CHÂTEAU HAUT BRION
2014 Blanc Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan
Impressive stuff. There is more oak toastiness on the nose here - reminded of tasting young Burgundy, but there is a lovely bright fruit that comes to life. Warm lemons a whiff of honey and lovely woodspice - this is a complex, broad beast - wonderful but will take some time to unwind - weighty but incredibly slick. 68% Semillon, 32% Sauvignon. Rating: 95 L&S (Apr 2015)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2014 Haut-Brion Blanc is very closed on the nose despite encouragement. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine bead of acidity, fresh in the mouth but lacking the same complexity as the Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, somewhat bitter on the finish. This is a very strange showing and I am not the only taster that cannot make head nor tail of this wine that showed spectacularly after bottling. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2018)
The Château Haut-Brion Blanc 2014 is a blend of 32% Sauvignon Blanc and 68% Sémillon picked between 3 and 11 September. I found the Sémillon more expressive here and offers waxy, resinous scents intermingling with pear skin and fresh gooseberry. The palate is fresh and vibrant with more weight than the La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc '14: extremely well balanced with spine-tingling poise and power on the finish. You can barely notice the 14.75% alcohol. This is a thrilling Haut-Brion Blanc that vies with Domaine de Chevalier Blanc as "king of the dry whites." Drinking range: 2018 - 2045 Rating: 95-97 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2015)
My Pessac and graves wine of the vintage. Striking purity with real depth of stone fruit and citrus and beautiful grip and length. It has incredible tension, vigour and purity, thanks to great selection and confident winemaking. There's more Semillon (68%) than some years to balance the high acidity with rich, round lemon curd and apricot. (Outstanding Pessac-Léognan.) Drinking range: 2018 - 2030 Rating: 96 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2015)
The 2014 Haut-Brion Blanc is a wine of texture above all else. It is also tightly wound and built for the long-term. Hints of smoke, slate, pear and citrus gradually unfold, revealing veins of supporting minerality and acidity that give the wine much of its energy. Deep, powerful and exotic, the Haut-Brion Blanc will captivate readers for many years to come. I very much like the sense of energy and overall tension here. The blend is 68% Sémillon and 32% Sauvignon Blanc. Rating: 93-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2015)
Rich and waxy. Broad and refined and already satisfying. Deep and rich and a great undertow. Just a little green streak but massive weight. Drinking range: 2018 - 2032 Rating: 18 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2015)
There is a lovely depth to the nose sweet fruit the palate has melon and pineapple richness. Fresh in the middle citrus and apple the layers of flavour give complexity and there is the feeling of balance. Rich on the back palate the finish has citrus freshness length with flavours that linger. Drinking range: 2017 - 2026 Rating: 93-96 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Apr 2015)
Anyone who doubts that the best white Bordeaux belong among the world's top wines should taste this tangy, focused, layered blend. Chalky, mineral and very fine, this has notes of pink grapefruit, candle wax and baking spices, finishing with a bright, oyster shell like note. Carries its alcohol with ease. (One of Tim's Top 10 Dry Whites.) Drinking range: 2015 - 2030 Rating: 96 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2015)
This is breathtaking like looking down a well that doesn’t end. Full and rich yet deep and gorgeous. It really does take your breath away. It goes on and on with minerals, dried apples, dried mangos and lime. Superb. This is very unique in the blend with 68% sémillon and the rest being sauvignon. Rating: 98-99 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2015)
Château Haut Brion
1855 classification - Premier Grand Cru Classé Château Haut Brion is famously the only estate in Graves to have featured in the 1855 classification reflecting a long established reputation, even if, at the time, the crown was beginning to slip. During the 16th Century, Haut-Brion was briefly owned by Jean de Ségur of the Ségur family who at various times owned both Lafite and Latour. Jean de Pontac inherited Haut Brion as a wedding dowry in 1525 and, apart from a brief period during the French Revolution, his descendents owned the estate until 1801. The Pontacs were an interesting lot, including in their number a very pious Bishop, a politician, and François-Auguste Pontac who started a London inn called l'Enseigne de Pontac where Samuel Pepys enjoyed "a sort of French wine called Ho Bryan", finding it "hath a good and most particular taste". Jonathon Swift, however, thought the wine "dear at seven shillings a flagon" - 35p a bottle, if only! Haut Brion was the first Bordeaux wine known to have been imported into the USA when Thomas Jefferson had six cases shipped home to Virginia. Eventually, in the earlier years of the 19th Century, Haut Brion found its way into the hands of the Larrieu family. Preceding reputation was enough to get Haut Brion classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé in 1855, and a string of copy cat estates appended "Haut Brion" to their names (a source of some litigation in the 1920's) but in reality the 19th and early 20th Centuries were not great times for the wines of Haut Brion. When the bank seized the assets of Milleret Larrieu after WWI, the estate fell into the hands of the Société des Glacières under who's unenlightened guidance much of the gardens were sold off the make way for expanding city of Bordeaux. They then offered Château Haut Brion to the City of Bordeaux, who turned it down, allowing American financier Clarence Dillon to realise his dream of owning a Bordeaux château, buying the estate in 1935. His descendents own Haut Brion to this day. The gravel soils of Haut Brion are planted with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc for reds, and a more or less 50/50 split of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon for the whites. There are around 45ha under vine. Haut Brion were one of the first estates to ferment in stainless steel. After fermentation, red wines spend up to two years in oak, previoulsy 100% new for the grand vin but, now, more like 35%. The second wine of the estate was known for many years as Bahans Haut Brion, but was renamed recently as Le Clarence de Haut Brion in honour of Clarence Dillon.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.