Chateau Haut-Brion, Blanc, Pessac-Leognan

Enjoyed at Yoshino for my wife’s birthday. Delicious but not wow. Too old and the spark has gone out of it and the predominant flavors are nutty and yeasty. Still some lemon and fresh minerality and it was quite good with rich sushi. Medium acid a reasonably full but not huge body.

1998 vintage

Sunday roast (Chicago, IL) : I love HBB; it may well be one of the most special wines made in France, and certainly far more unique for the estate than the already brilliant red. This was fantastic, and one of my favourite wines this evening. Very intense, with a savoury quality to it, and plenty of palate weight and waxiness. Minerally, with just the right amount of acidity here -- if anything, this is a wine light on its acidity, …

1998 vintage

Sunday Prime Rib and BDX (Chez So) : Wow so concentrated and composed with great pure fruit that is just modestly waxy and supported with bright acidity. Gains depth and brilliance with air, and ultimately drinks like a mature Batard-Montrachet.

1998 vintage

Nose: honey, white flower, coconut, a sort of Asian vegetable jelly (agar agar), petroleum Notes: Drank from a magnum, very waxy and quite a refreshment for me since I haven't had a Bordeaux white for a long time. Nevertheless, I can't really say I'm impressed. Quite a pretty nose but the palate simply couldn't catch up. Over the years I've tried to learn how to appreciate different grape varieties but I still find Chardonnay hard to beat in terms of …

1998 vintage

Waxy, pear aromatics. Palate bit flabby.

1998 vintage

golden yellow, honeyed, a bit of bitterness/harshness. per steve not the best bottle. overall my third try at various HBB and i find them somewhat big bodied but clumsy. not entirely seeing the love, yet at least, but appreciative to be able to try this

1998 vintage

Chris’s 1st Growth Series — Haut Brion (La Trompette, London) : Old gold. Beeswax and dried fruit on the nose. Waxy, rounded and harmonious. Nice line and a touch of astringency on the finish that Gives some cut and interest. ****

1955 vintage

Dark honey / caramel color. Nose: salted caramel, lemon zest. Mouth: lots of acidity, the balance was slightly off for me - the fruit maybe has faded a bit or maybe it needed a lot more air than we gave it (popped and poured, drank over 40m). Did it improve over forty minutes? Kind of. The nose gained some dried flowers and citrus but overall I wasn’t entirely convinced. Was better with food.

1998 vintage

Dark yellow in color almost like a desert wine - apricot peach … honeysuckle. Serious legs on the swirl. Aftertaste slightly tart - lots of acidity … very dry. Definitely in the window to drink - this bottle may have been more oxidized than optimal. Only had one.

1998 vintage

Really nice Bordeaux but needs lot of air to show its potential. Still needs aging.

1998 vintage

This sports quite a dark golden color now. Really honeyed and mature but with good acidity and structure underneath. Unique flavors of ripe, oxidized stone fruits, honeydew melon and smoky minerals and a silky, honeyed texture. The finish is serious and complex with hints of mint, spice and really incredible flinty minerals. Kept improving and was best after an hour plus in a decanter. Entering full maturity now but will last for years.

1998 vintage

Seriously put on the spot with this one....dropped by my wine cellar to pick up something and a friend asked me to judge this. From 375ml, small pour (I was driving). Light silvery gold colour. Nose is immediately alluring fresh almonds....so perhaps what some people might think of as 'oxiditive' especially as it sets the perception for the rest of the wine. Palate did seem slightly advanced from what you'd expect but I think it is just a matter of …

1998 vintage

This is a gem that I wish I could afford. The opulent, textural component rocks! The purity in the sweet, juicy, fresh, pomelo and lemon peel, with a dab of flowers, vanilla and honeydew gets you going back for sip after sip. Still young and quite vibrant, this should evolve for at least another 15-20 more years.

1998 vintage

Wow what a treat. Such a rare offering! I mean how many bottles are left, can’t be many right? Anyways back to the wine, the color was a deep bronze gold, with typical semillon and sauv blanc flavors. Very rich and round with amazing acidity. Had a Smokey grassy feel with tropical/ripe semillon flavors. Can’t believe I am saying this, but this wine still has life...Lots of it! Long finish!

1955 vintage

The nose is so ripe and rich with cake, butter, honey, and flint. Palate is so big and rich with so many layers and volume. The finish is like a min long with so much honey and minerals. Super complex. 95-96

1998 vintage

Gorgeous aromas that changed in glass over 90 minutes. Long finish. Just a really special wine at present.

1998 vintage

The Fifteenth Annual Stonefields Wine Tasting Dinner for Charity (Guelph, Ontario, Canada) : Nose is a touch muted...really have to work to get at this wine. Palate shows a noticeable amount of oak buttressed by flavours of lemon custard, spice, lemongrass white flowers and minerals. Acid is razor sharp. Finish is long and complex but with a touch of noticeable alcohol.

1998 vintage

Full bodied, rich and expansive, this intensely concentrated wine is all about the blend of its parts. Freshness, fruit, flavor and finish, with serves up ripe, juicy, sweet, pineapple, custard, butter, orange rind, rocks, stones and flowers. I suspect this will only get better with age.

1998 vintage

Rich aromas leap out of the glass, and serious depth from the first sip. Rich wine that is best drunk on its own, didn't do as well with food. Lovely.

1998 vintage

+1 point for age- Light yellow, could be 15 yrs younger by appearance; Hazelnut, brioche and cardamom nose; lively lemon/lime notes on the palate with acidity to last a long time; great balance and long finish. Next bottle in 15 yrs to test maturity?

1998 vintage

1969 and 1986 Cali Lunch : Beautifully balanced. Honeysuckle. More reserved than expected. Dave said "oak applied in the right way". I really liked it.

1998 vintage

Dinner at Home (Fremont, CA) : Cork was in beautiful condition. Color is a rich deep golden; nose has nutty caramel, high intensity, slight orange peel, good complexity, definitely a little oxidative but not overly so; palate is medium-full body, has great richness, but also has superb high acidity throughout that keeps it fresh, here I get very slight grassiness on the palate, some savoriness, flavors persist through to the finish; finish is medium-long. This was really interesting and not …

1998 vintage

Dinner with Ashish and Friends in Fremont (Fremont) : Clearly there's some flavor concentration here, but for me this was well past it's prime. Oxidative, with nutty, Fino Sherry character. Slight confected lemon-lime and orange peel. Toast with honey. Very faint suggestions of tangy dried grass and dried guava (sauvignon character). Has depth. Fresh acidity with a persistent finish that shows serious concentration of flavor. This was clearly a high-quality wine. Sinewy. Slight bitterness. Slight alcoholic warmth (14%) but containing …

1998 vintage

Revisit this wine after a year. A bit reserve at the beginning but opened up after an hour with apple, coconut and honeysuckle. Nice texture, creamy and well structure.

1998 vintage

Decanted for 2 hours. Golden colour, expressive nose with lots of butter, honey and a touch of lemon. It really started performing after 30 minutes in the glass. Very classy but not outstanding finish. Pleasant but not memorable

1998 vintage

oxidized

1998 vintage

Another oxidized bottle. Premox is not limited to white burgundy.

1998 vintage

Needed to recalibrate the palate going to bordeaux. Very nice. Huge smoky nose. Tobacco and earth. Silky long finish. Lacked a bit in depth. 92 pts

1955 vintage

Are you sure?

Chateau Haut-Brion, Blanc, Pessac-Leognan

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews