Château Haut-Brion makes about three hectares' worth of white wine, a few hundred cases a year against tens of thousands of the red, from Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc grown beside the château in the Bordeaux suburb of Pessac. It is one of the rarest and most expensive dry white wines in the world, and difficult to buy at any age, let alone this one.
One detail confirms the bottle's era. The Pessac-Léognan appellation was only created in 1987, so a 1985 is labelled Graves, as everything from these vineyards was until then. The wine was made under Jean-Bernard Delmas, the long-serving technical director, for the Dillon family, owners of Haut-Brion since 1935.
1985 was a fine year for dry white Bordeaux, and this is a wine built to age. The great vintages of Haut-Brion Blanc are still drinking in their fifth decade, turning waxy, honeyed and smoky without losing their acidity. At this age no bottle can be guaranteed, but few white wines anywhere have better odds.
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Producer: Château Haut-Brion
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Wine: Blanc
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Vintage: 1985
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Appellation: Pessac-Léognan AOC
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Format: 75cl
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Region: Bordeaux, France
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Style: White
Where it is likely to be now. Among dry whites this is the exception — good vintages routinely reach fifty years and turn honeyed, waxy and smoky — so a sound bottle of the 1985 has a real chance of still being remarkable.
Who it suits. The bottle to give for a forty-first birthday or wedding anniversary when nothing short of the rarest white in Bordeaux will do.
Condition. The label is in good condition and the fill is at the base of the neck, unusually high for a forty-year-old white and the single best indication that this bottle has been stored properly.
Provenance. Bought to order from a professional European merchant. We check fill, label and capsule when the bottle reaches us and photograph it before it ships.
Delivered in 7 to 10 working days, tracked. Transit cover can be added at checkout.
Sold as a collectible item, as seen. No guarantee is given on drinkability.
