Château Laville Haut-Brion 2008

Very pure and fresh, with lots of mouthwatering quinine and kiwifruit framing the core of yellow apple, heather, blanched almond and green plum. Very long. Needs a little time in the cellar to blossom. This will be the last vintage for this label; it changes to Château La Mission Haut-Brion starting in the 2009 vintage. Drink now through 2015. 500 cases made.

A solid white, with apple pie, cream and lemon sorbet. Full and dense, with a racy finish. Tangy. Still very tight. Give it four to five years to open.

Just a knock wine that has everything an aged white Bordeaux needs. It is rich, full bodied, long, complex and loaded with perfectly ripe, yellow citrus, rocks, stones and just a hint of honey. It offers the right balance of dry sweetness and racy acidity. This should age for at least another 20 more years, or longer!

79% Sauvignon Blanc, 21% Sémillon. Bright greenish-yellow. Wonderful peach-and-citrus bouquet with delicate minty notes. Juicy palate, almost peppery lime tones, dense extract, and a pleasantly green-tinged Sauvignon finish.

79% Sauvignon Blanc, 21% Sémillon. Bright yellow with greenish hues. Gorgeous bouquet of peach and citrus, showing subtle minty hints. Juicy palate, the lime notes are almost peppery here, dense extract, with an agreeably green-tinged Sauvignon finish.

Complex and refined, with lovely length; not the usual fleshiness, but long and fairly strict.

Blend of 75% Sémillon, 25% Sauvignon Green-yellow color, vanilla-scented nose with notes of fresh almond. To my great surprise, it is also oxidative. The palate is silky, soft, tender and rich, with less definition in the mid-palate than the 2007. However, it finishes powerful and long.

94-96 Barrel sample. With its lively fruit and fine, ripe,oily Sémillon texture, this is a fragrant, citrus flavored wine. White peach tastes are edged by pink grapefruit. The aftertaste is very fresh, very mineral.