A vivid, really bright La Mission, showing strength and finesse at the same time. Honeysuckle, lime, lemon and other citrus fruit with stone and mineral undertones. 55% sauvignon and 45% semillon.

Tasted by Jane Anson(at Primeur week tastings in Bordeaux, 01 May 2021)

Grippy fresh, green-tinged flavours, a little more evident than in the Mission Haut-Brion Blanc, here you get more angular acidities, and yet it works. Sauvignon-dominant flavours and aromatics of rosemary, mint, turmeric, lime blossom and steely citrus. Excellent persistency and a deliciously mouthwatering finish. Harvest from 20th to 27th August.

Drinking Window 2022 - 2034

Drink Date
2023 - 2039

Reviewed by - Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc is a blend of 54.7% Sauvignon Blanc and 45.3% Semillon, harvested 19th to 28th August, with an estimated alcohol of 13.8%. The nose tingles with electric notes of lemon zest, orange blossoms and pink grapefruit, followed by hints of fresh ginger, elderflowers and crushed rocks, plus a waft of lime leaves. The medium-bodied palate quivers with intense, tightly wound citrus fruit layers, backed up by a racy backbone and finishing long and steely.

The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc is pure seduction. Creamy and layered in the glass, the 2020 is elegance personified. Hints of spice and white flowers lead into apricot, white peach, mint and sage, all beautifully knit together. The 2020 balances freshness with textural intensity so sell. It's an absolutely gorgeous wine.

vinous.com

The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc opens in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, lemongrass, crisp stone fruits and wet stones framed by a touch of youthful reduction. Medium to full-bodied, layered and racy, with chalky structure and a mouthwatering finish, it was bottled under Diam 30.

The 2020 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc has an intense nose of white flowers, Conference pear, broom and almost basalt-like aromas. It demands an hour to really show what it can do – nothing new there. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine acidity, delivering grapefruit, passion fruit, touches of sour lemon and an underlying salinity that upholds the requisite tension on the finish. Very assured and classy, though perhaps the growing season denied it a soupçon of mineralité that would have elevated it to a bona fide great La Mission Blanc. As usual, it will require cellaring and ample decanting.

vinous.com

(55% SB, 45% SM; 13.8% ABV)
Pale, cloudy; discreet nose, delicately ripe Sauvignon, but lacking a little Sauvignon Blanc vitality; full, broad, supple wine, with a moderate supporting acidity; dry, ample, mouthfilling, with a gentle raciness, a touch of warmth, and subtle oak-cedar aromas, and with fine aromatic length. But this is just lacking a bit in the excitement, scope, and definition it usually has. Refined and very attractive, of course, but not grand. Probably better drunk earlier rather than later. 2025–35?

Full, embossed bottle 1,275 g. Cask sample taken 13 April. 54.7% Sauvignon Blanc, 45.3% Sémillon picked 19 to 28 August. Estimated alcohol 13.8%.
Very pale, low-key nose. Edgy and pungent with real freshness (more than Haut-Brion Blanc?). Sleek and dense with a certain smokiness and drive, but still pretty embryonic. Much less flashy and rich than this wine used to be. This promises well.