2017 Ch Haut-Bages Libéral, Pauillac

Lead pencil, cigar box, cedar and cassis give this a correct Pauillac profile. Medium bodied with polish to the tannins and round fruits in the finish, Really good wine this year. The wine was produced from a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot .

Tannic and linear with blackberry and currant character. Full body, tight and chewy with a polished texture and excellent length. Shows toned muscles for the vintage. Demeter certified biodynamic.

94-95 points - James Suckling

The 2017 Haut-Bages Libéral is dense, pliant and nuanced, with plenty of red cherry, blood orange, smoke and spice notes that give the wine a decidedly exotic character. There is good depth and resonance to the 2017, if not quite the finesse or balance of the other wines in Claire Lurton's range. Haut-Bages Libéral is now a fully biodynamic property.

89-92 Antonio Galloni

The 2017 Haut-Bages-Libéral offers blackberry and cedar on the nose, classically flaired and nicely defined though perhaps a little conservative in style compared to others. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin although it lacks a little density in the middle and tapers towards the finish with pencil shavings “liberally” sprinkled over the aftertaste. I suspect that this Pauillac will drink nicely over the next decade. Tasted at the UGC trade tasting.

89-91 Neal Martin