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 bouquet of Haut-Brion Blanc 2024 sets the tone from the outset. It lays down its markers with relevance and precision, sketching—indeed almost engraving—clear, explicit messages. Subtle floral nuances combine with notes of citrus, fresh pineapple, limes, then raspberries, along with a mineral touch. Saline on the attack, the wine gradually reveals itself. It seems to offer an airy texture, but that is only the opening act, as it has scale and depth. Its astounding ability to unite lightness, power, depth and character says a great deal about its ambitions. It will certainly please today, but tomorrow it will astonish! Its bitters underpin the structure with great tact and elegance, greatly helping to energise the aromatic expression and, above all, to stretch the finish seemingly endlessly. A truly great wine, here simply to announce boarding for several destinations, with stopovers over the years and decades. 99 points for the wine, and one point for Jean-Philippe Mesclun. Yes, the wine is also here thanks to the man, even if he is only passing through!

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.

Opulent. Vibrant with a rich, generous offering of ripe fruit, juicy, peach, pear, citrus, exotic white flowers.

Fragrant lemon and lime on the nose, some peach pit, apricot. Lively and expressive with citrus elements, lemon, lime and apple. Juicy and succulent with a nice weight on the palate alongside toasted edges which grip and hold on. Cool and calm, this isn't shouting and the acidity doesn't stick out as much as I would have thought for the 3.22pH. 40% new oak. A yield of 38hl/ha.