Château Larrivet Haut-Brion: Best of the recent vintages

Greater precision in the cellar, changes to vineyard make-up and the historical location of Larrivet Haut-Brion, nestled among classified neighbours in Pessac-Léognan, make this estate an interesting one to watch, says Jane Anson. Here is an in-depth report with tasting notes and ratings on all vintages back to 2010 for both reds and whites.

An unclassified Pessac-Léognan with the name Haut-Brion attached, surrounded by classified estates in the shape of Haut-Bailly and Carbonnieux, is always going to be intriguing.

Even more so because something new is happening here every time you visit, as the generation changes and Emilie Gervoson steps up to take over from her parents Christine and Philippe, together clocking up 31 years of ownership.

Until 1929, the Château was actually…

called Haut-Brion Larrivet, but I believe a little pressure from a certain First Growth led to a reordering of the name.Today it stands among the biggest estates in the appellation at 72.5ha, up there with Carbonnieux (92ha), Fieuzel (75ha), Smith Haut Lafitte (78ha) and Pape Clément (60ha, although this may be rising after Magrez’s purchase of the 33ha Le Sartre, as there are rumours that it may be used to increase the volume of 2^nd wine Le Clémentin de Pape Clément).

The others mentioned here are all classified, and therefore have clear financial incentives for growing in size.

The evolution at Château Larrivet Haut-Brion, in contrast, points even more clearly to the dynamic movement of Pessac-Léognan, and to the recent history of so much of Bordeaux.

Before being bought by the Gervoson family, who incidentally is also behind the Bonne Maman jam brand, the property and its vineyards had fallen into disrepair, and today it is reaping the benefits of slow, sure investments.

Much of the credit to the quality of the wine over the intervening years goes to Michel Rolland, who arrived in 1993 and really did a huge amount to restore credibility.

For the past three years, the consultant role has been handed over to Stéphane Derenoncourt. Ex-Montrose director Bruno Lemoine remains estate manager, as he has been for the last decade.

As it happened, the tasting provided a rather fascinating checklist of the fashions of the last 20 years. If you are interested in what’s happening in Bordeaux, this estate is clearly one to take note of.

If, for example, you had visited Larrivet Haut-Brion in 2000 you would have found the team de-leafing not just the reds but also the whites to ensure maximum ripeness.

You would have found 100% new oak ageing for the whites – something that lasted right up until 2010 – and longer macerations times at higher temperatures in the cellars.

None of these things are true anymore.

The whites are now aged between oak and cement vats.

Experimentation and micro vinification is happening everywhere – they have even aged a 55-litre barrel of the 2009 vintage for two years under the sea in the Arcachon Bay.

Results show that, as time has passed, the sea-aged barrel has done better and better in blind tastings, and the estate will redo the experiment with its 2017 vintage.

Back at the Château itself, new oak is down, while soil studies have altered plantings and vineyard treatments, with an increase notably in Cabernet Sauvignon.

Larrivet’s cellar now also has a mix of differently sized vats and casks, cement eggs and amphora. Even more interestingly, the amphoras are being used for the Merlot for the second wine, because they feel that’s the best way to keep the fruit.

It’s thought that Cabernet Sauvignon can benefit more from some barrel ageing.

These small details clearly show that it isn’t just the very top wines of Bordeaux that are paying attention to their terroir, and pursuing, as my colleague Andrew Jefford wrote about this week, purity of fruit.

As for this tasting, Larrivet Haut-Brion’s reds were more consistent than the whites.

The white now is really coming into its own, but I know looking back at my own tasting notes from over the past five years that it has been oak-dominant at times, a touch heavier than ideal. I’m looking forward to following its evolution from here on in.

Vineyard stats: Larrivet Haut-Brion

• 61 hectares of vines at 7,700 vines per ha for the reds and 11.5ha for the whites.
• Vines have an average age of 30 years.
• 17ha when the family bought the estate in 1987.
• Reds planted to 55% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Whites to 60% Sauvignon Blanc 40% Sémillon.

Larrivet Haut-Brion wine tasting notes and ratings

Click on the wines to see the full, in-depth tasting note and also stockist information, where available.