The 2020 Haut-Bages Libéral is exceptionally beautiful and vivid. Hard candy, kirsch, rose petal, cinnamon and blood orange are some of the many notes that race across the palate. A wine of magnificent purity and silkiness, the Haut-Bages Libéral is simply captivating in its intensity. Bright acids punctuate the articulate, persistent finish. Magnificent. (AG)

General manager Thomas Bontemps and owner Claire Villars-Lurton have crafted a wonderful 2020 at Haut-Bages Libéral, showcasing the estate’s new signatures in its voluminous, Chambord-like black raspberry nose, complemented by boysenberry, sea salt, pencil shavings and a hint of violet as the bouquet opens in the decanter. It’s the wine’s textural components which define it just as much as its olfactory spectrum; on both the nose and palate, this is powerful and dense yet welcomingly generous with cool concentration. If you wondered whether Haut-Bages Libéral’s renaissance was dependent on alcohols over 14% to bring phenolic ripeness into an appropriate range (as with the 2018 and 2019), the 2020 proves that it doesn’t, with a cool 13.5% ABV. The assemblage of this classic Pauillac is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot aged for 16 months in 40% new oak, 40% one-year-old wood and 20% amphorae. Tasted over 24 hours. (MB)

Coming from the heart of this hallowed appellation (the main vineyard is just north of Château Latour), the 2020 Château Haut-Bages Libéral sports a vivid purple hue as well as a beautiful perfume of cassis and plum-like fruits interwoven with licorice, violets, damp earth, and subtle underbrush-like aromas and flavors. It's medium-bodied and has a focused, elegant mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and outstanding length. It shows the focused, elegant, yet concentrated style of this vintage beautifully. Give bottles another 3-5 years and enjoy through 2050.