Haut Brion Blanc 2021

The 2021 Haut-Brion Blanc also shows considerable promise, offering up aromas of pink grapefruit, nectarine and crisp orchard fruits mingled with notions of freshly baked bread, pastry cream and beeswax. Full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, it's satiny and seamless, with a broader-shoulders, more muscular profile than La Mission's white but similarly vibrant acids. At this early stage, this would appear to be one of the two or three finest Haut-Brion whites of the last 20 years.

The 2021 Haut-Brion Blanc has a wonderful bouquet of white peach, yellow plum, kumquat and white flower scents that opens beautifully in the glass, displaying lovely definition. The palate is very well balanced with a killer line of acidity that perfectly counterbalances the intense citrus fruit. Razor-sharp, more than any vintage that I have tasted in recent years. I often think that this is overrated at primeur, but the 2021 is undeniably a showstopping Haut-Brion Blanc.

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. Drink 2024-2044.

A complex, thought-provoking white. Vibrant and exciting with green herbs, stones and hints of aniseed and wet sea weed. Sea salt, too. It’s full-bodied and tight on the palate and rather shy. But then it takes off at the end and accelerates. Phenolic, with fine tannins. Iron. Oyster shell. 57% semillon and 43% sauvignon.