Professional reviews
Robert Parker (96)
The La Mission Haut-Brion 2018 Blanc is a blend of 57.4% Sauvignon Blanc and 42.6% Sémillon. It sashays out of the glass with gregarious notes of white peaches, fresh pears and pineapple with nuances of lime blossoms, crushed rocks and sea spray, plus a waft of beeswax. The racy, medium to full-bodied palate is charged with energy, delivering vibrant citrus and tropical fruit layers with a satiny texture and fantastic length. Completely exceeding my barrel tasting expectations, this promises to be an earlier drinking style, albeit multilayered, dripping with class and, yes, it's downright sexy. Give it just a few more months in bottle and then it should offer decadent drinking for the next 15+ years.
James Suckling (98)
Dried green mango, kiwi, citrus and green apple on the nose. Essence of grapes. Some stone and flint undertones, too. It’s full-bodied and very tight with layers of fruit and phenolics, yet so integrated and polished. It spreads across the palate. Elegance with power.
Jancis Robinson (17)
Diam closure. Nearly 50% Sémillon.
Very uncommunicative on the nose. Light greenness. Lots of acidity – notably more than most of these 2018 dry white bordeaux. Depth and finesse but very much less rich than most of its peers.
Vinous (96)
A richer, more textured wine than the Haut-Brion Blanc, no doubt due to its larger Sémillon content, the 2018 Château La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc reveals a medium gold hue as well as beautiful pineapple, honeyed lime, star fruit, and floral aromas and flavors. Nicely concentrated on the palate, it's medium to full-bodied and offers beautiful acidity, plenty of depth and richness, and a great finish. A slightly softer wine, it doesn't have the precision of its counter mate yet brings more texture and opulence. It's another brilliant white that will benefit from short-term cellaring and evolve for 15+ years or so.
Decanter (95)
A knockout white wine full of character and grip. It's the second time it's had a majority of Sauvignon Blanc (along with the 2016), because they really benefitted from the freshness that it provided. Harvested 27 August to 5 September. 3.27pH.
