Château Haut-Brion 2024

Slightly hazy color; flint, pepper, grapefruit, yeasty notes, sage herbs, preserved lemon; opulent on the palate, rich yet not heavy, ripe fruit, well-wrapped acidity, immensely spicy and of very great length. Impressive, though not quite with the charm that Mission Haut-Brion usually shows.

Honeysuckle, green apples, orange rind, white peach, and floral aromatics are easy to spot. Elegant, refined, and fresh, the wine is filled with sweet fruits that gently caress your palate, lingering into the zesty finish. The wine is made from a blend of 56.1% Semillon and 43.9% Sauvignon Blanc. 13.75% ABV, 3.2 pH. Drink from 2027–2042. 97–97 pts

A striking nose, somewhere between the gleam of precious metals and the sweetness of tarte Tatin, lifted by jasmine and fresh almonds. On the palate, the balance is exquisite: luminous clarity carried by fresh tension and creamy richness, with a subtle hint of pastry and exotic flowers.

The nose is elegant, racy and precise, with good definition, purity, a multi-layered character and a lovely, finely textured feel. It reveals notes of flat peach and fresh citrus, and more subtly fresh gravel, with fine hints of gunflint and salinity, discreet touches almost of fresh pineapple, and a delicate hint of fresh butter and fresh/juicy yellow berries. The palate is beautifully handled, fruity, fresh, elegant, delicate, precise and clean, offering accuracy, delicacy, a crystalline character, well-directed energy and a lovely, delicate, enveloping, airy glycerol feel. A fine, airy creaminess. All in subtlety. On the palate, the wine shows notes of juicy/pulpy lemon and vineyard peach, and more lightly of crisp apple, combined with touches of crushed nectarine, a fine hint of pineapple, mandarin, gunflint and smoke, as well as discreet touches of fresh yellow fruits, an imperceptible hint of verbena and pine sap/needles. Good length. Beautiful aromatic persistence, sapid and finely creamy.