Tasting Notes
JancisRobinson.com 16.5++
That distinctive, embossed bottle full is 1,300 g. 71.4% Sauvignon Blanc, 28.6% Sémillon. Cask sample taken 12 April. Picked from 20 to 27 August. Estimated alcohol 13.9%. Very pale greenish straw. Far from the most opulent Haut-Brion Blanc, this is playing the fresh and subtle card, with just a hint of sweet smokiness, Perhaps the team was keen to hang on to such acidity as was available after the hot, dry summer since it seems pretty soft? Decidedly reticent at the moment. It’s always so difficult to give a drinking date for Haut-Brion Blanc since it seems to go into a funk at about four years. But it has so many waxy layers even at this early stage … it may well blossom into something truly remarkable but for the moment its stablemate La Mission Blanc seems to have much more vitality.
Anticipated maturity: 2023-2035
Robert Parker 99
The 2020 Haut-Brion is a blend of 42.8% Merlot, 39.7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17.5% Cabernet Franc, harvested from 7th to 29th September, with an estimated alcohol of 15% and a pH of 3.8. Opaque purple-black colored, it leaps from the glass with a first wave of vibrant black raspberries, ripe blackberries and mulberries scents, followed by a powerful core of warm cassis, dark chocolate and violets, before bursting into an array of crushed rocks, iron ore, tree bark and black truffles notes. The concentrated, densely packed, full-bodied palate is not in the least bit heavy, delivering a refreshing backbone of red berry and dried herbs suggestions, framed by seamless acidity and very finely grained tannins, finishing on an epically long, fragrant earth note. Simply stunning.
Anticipated maturity: 2029-2064
Vinous 98
The 2020 Haut-Brion is shaping up to be one of the wines of the year. Substance, depth and textural intensity elevate Haut-Brion into the realm of the sublime in 2020. All the elements are so wonderfully balanced. Inky dark fruit, gravel, lavender, violet and dark spice build as the 2020 gradually opens with some aeration. Wow.
Anticipated maturity: 2035-2070
