Château Haut-Marbuzet Château Haut-Marbuzet 2022 750ml

Perfumed dark fruits with toasted spices, crushed walnut shell, savory herbs, graphite and tobacco leaves. Full-bodied. Layers of ripe and chewy tannins that are well-integrated with a velvety and plush core of black fruit. Bold, firm and structured with so much potential. Lingering, chalky finish sits there for minutes. Classic Haut-Marbuzet. Try from 2028. (James Suckling)

Dark berries, spicy herbs and sea shell undertones. Graphite, too. Ripe but fresh and crunchy with medium to full body and firm, very fine, linear tannins. Long and mineral and delicate on the finish. Really attractive.

Big and bold with dark tannins, this wine is full, complex and has great aging potential. Its texture, richness and juicy acidity are impressive. Drink from 2027. (Roger Voss)

The 2022 Haut-Marbuzet has a derailed nose, perhaps less precocious than I anticipated, focused with brambly red fruit, cedar and sous-bois aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, a fleshy middle, white pepper and clove toward a harmonious finish that gently fans out. There is a pleasing peacock's tail here - a very promising and classy Saint-Estèphe. Tasted three times.

The 2020 Haut-Marbuzet is showing very well in bottle, offering up aromas of blackberries and plum preserve mingled with hints of pencil shaving, rose petal, licorice and lilac. Medium to full-bodied, it’s rich and fleshy, its broad attack segueing into an enveloping mid-palate framed by powdery, youthfully firm tannins, concluding with a nicely defined finish. It can’t quite match the energy and elegance of 2019, but it’s a terrific effort that could embarrass plenty of classified growths.

A little gem of a wine, the 2020 Château Haut-Marbuzet boasts a deep purple color as well as medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of cassis, blackcurrants, tobacco, and damp earth. It’s ripe, rounded, and pure on the palate, with wonderful precision and freshness as well as silky tannins. It’s worth seeking out.