Château Haut-Brion - Blanc

One of the longest and most illustrious histories of all of Bordeaux’s great wines, Haut-Brion can lay serious claim to being the world’s first luxury brand.

The property derives its name from an ancient Celtic term “Briga.” Loosely translated, this means a rise or mound in the land.

“And there drank a sort of French wine called Ho Bryan (sic), that hath a good and most particular taste that I never met with…” Samuel Pepys, 10th April 1663

From Pepys and John Locke to Charles II and Thomas Jefferson, Haut Brion has been just as celebrated as the people who enjoyed and wrote about it.

The only estate classified for the 1855 Grand Exposition in Paris from outside the Médoc, it was no surprise that Haut Brion was ranked Premier Grand Cru Classé – the best of the best. With its distinctive embossed bottle and sophisticated label, Haut Brion is truly one of the greatest wines in the world.

The estate is currently owned by Prince Robert of Luxembourg following the marriage of Joan Dillon of the American Dillon family into the Luxemburg Royal Family. The winemaking has been in the hands of the Delmas family for three generations, and Jean-Philippe Delmas, the current winemaker, has amply filled his father Jean Bernard’s celebrated shoes. Often regarded as the wine aficionado’s great Bordeaux château (and certainly a favourite of Robert Parker) the wines epitomise power with elegance, structure with suppleness.

Bordeaux, in the southwest of France, needs little introduction as one of the world's most famous, prestigious and prolific wine regions. The majority of Bordeaux wines (nearly 90 percent of production volume) are the dry, medium- and full-bodied red Bordeaux Blends that established its reputation.

The finest (and most expensive) of these are the wines from the great châteaux of the Haut-Médoc and the Right Bank appellations Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. The former is focused (at the top level) on Cabernet Sauvignon, the latter pair on on Merlot.

The legendary reds are complemented by high-quality white wines based on Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. These range from dry whites to challenge the best from the Burgundy region (Pessac-Léognan is particularly renowned) to the sweet, botrytized nectars of Sauternes.