but with sufficient acidity and race. Clearly lots of alcohol (more than 14.5%). Heat on the end. Big AND crisp! A bit harsher than La Clarté de Haut-Brion.
Drink 2022-2032

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2016

The rare dry white wine from La Mission Haut Brion is made by the same team as Haut Brion Blanc. It used to be known as Laville Haut Brion but changed its name in 2009. The 2.5 hectare vineyard produces around 500 dozen bottles annually. There is more Semillon planted here than Sauvignon Blanc (the opposite of Haut Brion Blanc) and the final blend in 2015 was 67% Semillon, 33% Sauvignon Blanc. Pale lemon colour with a nose of honeydew melon, peach blossom and passion flower. The palate is plump and round but then zingy with lemon acidity framing the core of ripe, waxy fruits. This has superb purity and a long, lightly smoky finish.

95
Farr Vintners, March 2016

The 2015 La Mission Haut Brion Blanc is a Sémillon dominated white (there’s roughly 33% Sauvignon Blanc) from this team and it’s a ripe, opulent effort that gives up smokin’ good notes of orange blossom, citrus oil, and white peach. Rich, unctuous, and loaded with character, this full-bodied beauty fills the mouth with fruit, yet has bright minerality and acidity keeping it fresh and lively. It’s going to keep for two decades. 2018 - 2038

95
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2017

Depth on the nose a rich mix of tropical fruit the start of the palate is fleshy with white peach. There is balance the richness on the mid palate refreshed by grapefruit and lime and although the back palate has sweet fruit the finish bright with a racy length.

94/96
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2016

If you’re looking for a top white to cellar in 2015, this would be a great candidate, combining freshness and focus with understated power. It’s not quite as good as the 2014, but it’s still a remarkable white with toasty, waxy complexity underpinned by acidity and vanilla spice. Drink: 2017-30

95
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2016

Very smooth and alluring with silky, tarte au citron notes, stunning weight and an incredibly long finish. The balance and latent power here is incredible and the length runs on for minutes. If I hadn’t move on to the Haut-Brion Blanc, I expect the flavour would still be with me.

18.5+
Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2016
Read more tasting notes...

The La Mission Haut Brion 2015 Blanc, a blend of 67% Sémillon and 33% Sauvignon Blanc, was surprisingly closed on the nose when I tasted it at the château. Despite encouragement it reveals nuanced wet wool, dried honey and Granny Smith apple scents, but I was expecting more vigor. The palate is very well balanced with a fine line of acidity, the oak very well integrated with a light, nutty, marzipan-tinged finish that lingers in the mouth. This is difficult to read at the moment, so I will revisit this with some bottle age. Anticipated maturity: 2022 - 2040.

92+
Neal Martin, March 2018

The 2015 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, a blend of one-third Sauvignon Blanc and two-thirds Semillon, picked between 28 August and 8 September, has an attractive bouquet with lime, Granny Smith apples, orange zest and cold stone, well defined if not the most complex that I have encountered over the years. The palate is lively on the entry with fine tension and impressive intensity, spicy on the tip of the tongue, almost fiery, with the Semillon dominating the finish and lending the complexity: hints of dried pineapple, almond and Cornice pear. This is an excellent La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, but it needs a few years for the aromatics to really open, just as Laville Haut-Brion did in the old days.

92/94
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (224), April 2016

Very balanced and fresh with stone and dried peach aromas and flavors. Very aromatic. Full body, fine phenolics and licorice. Show power and richness.

97/98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2016

Made up of 33% Sauvignon Blanc and 67% Semillon, the La Mission Haut-Brion 2015 Blanc has a slightly closed nose, offering peeks at lemon curd, white peach and yuzu notes with accents of musk perfume, garrigue, fresh hay and wet pebbles. Medium to full-bodied with a lovely textural element of phenolic grip and a racy acid line cutting through the intense stone fruit and savory layers, it finishes with great persistence. 2019 - 2039

94+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Interim Fe), February 2018
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.