Farr Vintners Logo

La Clarté de Haut Brion 2018

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

La Clarté Haut Brion is the new name for Les Plantiers Haut Brion - the second white wine of both Haut Brion Blanc and La Mission Haut Brion Blanc with around 1000 cases produced annually. The 2018 is a mainly Semillon based wine - 79.2% - with the rest Sauvignon Blanc.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Haut Brion

Label

Tasting Notes

A lovely, dense white with pretty phenolic tension and dried-apple and peach character. Medium to full body. Phenolics give this tension.

94/95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2019

La Clarté de Haut-Brion is the second wine of both Haut-Brion Blanc and La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, produced from the declassified selections from both estates. The 2018 La Clarté de Haut-Brion is a blend of 79.2% Sémillon and 20.8% Sauvignon Blanc. It springs from the glass with vibrant scents of fresh grapefruit, lemon zest and key lime pie, plus suggestions of paraffin wax, sea spray and straw. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers thirst-quenching citrusy layers with a lively backbone and a decadent touch of creaminess to the texture, finishing with lovely purity. 2021 - 2028.

90
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, March 2021

20.8% Sauvignon Blanc, 79.2% Sémillon. Lots of Sémillon this year, partly because they needed Sauvignon’s freshness in the grand vin. Barrel sample.
Spicy, cedary oak on the nose and very ripe lemon and grapefruit, almost apricot. Deep and ripe in fruit up front, good freshness. Precise and yet quite rich on the palate initially, a little bit chewy, but loses intensity on the finish. Creamy, leesy texture to balance the fruit. (JH) 13.8%
Drink 2023-2029

16.5
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2019

Flinty, smoky and mineral on the nose with hints of waxy lemon and apple fruit. The palate is zippy, with the light creaminess of lemon curd adding texture. The high acidity is tangy and bright. This is clean and mineral, with a cool ripeness and elegant finish.

92
Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, April 2019

A Sémillon-dominated blend that includes roughly 21% Sauvignon, the 2018 La Clarte de Haut-Brion Blanc offers perfumed lemon curd, tart apple, and spice aromas and flavors. Rounded, nicely textured, yet still fresh and vibrant on the palate, it has terrific purity, integrated acidity, and a clean, dry finish.

91/93
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, May 2019

(79.2 Semillon, 20.8 Sauvignon Blanc) | 60% new oak | 13.9% alc | 45 hl/ha | Harvested between 27th August and 5th September Creamy and full of lemon balm and sherbet tones, this is a slippery Clarté and it is delightfully light and smooth. The acidity does not seem to be too powerful and this gives the illusion of it drinking fairly young. It doesn’t have quite the impact that it usually does, but this means that it is easier to understand and certainly more precocious.

17
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, April 2019
Read more tasting notes...

The 2018 La Clarté de Haut-Brion is composed of 79.2% Sémillon and 20.8% Sauvignon Blanc, harvested August 27 to September 5. It comes bounding out of the glass with bold notions of warm pineapple, guava and peach juice plus hints of lanolin, honeysuckle, lime cordial and nutmeg. Medium to full-bodied with a lovely oily texture, it fills the mouth with exotic fruit, lifted by just enough freshness and culminating in a long, pineapple-laced finish.

90/92
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (April 2019), April 2019
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.