2024, Château Haut-Bages Libéral, PAUILLAC, Grand Cru ClasséBordeaux Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc (1%). The 2024 Haut Bages Libral was cropped at 30 hl ha between September 24 and October 4. It's due to be aged for 12 months in 63% new oak barrels and 37% in ovoid amphoras. This has a lucid purple hue. The nose is a little timid at first but opens with a few swirls of the glass, revealing blackberry, wild hedgerow and light tobacco scents. The palate is medium bodied, reserved in style and

A mix of different berries

permeated by mineral and herbal notes

Slow to unfurl

Low yields

aging for around 12 months in one-year-old French oak barriques

Cabernet Franc plays the leading role

when crushed in the palm of your hand in the thick of summer

Last picked

and certainly you see a little less exuberance

though linear and strict on the saline finish

clear definition

Pretty mineral notes of flint and crushed stone round it off