2018 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc Pessac-Leognan Bordeaux 750 ml

Château La Mission Haut Brion’s profound, ageworthy Blanc is one of the most collectible wines in Bordeaux—but even given the lofty standard, the 2018 is special.

The warm, dry vintage allowed the estate to use more Sauvignon Blanc than Sémillon in the blend for only the second time ever, and the result is dramatic: a concentrated and powerful white that is already a showstopper and will develop additional nuance over the next two decades in the cellar.

Less than 15% of La Mission Haut-Brion’s production is white wine, so this rare jewel will be a highlight of any collection. Neal Martin of Vinous even called it “unequivocally a few steps ahead” of La Mission’s next-door neighbor and rival, Haut-Brion.

The vineyards that go into this bottling are planted densely, at around 8000 vines per hectare—higher than at neighboring Haut-Brion. This forces the plants into more competition with each other for resources, leading to smaller berries and lower yields that help create LMHB’s more intense, flamboyant style.

In a normal year, they’d craft their blend with Sémillon as the dominant grape, which provides richness and texture, but the 2018 vintage was so historic and its weather so warm and dry that the Sauvignon Blanc was enough to carry the wine.

After a careful harvest under the cover of darkness, the blend of 57.4% Sauvignon Blanc and 42.6% Sémillon was pressed gently, then aged in 50% new oak. The cellar team blocks malolactic fermentation to preserve the balance between the wine’s bombastic ripeness and rippling acidity.

La Mission Haut-Brion’s wines have a deserved reputation for legendary length—the 1961 is still drinking fabulously—but the 2018 is unusually delicious right now.