TN: 1982 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc (France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan)

WINE TALK
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  • 1982 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan (5/31/2014)
    Mildly exotic aromas with plenty of freshly cut pear, some rockmelon, apricots and a drizzle of honey. There is also a scent of beeswax. Fresh and lively in the mouth with a sweet core of fruit and a taste reminiscent of custard apple. There’s some toast and mushroom development sneaking into the flavour profile and some fruit rind bitterness coupled with a squeeze of lemon juice gives a slight tartness to the finish. Length of flavour was super and this was an excellent bottle drinking at the top of its game.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Laville Haut Brion (now La Mission Haut Brion blanc) is a fascinating wine and one that is so unique that it is not hard to pick out blind: it often tastes like a Sauternes without the sweetness!

Not many 32 year-old wines could hold their own this way…

All the best,
Alex R.

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Cool note! I have an '88 pulled from storage to pop at an upcoming dinner.

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Got a case of the '98 in deep storage for another decade or so!

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Alex,

I don’t drink a lot of white Bordeaux but this was splendid. I have a 1958 in the cellar also whose colour looks good. What should I expect from a 50 year old version of this wine?

Cheers
Jeremy

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Jeremy,

If memory serves me right, I had this very same vintage served blind to me in 2005. I guessed the estate, but was off a decade as to the vintage. The wine will be thinner, but still with bright lemoney acidity. Still, you would do well to uncork it in 2014…

Alex R.

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I brought a 1983 to a local restaurant about ten years ago and the staff looked at me very strangely. I don’t think they had seen a white wine that old (not really that old!). It was great.

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This is fantastic stuff. I had a bottle of 1990 that just rocked my world. Thanks for this note Jeremy.