Wine Shop
Haut Brion Blanc 1985 (750ML)
Other Details
Critic Scores, Reviews & Descriptions
98 WA / 97 RP
The 1985 Château Haut Brion Blanc is candidate for the best dry white Bordeaux produced that decade - period. Having tasted this nectar two or three times in recent months, I can vouch for its extraordinary intensity on the nose: candied orange peel, citrus lemon, cold wet limestone and honeysuckle notes that shimmer in the glass. It almost has a Chablis-like penetration—imagine if Raveneau made white Bordeaux. The palate is perfectly balanced and after 30 years, it as fresh as a daisy, citrus fresh, with a killer line of mineralité, squeezed lime and an almost slate-like note (try licking some to see what I mean—no one will look). The tension, the depth and length of this Haut Brion Blanc are as good as you will find...if you can find it nowadays. Simply breathtaking, anyone with bottles in their cellar will be handsomely rewarded for their patience. Tasted August 2015. - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate
This has been a head turner since it was made. The 1985 is unbelievably rich, with a velvety, fat consistency oozing with herb, melon, and fig-like fruit. This voluptuously textured wine exhibits great length, richness, and character. It never closed up after bottling and remains an exceptionally full-bodied, intensely concentrated, yet well-delineated white Graves. If you have the income of a rock superstar, this would be worth having to fete the turn of the century. Anticipated maturity: Now-2020. Last tasted, 1/97. - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate