Château Laville Haut-Brion is part of the Pessac-Leognan based, Haut-Brion trifecta. Its origins, however, are different from its siblings, beginning in the 17th century with Marie de Laville, the widow of a magistrate. Today, the Dillon family owns the Haut-Brion trio, including La Mission Haut-Brion and Château Haut-Brion. In comparison with its neighbors, Laville is tiny. Just 3.5 hectares of vines are planted to 70% Semillon, 27% Sauvignon Blanc and 3% Muscadelle. The Grand Vin is a Sémillonbased white that can begin life quite tight, even deceptively lean, but develops an extraordinarily complex waxy, honeyed character and great richness with a decade or more of bottle aging. Unfortunately for us, only about 1000 cases are produced each year.