2021 Le Clarence de Haut Brion
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Tasted blind. Shaded crimson. Saline nose and lots of blackcurrant fruit. Very drying finish. Starts off with fruit but ends very hard. Just might get there, but is it worth waiting? (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
More reviews and scores
Smoked black fruits, new leather, graphite, and a kiss of iron all emerge from the 2021 Château Bahans Haut-Brion, a focused, medium to full-bodied Péssac that has the more structured, inward, yet impressive style of this château front and center. A second wine from Château Haut-Brion, this outstanding 2021 will benefit from a few years in the cellar and drink nicely over the following decade.
The 2021 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion has held on to the more floral, violet-tinged bouquet that puts it in front of the La Chapelle de la Mission at this stage—it’s just a little more enticing. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, fleshier than the La Chapelle with a caressing and delineated finish. It is an excellent Deuxième Vin that will give 12 to 15 years' drinking pleasure.
The 2021 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion is soft, supple and expressive, all of which make it a fine choice for drinking now and over the next decade or so. Succulent dark cherry, plum, leather, incense and tobacco are pushed forward. Silky contours wrap it all together. The 2021 is attractive but also quite soft.
About the producer
Ch. Haut-Brion is the only classified growth in Pessac-Léognan. One of the five First Growths, it is renowned for producing both exceptional reds and whites. Along with its sister estate, Ch. la Mission Haut-Brion, it is part of the Clarence Dillon stable.