2021 Château Haut-Bages-Libéral

The 2021 Haut-Bages-Libéral, aged 20% in amphorae and bottled in June, has a very typical Pauillac nose with graphite and pencil shavings littered across the black fruit—quite delineated and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins and flavors that echo the aromas. Nicely structured with good persistence on the finish, this has developed well during its barrel maturation and should give a lot of pleasure over the next 15 to 20 years.

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.

The 2021 Haut-Bages-Libéral has turned out nicely, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cassis, minty berries, pencil shavings and cigar wrapper, followed by a medium to full-bodied, deep and layered palate that's impressively concentrated, built around a muscular frame of ripe, powdery tannins that assert themselves on the youthfully structured finish. It will reward a bit of patience.