Haut Bages Liberal 2021 (750ML)

95 VM / 93 JA / 93 DE / 91-93 WA 

The 2021 Haut-Bages Libéral is a powerful, dense wine. Black cherry, mocha, plum, licorice and incense are all amplified in a brooding, dense Pauillac endowed with notable textural richness and tons of sheer power. Aeration releases the wine's bracing acidity and aromatics, yet the 2021 remains quite rich. Yields were just 31.5 hectoliters-per-hectare, about 30% lower than normal. Haut-Bages Libéral is a rare 2021 that needs time to shed some of its considerable baby fat. It's a seriously impressive wine from Claire Lurton. The 2021 was aged 40% in new oak, 40% in once-filled barrels and 20% in a combination of amphora and concrete vat. - Antoni Galloni, Vinous Media

A successful Haut Bages Libéral, with juicy black cassis fruits, firm Pauillac tannins with a eucalyptus and white pepper twist on the finish. 40% new oak here. This is an estate that is in full evolution right now, with an impressive commitment to doing things differently - they are just uprooting a 1ha plot in front of the chateau, for example, to replant as agroforestry. First year officially certified Ecocert. 49hl/ha yield. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Very aromatic on the nose, this has savoury, fruit and floral tones; liquorice, cola and earth with cranberries, strawberries and black cherries. Dense and quite darkly fruited on the palate but with a brightness from the acidity giving a mouthwatering attack before the flavours deepen and widen in the mouth. So many layers, really showing the Pauillac power: everything presented in high definition with a bold structure even though the individual elements are so precise and defined. It's racy and confident but also complex with a spiced cedar, clove, cinnamon, liquorice and wet stone/ chalky element to the tannins that fill the mouth and don't let go. A lovely wine with lots of potential from Claire Villars-Lurton! 65% grand vin. A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon - the highest percentage ever - and 10% Merlot, which usually comprises between 15 to 25% of the blend. 11.5% press wine. Ageing 16 months, 40% new oak, 40% one-year-old oak, 20% amphoras. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter