CHÂTEAU HAUT BRION BLANC
2018 Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan
81% Sauvignon Blanc, 19% Semillon. Vanilla oak and defined ripe pineapple. There is good weight on the palate - no cloying richness. Deep and round the heat of the vintage is noticeable. A serious Haut Brion with depth and density. It carries the trademark texture of 2018. Drinking range: 2021 - 2029L&S (Apr 2019)
* 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.
Opulent and perfumed for this great white in 2018, with lemon curd, cooked apple, lilac, lime flower, stone, rock and hints of sandalwood. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and compressed with layers of fruit that are integrated and focused. Needs time to open and show its true greatness but stunning. Drinking range: 2025 - Rating: 99 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Feb 2021)
A stunner from first sip, as lemon shortbread and verbena notes lead off followed by a torrent of white peach, yellow apple, lime pith, honeysuckle and acacia notes. Racy, almost piercing minerality knifes through the middle, adding a mouthwatering element, while the shortbread and verbena take a curtain on the finish, creating a beautiful balance of contrasts. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Drinking range: 2022 - 2038 Rating: 98 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Jan 2021)
More Sauvignon-dominated (there's 19.4% Sémillon), the 2018 Haut-Brion Blanc is up with the crème de la crème of the vintage and has both richness and freshness. Tart pineapple, citrus blossom, hints of orange blossom, and crushed rock-like characteristics all emerge from this medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant white that has plenty of oomph on the mid-palate, bright acidity, and a great, great finish. It’s another thrilling wine from this estate as well as one of the top whites in the vintage. Rating: 94-96 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2019)
The Haut-Brion 2018 Blanc is composed of 80.6% Sauvignon Blanc and 19.4% Sémillon, harvested August 27 to September 5—this is the highest level of Sauvignon Blanc in the blend ever. It comes sashaying out of the glass with flamboyant notions of warm pineapple, passion fruit, lime cordial and lemongrass and hints of dried mandarin peel, peach blossoms, wild thyme and wet pebbles plus a waft of dill seed. Full-bodied and profoundly fruited in the mouth, the silky, vivacious frame has a lot of intense tropical notions and yet is jam-packed with delicate nuances, finishing with great length and a lot of emerging mineral and citrus layers. Big and beautiful. Rating: 94-96 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2019)
Less open than La Mission. Plenty of oak spice but the fruit shines in a herbal character, green fruits, light spice, more length than breadth, perhaps because of the high percentage of Sauvignon this year. Grapefruit and pith, some grip here, almost chewy, but the freshness and fruit sing on the long finish. Not a stunner this year but a very good wine. Drinking range: 2024 - 2032 Rating: 17.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2019)
A dense and ripe white with sliced apples and pineapple and hints of cooked lemons. Round and velvety texture. Flavorful finish. Shows intensity and richness. Rating: 95-96 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2019)
A blend of 80.6% Sauvignon Blanc and 19.4% Semillon, picked between August 27th and September 5th. It has a very restrained character on the nose, with notes of pine needle, the Sauvignon shining through, along with apple skin and chalk dust, an expressive and fresh character. There follows a beautiful palate filled with creamed orange, apricot and citrus fruits, fresh and plush, with a good energy to it, but importantly there is also a fine acidity at its heart. As with many other white wines in this vintage, the acidity does take something of a backseat behind the chalky fruit which sits to the fore. A quite delicious style, ripe, with near-tropical fruit nuances poking though at times, in particular hints of pineapple and mango, but it is that chalky grip which provides most of the lift rather than the looked-for acid backbone. A fine, long and pithy grip to it. Rating: 93-95 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2019)
It may not quite have the high tension of the 2017 but this is a great white wine. It has wonderful grip and rich apricot fruit with high aromatics that keep up the pace right through the glass. It's extremely good quality and very enjoyable, with real persistency. The juicy finish is full of citrus, lime, freshly cut herbs and slate, bringing tension and minerality. Harvested 27 August to 5 September. 3.37pH. Drinking range: 2021 - 2035 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (Mar 2019)
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 on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at 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 £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2022 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2025. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
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). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2025. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.