Château Haut-Brion Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 2020 750ml

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. (James Suckling)

Leading off the reds, the 2020 Le Clarence De Haut-Brion is a darker, more structured version of this cuvée that has lots of ripe blackcurrant fruit, notes of scorched earth, tobacco, cedar, and lead pencil, medium to full body, ripe tannins, and a great finish. With its brilliant Graves character, this is a second wine that deserves 4–5 years of bottle age and will evolve for two decades.

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. (William Kelley)

The 2020 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion is quite flamboyant on the nose with black plum, boysenberry and sous-bois scents, just a touch of pitted black olive. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fleshy, with more weight and amplitude compared to the La Chapelle and with a lovely savory/Provençal herb tincture towards the finish. This is a lovely Deuxième Vin. (Neal Martin)