Chateau La Mission Haut Brion 2012

The wines of Château La Mission Haut-Brion owe their success to the singularity of their terroir. The producer harvests the grapes by hand according to their ripeness, then sorts and destalks them. The fruit goes into vats during which the temperature gradually increases to initiate grape fermentation. The château makes both exceptional red and wine wines. The reds are complex, full-bodied, and rich, with the blend adapting according to the vintage. Château La Mission Haut-Brion blanc (formerly, Château Laville Haut-Brion) is a dry white wine for the initiated. It boasts the distinct characteristics of a Graves Sémillon grown on these esteemed terroirs. The 29-hectare vineyard spans land in both Talence and Pessac and sits just a few kilometres southwest of Bordeaux’s city centre. It falls under the Pessac-Léognan appellation, in the northern part of the Graves winegrowing area. The property lies opposite Château Haut-Brion and shares that renowned château’s exceptional gravelly soils. This soil sits on a unique subsoil of clay, sand, limestone, and shelly sand. Most of the vineyard plantings are red grape varieties – Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc – with just more than 4 hectares dedicated to the white varieties Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc.