La Clarté de Haut-Brion 2021

A scintillating display of shiny green apples, sweet peas, gooseberry and lime, with a strong citrus character pulling right through the core. It's concentrated and weighty in the mouth, but still bright and fresh, balancing a slight richness and creaminess with succulent acidity.

The energy is really here, giving such length and complexity to this wine. Medium- to full-bodied with a solid core of fruit but a featherlight weight leading to an energetic and vivid finish. Vibrant. Reminds me of the terrific 2014. A blend of the second wines of La Mission and Haut-Brion. Drink or hold.

The 2021 La Clarté de Haut-Brion has an attractive nose: pineapple is less evident than it was from barrel, perhaps now just a touch more resinous in style. The palate is well-balanced with a keen line of acidity; not a complex white Bordeaux per se, but it shows admirable tension on the finish.

Bright, fresh, crisp, vibrant, and already a pleasure in your glass, the wine quickly focuses you on its array of energetic yellow, orange, and green citrus fruits, topped off with a background note of ripe pineapples that sneaks in at the end of the finish. Drink from 2024–2035.

Crushed citrus, golden apple, mint, and hints of spice all emerge from the 2021 La Clarte De Haut-Brion Blanc, a vibrant, fresh, focused, beautifully balanced white from this team that has high yet integrated acidity as well as a great finish. It's one heck of a second wine, and it's going to evolve for a decade at a minimum.

Kunz barrel sample 2022: (56% Sémillon, 44% Sauvignon Blanc, 13.5% vol. alcohol) Velvety, fruity, sweet, powerful bouquet, yellow peach, mint, mirabelles. Fresh, medium-bodied palate with sweet fruit, fine acidity, fragrant aromatics, light finish.

(56% Sémillon, 44% Sauvignon Blanc, 13.5% vol. alcohol) Velvety, fruity, sweet, powerful bouquet, yellow peach, mint, mirabelle plums. Fresh, medium-bodied palate with sweet fruit, fine acidity, fragrant aromatics, light finish. 17/20 2024 - 2035

If you are going to pick a second wine in the 2021 vintage, I strongly recommend heading to the whites. Hard to go wrong here, with its grip and pumice-stone tension, savoury white pear and mouthwatering lime zest, citrus peel, excellent quality. It has clear intensity, a slate-textured finish and fleshy but pared-back pear fruit. 45% new barrels, and lower alcohol than over the past few years (as with the whole Haut-Brion range). Harvest from September 3 to 13.

La Clarte de Haut-Brion 2021 springs from the glass with vibrant notes of yellow apples, poached pears, and lemon drops, followed by hints of lime leaves and chalk dust. Medium-bodied, the palate is refreshing and expressive, with vivacious citrus and apple flavors and a chalky finish.

A wonderfully alluring nose that combines minerality, stony reduction, lemon cream and richness. Taut on the palate, with just the right amount of flesh and mineral character.

It cannot be said enough: 2021 is a good vintage overall, and even a very good one if we look at white wines—well, at least the good ones! What might sound like an obvious truism isn’t quite one. White wine in Bordeaux is great when it isn’t made by default! Clarté reveals itself through tropical nuances (maracuja and pineapple). With a lively, saline character, the wine has muscle and energy. Beautiful aromatic expression right through to the finish. A wine that awakens the palate, puts it in a receptive mode, and makes you want a second glass. They’ve clearly got it right at Clarence Dillon!

Pale colour. Moderately aromatic nose, fruity and slightly reductive. The palate is soft, flavoursome and silky, developing a fine, rounded richness. A hint of orange on the finish. Medium length.

Vivacious white-fruit aromas on the nose promise a wine that is bright, with lively acidity and green-apple flavors. A more tropical hint adds richness. Drink this 2015 second-label wine.