The first vintage for this cuvée, the 2008 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc is more Semillon-dominated compared to the Sauvignon-dominated Haut-Brion Blanc and checks in as 79% Semillon and 21% Sauvignon. It’s a rich, full-bodied, vibrant effort that has classic Bordeaux Blanc notes of brioche, yellow fruits, dried earth, hay, and dried herbs. It has some maturity, good complexity, a big, rich mid-palate, and plenty of life ahead of it. This is a brilliant white that’s going to shine on the dinner table any time over the coming 15-20 years.

(a 55/45 blend of semillon and sauvignon blanc) Medium-deep straw-gold, deeper than its stablemate Laville Haut-Brion. Rich nose offers fresh lemon, apple and pear aromas complicated by beeswax. Then less rich and broad on the palate than the nose had me expecting, but beautifully pure in its precise apple, pear and citrus flavors. Finishes very long and creamy, with a distinct lemony twist and a mineral element.

79% Semillon, 21% Sauvignon Blanc. Greenish tinge. Firm grapefruit aromas, then attractive fruit weight on the palate. Green streak. Very cleansing! Mineral finish. Skinnier than many other years. Very brisk and bracing. (JR)