Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of blackcurrants and blueberries. Lots of stones, too. Full-bodied and chewy with plenty of crushed cement. Chewy finish. Medium at the end. Drink after 2027.
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Wine Enthusiast
This year, the second wine of Haut-Brion brings out much of the initial austerity of its senior sibling. It has tannins and fruits that are centered around the wine's structure. Expect this wine to age well. Barrel Sample - 93–95
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Jeb Dunnuck
The second wine of Château Haut-Brion, the 2020 Le Clarence De Haut-Brion is certainly a gem and well worth seeking out. Offering loads of red cherry and currant-like fruit, this medium to full-bodied, concentrated beauty has lots of graphite, fresh stone, and tobacco aromatics, beautiful mid-palate depth, outstanding length, and ripe, polished tannins. It has everything you look for from this region, all in a character-filled, up-front, undeniably delicious style that should evolve gracefully for over two decades.
Barrel Sample: 92-94 -
Decanter
Concentrated, with impact and punch. It has presence and barely takes a beat through the mid palate, as there is such a wall of blackberry and bilberry fruits. A brambly hedgerow feel, hard to argue with - but be aware that there is heat also; and this is a hedonistic wine.
Barrel Sample: 92 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion exhibits attractive aromas of dark berries, rose petals, cigar wrapper and burning embers, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered palate that's rich, seamless and enveloping, with an open, expressive profile and a long, subtly kirsch-inflected finish. Best After 2025
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.