Region | |
---|---|
Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan |
Colour | Red |
Type | Still |
Aromas of forest floor, mushrooms, lavender and violets. Full-bodied, tight and structured with fantastic tannins and focus. Long and layered. Impressively toned. Give it three or four years to come together. Begin drinking in 2023.
This is a seriously impressive vintage for this second label of Chateau Haut-Brion. Blended of 57% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2015 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion displays a medium to deep garnet-purple color and expressive notes of crushed black cherries, blackberries, warm plums, dusty soil and spice cake with touches of dried roses and cigar boxes. Medium to full-bodied with wonderful concentration and depth, it features firm, beautifully rounded tannins and lively acid, finishing long and earthy. 2020 - 2039
Tasted blind. Mid crimson. Slightly muddy, non-exhibitionistic nose. Fresh start and definitely Graves without being at all showy.
Drink 2024-2038
Leading off the reds, the 2015 Le Clarence de Haut Brion is the second wine of the estate and is 57% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Cabernet Franc. Like its big brother, it has a classic, straight profile, medium-bodied richness, and textbook Graves notes of tobacco leaf, cedary spice, currants, and plums. Balanced, nicely concentrated, and with fine tannin, it will be better in a few years and keep for a decade or more. 2018 - 2028
Rich and ripe on the nose the mix of black fruits is sweet the mid palate fleshy and supple a sumptuous richness. Bilberry and bramble underpin and balance the layers of flavour giving complexity and although rich and ripe at the back the finish is fresher with stylish elegance.
Less than half of the total production of Haut-Brion went into the second wine, such was the
quality of the Grand Vin in 2015. This is rich and well upholstered, with a complex, refined
palate, tannins that are almost Italianate in intensity and refreshing acidity. Drink: 2022-32
Rather tense and very closed and full, this is a magnificent wine and if I didn’t know any better I would say it was someone’s Grand Vin. Brutally youthful but with sensational fruit density and quality this is made to live for thirty or forty years and with this cépage it surely will. You can taste the richness and fitness of the tannins and they take my breath away.
The 2015 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion is a blend of 57% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 42% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 8 September and 5 October. Compared directly with the La Chapelle Mission Haut-Brion, I find that this does not quite possess the same delineation at the moment. This is broodier and more introspective in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin, layers of dark berry fruit tinged with tobacco and cedar, gaining weight towards the finish that fans out with a sense of conviction. This should turn out to be an authoritative deuxième vin that will probably be consumed in its youth, but clearly possesses the substance to repay ageing. Those with wise heads will afford it 5-6 years in bottle.
Racy and refined second wine with polished and pretty tannins. Full body. Pretty.
Some obvious Cabernet Sauvignon on the nose. Sweetness on the front palate and then marked fine tannins. Not nearly knit. Very inky finish. Not a charmer at the moment! Dried-grape impression on the end. But there's a little more grace than in the Chapelle de La Mission.
Drink 2025-2034