2024 Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac

So vibrant, dynamic and energetic with loads of fresh red berry fruits almost jumping from the glass. Sandalwood – which is for me, alongside the vivid fruit, such a signature of this wine these days. The Pauillac graphite arrives with more and more aeration and with it the fruit profile darkens a little. This will not be difficult to identify blind . Supple and sumptuous on the attack, quite ample for the vintage, with impressive density and compactness with the tannins, always soft and gentle, discretely circumscribing the parameters of the flow of the wine and drawing everything back to a well-defined spine. Their crumbly, calcaire identity is very evident on the grippy, sapid and saline finish. A great success as one now expects from Claire Lurton and her accomplished team. Both gracious and yet vivid at the same time .

The 2024 Haut-Bages Libéral is a classy, polished wine. Silky contours meld around a core of succulent red-toned fruit, white pepper, blood orange and cinnamon. The 2024 is airy and a bit lighter texturally than most vintages, but all the signatures of the property are quite present.

Strawberries, black raspberries, currants, cocoa, and floral aromas fill the aromatic profile. The wine is medium-bodied, vibrant, and crunchy, with sweetness surrounded by its natural acidities, and juicy, red currants in the finish. The wine blends 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV. 3.57 pH. Yield were 30 hectoliters per hectare. Harvesting took place September 24 - October 4. Drink from 2029-2045

The 2024 Haut-Bages Libéral 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 grainy in texture, with lighter tannins than the previous vintages and a graphite-infused finish. Unashamedly classic Pauillac in style, this is a successful biodynamic wine that has a spring in its step.

Leafy and fragrant, attractive quality and you can see the careful construction, just a little tight on the finish. Never the biggest-shouldered wine in Pauillac, but it is juicy and finely boned, good qualty. 3.57 pH. Harvest 24 September to 4 October. 30 hl/ha. 40% new oak. High Cabernet Sauvignon in the vintage, up at almost 95%. 30hl/h yields.

More open and gourmand than expected, the 2024 Haut-Bages-Libéral offers up aromas of dark berries, mulberries, cassis and flowers mingled with delicate notes of menthol. Medium-bodied, structured and dense for the vintage, it's built around firm tannins with a lively mid-palate and a spicy finish. This is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc.

94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc. 30 hl/ha. Cask sample. More Cabernet than usual. Savoury tone to the nose. Attractive fruit on attack, tension in the middle then firmness and length on the finish. Just a little edge of dryness as well. (JL)