Garnet in color. Nose of cranberry and a bit of leather. Second nose of strawberry, raspberry, and earth. Delicate and light on the palate. Still has structure and flavor of cranberry.
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From the first moment it gets poured into the glass, you smell the Bordeaux soil, with some touches of leather and spice. The taste is big and fresh, driven by blackcurrant, cherries at first, then the earthy, leathery and spicy flavors take over, with some tannins showing as well. Will probably improve over the next few years, but drinks very nicely now! Drank from a Coravin-opened bottle at Red Dot Wine Bar, Kristiansand, Norway
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Medium reddish-purple garnet in color. Full, forward & attractive nose of ripe fruit aromas of cherries, blueberries & cassis with overtones of earthy/dusty & herbal notes, some floral notes, anise, tobacco, minerals, & cedar in the background. Medium bodied with a good concentration of balanced & smooth textured, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries & plums with herbs, minerals, spices & oak. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing but it should develop further with additional aging.
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Floral and blueberries notes with a touch of clove and star anise. Very Margaux like in its aromatic nose. Palate is still somewhat astringent. Good fruit and spice. Medium-bodied. Transition to a clean finish is light and edgy. Need more time for the elements to settle down and harmonise if the fruit can hold.
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6 hour decant here. It was very closed for the first couple hours and fruited up nicely after about 4-5 hours. Cherries, blackberries, some mineral, tobacco, a bit of acid, silky tannins. Medium-long finish. Medium body. I think this will be a very interesting wine given 3-4 more years; it has great potential and a good bouquet right now.
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Still quite young. At 2 hours in the decanter it was just beginning to open up. Unfortunately, dinner was almost over. Nice composition and balance of tannins, albeit more time would have been even better. Looking forward to my next bottle in a few years with proper time in the decanter.
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Beau claret, textbook Bordeaux. Sur les cerises, le chocolat, le cèdre et un peu la terre. Les tannins sont bien enrobés et la finale assez longue nous laisse sur des relents de Menthol! EXCELLENT!
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Open for two hours, a bit of barnyard funk on the nose, grippy tannins. After being open for 4 hours developed a large amount of astringency. On the second day a bit more fruit present, nice perfume. Can drink now but will benefit from more time.
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Ruby red body with very slight orange tinge on the rim. Double decanted for 4 hours. Very complex nose with some cassis and lots of earth on the nose. Notes of damp earth, leather, tobacco, peppercorn, baking spice, and noticeable floral notes of violets. On the palate, it is fresh and juicy with lots of power on the attack. Lots of black fruit, notes of black cherry, plum, cassis, and blackberry. Leather, smoke, violet, and maybe some sign of tertiary notes developing with some forest floor/mushroom. Cacao and coffee on the finish with lingering fruit. Lots of complexity that expresses the power of Pauillac terroir. Needs more time in the cellar or a long decant (5-6 hours at least) to really open up.
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Very closed on the nose. Opens up a bit with time but not much. Silky tannins and dark fruit. Good acidity. Enjoyable but not complex or interesting at this stage for me. Will wait longer before trying next bottle.
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My second bottle, tasted 3 years after the first. The additional bottle age resulted in an even better wine. Smooth as silk, layered and complex, dark cherry nose and flavor,, and with enough tannin to guarantee longevity.
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Druckit 2022-01-21. Dekanterade 2H (18grader.) Fantastiskt bra vin. Jag tillhör dem som gillar unga fräscha viner. För min del minst 92++. Möjligen inte helt öppen ännu, kan säkert ligga 1–5 år till, men är kan med fördel drickas redan nu. Mörka frukter, björnbär, läder.
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Bold and tannic, and perhaps still a year or two away from its prime. This was not your typical Pauillac, but nevertheless at an acceptable drinking window. A nice treat on a surprise Happy Hour afternoon with CH ???? ???? whom I had not met for circa 30 years. Always good to catch up with a glass or 3 of Bordeauxs in the wonderful confines of a cave ??
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Popped and poured, and drank over two hours. Clearly lots of stuffing in this one, but way too early. Lots of dark fruit and should be better in 5+ years.
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Duty free purchase. Pnp. This is very good, already showing great balance of red and dark fruit, wood spices and integrated tannins. Best Haut Bages Liberal I have had. 92+
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The 2015 iteration of Château Haut-Bages Libéral is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot, aged for 16 months in French oak (40% new). Vinturi-decanted and serially sampled over several hours, it is an opaque ruby wine that flaunts a beautiful bouquet after one hour in decanter. Flush with black and red currant fruit accented with licorice, truffle, tobacco and fines herbes, it is a medium-bodied, fresh, seamlessly alcoholic (13.5%) Bordeaux with nicely integrated oak and plentiful tannins that will require a bit of time to assimilate. The dense middle palate is layered and the finish is lengthy. Give this a bit of time...all the building blocks are in place. Drink 2022-2035.
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Coravin pour. Blackberry and plum on the nose. Fruit on the palate is more restrained, but low tannins and smooth finish make up for it. Highly enjoyable now for a young BDX.
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Had the opportunity to taste this at the winery, so the environment helped. but I also had a bottle later that week. It is a lively wine, ready to drink now, with much promise for the future. Great fruit, smooth texture, and good balance. Happily, a nearby wine store carries it so I can get some more.
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Delicious, but somewhat sweet and boring. Have drunk two or three and still have one more. Better the second day. At $65 I will minimize such future purchases. Recommend more the 2014 Chateau Talbot or Clos du Marquis, at about $50 or 2014 cantemerle for even less.
edit in 2020: prices having artificially increased by some 40-50% in one year, I no longer recommend these wines as highly, (most of which are also no longer locally available).
edit in 2023: amazingly, the price of this is now "only" $60, and Talbot has gone way up, so I will try this again. We tried the 2018 yesterday, also $60, and enjoyed it, even though obviously much too young.
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Pop and pour and tasted with food (chicken soup with acini di pepe, in case you were wondering) and also followed on its own for about 3 hours. Ruby red color. Nose is not offering much, perhaps a little cedar and some spice. Plum and some vanilla/oak flavors with a hint of bell pepper on the finish. Ok, but not outstanding.
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Good ripeness of fruit on nose and palate. Some oak influence, notes of spices, tobacco, smoke. On the palate sweet fruit, quite fresh and lively, solid tannins, decent length. This is well balanced and very good, but a little linear. 90-91+
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Medium/full-bodied with a crisp, overly bright, red berry character, the wine mixes, cranberry and cassis, with leaf, olive, herbs, earth and tobacco. This is on the crisp and crunchy side of the red fruit range.
UGCB 2015 tasting (Amsterdam): In the bouquet dark berries and some green impressions. On the palate fairly full bodied and juicy. Good acidity and sticky tannin. 90+
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Union Des Grand Crus de Bordeaux Tasting of the 2015 Vintage, nose of red berry, and barnyard, same on the palate, medium body, tasty but simple, and a medium finish.
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Assessing Bordeaux 2015 from bottle, part I; 11/2/2017-11/3/2017 (Bordeaux): An improvement over what turned out to be Croizet Bages in this first flight of a blind tasting of Pauillacs. On the nose one senses powerful tannin which comes across as powerful on the palate - more so than the preceding wine - but the ripe fruit is there and so is the structure. Although the tannins are a bit raw, it finishes smoothly and fairly long. Nice job!
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- Medium/full-bodied with a crunchy, red berry, earth and tobacco profile, this wine will be appreciated by fans of a more classic Pauillac production. 88 - 90 Pts
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5/5/2024 - DTK Rockstar Likes this wine: 88 Points
A bit of fruit. Some mushrooms.
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4/29/2024 - sstein19 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Garnet in color. Nose of cranberry and a bit of leather. Second nose of strawberry, raspberry, and earth. Delicate and light on the palate. Still has structure and flavor of cranberry.
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4/10/2024 - EspenK65 Likes this wine: 93 Points
From the first moment it gets poured into the glass, you smell the Bordeaux soil, with some touches of leather and spice. The taste is big and fresh, driven by blackcurrant, cherries at first, then the earthy, leathery and spicy flavors take over, with some tannins showing as well. Will probably improve over the next few years, but drinks very nicely now!
Drank from a Coravin-opened bottle at Red Dot Wine Bar, Kristiansand, Norway
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12/10/2023 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 91 Points
Medium reddish-purple garnet in color. Full, forward & attractive nose of ripe fruit aromas of cherries, blueberries & cassis with overtones of earthy/dusty & herbal notes, some floral notes, anise, tobacco, minerals, & cedar in the background. Medium bodied with a good concentration of balanced & smooth textured, ripe fruit flavors of cherries, blueberries & plums with herbs, minerals, spices & oak. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing but it should develop further with additional aging.
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10/27/2023 - Psdycp wrote: 89 Points
Floral and blueberries notes with a touch of clove and star anise. Very Margaux like in its aromatic nose. Palate is still somewhat astringent. Good fruit and spice. Medium-bodied. Transition to a clean finish is light and edgy. Need more time for the elements to settle down and harmonise if the fruit can hold.
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10/3/2023 - AJCM Likes this wine: 91 Points
Haut-Bages Liberal Winery
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6/18/2023 - Steve Cub Likes this wine: 91 Points
6 hour decant here. It was very closed for the first couple hours and fruited up nicely after about 4-5 hours. Cherries, blackberries, some mineral, tobacco, a bit of acid, silky tannins. Medium-long finish. Medium body. I think this will be a very interesting wine given 3-4 more years; it has great potential and a good bouquet right now.
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4/29/2023 - spineguy Likes this wine:
Still quite young. At 2 hours in the decanter it was just beginning to open up. Unfortunately, dinner was almost over. Nice composition and balance of tannins, albeit more time would have been even better. Looking forward to my next bottle in a few years with proper time in the decanter.
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4/26/2023 - maxima wrote: 90 Points
Beau claret, textbook Bordeaux.
Sur les cerises, le chocolat, le cèdre
et un peu la terre.
Les tannins sont bien enrobés et
la finale assez longue nous laisse
sur des relents de Menthol!
EXCELLENT!
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3/19/2023 - J+B_Wines Likes this wine: 95 Points
Open for two hours, a bit of barnyard funk on the nose, grippy tannins. After being open for 4 hours developed a large amount of astringency. On the second day a bit more fruit present, nice perfume. Can drink now but will benefit from more time.
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3/11/2023 - brenkim103 wrote: 94 Points
Ruby red body with very slight orange tinge on the rim. Double decanted for 4 hours. Very complex nose with some cassis and lots of earth on the nose. Notes of damp earth, leather, tobacco, peppercorn, baking spice, and noticeable floral notes of violets. On the palate, it is fresh and juicy with lots of power on the attack. Lots of black fruit, notes of black cherry, plum, cassis, and blackberry. Leather, smoke, violet, and maybe some sign of tertiary notes developing with some forest floor/mushroom. Cacao and coffee on the finish with lingering fruit. Lots of complexity that expresses the power of Pauillac terroir. Needs more time in the cellar or a long decant (5-6 hours at least) to really open up.
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11/14/2022 - Ryan@Rhone Likes this wine: 88 Points
Very closed on the nose. Opens up a bit with time but not much. Silky tannins and dark fruit. Good acidity. Enjoyable but not complex or interesting at this stage for me. Will wait longer before trying next bottle.
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7/17/2022 - Sid G Likes this wine: 95 Points
My second bottle, tasted 3 years after the first. The additional bottle age resulted in an even better wine. Smooth as silk, layered and complex, dark cherry nose and flavor,, and with enough tannin to guarantee longevity.
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1/22/2022 - ca@aspet.nu Likes this wine: 92 Points
Druckit 2022-01-21. Dekanterade 2H (18grader.) Fantastiskt bra vin. Jag tillhör dem som gillar unga fräscha viner.
För min del minst 92++. Möjligen inte helt öppen ännu, kan säkert ligga 1–5 år till, men är kan med fördel drickas redan nu. Mörka frukter, björnbär, läder.
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12/24/2021 - Busch8 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Opened up after a 30 minute decant. Was great with Christmas Eve surf and turf dinner. My first Bordeaux.
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10/12/2021 - Juliansi wrote:
Bold and tannic, and perhaps still a year or two away from its prime. This was not your typical Pauillac, but nevertheless at an acceptable drinking window. A nice treat on a surprise Happy Hour afternoon with CH ???? ???? whom I had not met for circa 30 years. Always good to catch up with a glass or 3 of Bordeauxs in the wonderful confines of a cave ??
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7/22/2021 - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Likes this wine: 88 Points
Popped and poured, and drank over two hours. Clearly lots of stuffing in this one, but way too early. Lots of dark fruit and should be better in 5+ years.
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7/6/2021 - DTK Rockstar Likes this wine: 87 Points
Beautiful bouquet of black cherries, smoke. Very primary on the palate. Will develop well
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8/10/2020 - Dithiolium Likes this wine: 92 Points
Consistent Deep dark red. Aromatic Mineral and fruit nose. Intense fruit, blackcurrent, toasted oak. Bold tannins and long finish
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5/16/2020 - soon.wine Likes this wine: 91 Points
89-91
PnP on Friday. Closed on the nose. Dark berries, medium bodied, oak. Astringent. 89
On Sunday, has evolved nicely. Tar, cassis, med tannins. 91
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1/11/2020 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 92 Points
Duty free purchase. Pnp. This is very good, already showing great balance of red and dark fruit, wood spices and integrated tannins. Best Haut Bages Liberal I have had. 92+
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11/27/2019 - Kimpossibled wrote:
Good
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11/19/2019 - ChristoBretts Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Medium body. Nose rather closed. Elegant, finished with some tartness. Nothing secondary on the palate.
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10/20/2019 - La Cave d'Argent Likes this wine: 93 Points
The 2015 iteration of Château Haut-Bages Libéral is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot, aged for 16 months in French oak (40% new). Vinturi-decanted and serially sampled over several hours, it is an opaque ruby wine that flaunts a beautiful bouquet after one hour in decanter. Flush with black and red currant fruit accented with licorice, truffle, tobacco and fines herbes, it is a medium-bodied, fresh, seamlessly alcoholic (13.5%) Bordeaux with nicely integrated oak and plentiful tannins that will require a bit of time to assimilate. The dense middle palate is layered and the finish is lengthy. Give this a bit of time...all the building blocks are in place. Drink 2022-2035.
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8/25/2019 - mwesty Likes this wine: 93 Points
Amazing bouquet, dried violets, dark fruits. Finely woven tannins.
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7/18/2019 - esw423 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Coravin pour. Blackberry and plum on the nose. Fruit on the palate is more restrained, but low tannins and smooth finish make up for it. Highly enjoyable now for a young BDX.
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4/17/2019 - Sid G Likes this wine: 95 Points
Had the opportunity to taste this at the winery, so the environment helped. but I also had a bottle later that week. It is a lively wine, ready to drink now, with much promise for the future. Great fruit, smooth texture, and good balance. Happily, a nearby wine store carries it so I can get some more.
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2/14/2019 - mathwonk wrote:
Delicious, but somewhat sweet and boring. Have drunk two or three and still have one more. Better the second day. At $65 I will minimize such future purchases. Recommend more the 2014 Chateau Talbot or Clos du Marquis, at about $50 or 2014 cantemerle for even less.
edit in 2020: prices having artificially increased by some 40-50% in one year, I no longer recommend these wines as highly, (most of which are also no longer locally available).
edit in 2023: amazingly, the price of this is now "only" $60, and Talbot has gone way up, so I will try this again. We tried the 2018 yesterday, also $60, and enjoyed it, even though obviously much too young.
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10/17/2018 - t_moderne wrote: 87 Points
Pop and pour and tasted with food (chicken soup with acini di pepe, in case you were wondering) and also followed on its own for about 3 hours.
Ruby red color.
Nose is not offering much, perhaps a little cedar and some spice.
Plum and some vanilla/oak flavors with a hint of bell pepper on the finish.
Ok, but not outstanding.
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10/6/2018 - bdisk1235 wrote: flawed
Smelled like a wet dog and tasted worse unfortunately
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6/16/2018 - rossi.wine wrote: 91 Points
Good ripeness of fruit on nose and palate. Some oak influence, notes of spices, tobacco, smoke. On the palate sweet fruit, quite fresh and lively, solid tannins, decent length. This is well balanced and very good, but a little linear. 90-91+
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6/1/2018 - Collector1855 wrote: 92 Points
Bordeaux 2015 in bottle (Zurich Arvi / Singapore UGCB): This was above my - admittedly low - expectations. Classic Medoc nose, elegant mouth feel, some cedar and lingering spice on the finish
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3/12/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 87 Points
Medium/full-bodied with a crisp, overly bright, red berry character, the wine mixes, cranberry and cassis, with leaf, olive, herbs, earth and tobacco. This is on the crisp and crunchy side of the red fruit range.
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2/5/2018 - Zweder wrote: 90 Points
UGCB 2015 tasting (Amsterdam): In the bouquet dark berries and some green impressions. On the palate fairly full bodied and juicy. Good acidity and sticky tannin. 90+
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1/27/2018 - Lipsman wrote: 90 Points
Cherries on the nose. I found this wine rather simple, but well made. The palate is dry with red berries and smooth tannins, balance is good.
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1/25/2018 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 88 Points
Union Des Grand Crus de Bordeaux Tasting of the 2015 Vintage, nose of red berry, and barnyard, same on the palate, medium body, tasty but simple, and a medium finish.
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11/2/2017 - PanosKakaviatos Likes this wine: 90 Points
Assessing Bordeaux 2015 from bottle, part I; 11/2/2017-11/3/2017 (Bordeaux): An improvement over what turned out to be Croizet Bages in this first flight of a blind tasting of Pauillacs. On the nose one senses powerful tannin which comes across as powerful on the palate - more so than the preceding wine - but the ripe fruit is there and so is the structure. Although the tannins are a bit raw, it finishes smoothly and fairly long. Nice job!
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5/7/2016 - PanosKakaviatos wrote:
Intriguingly Pauillac #Bdx15 (Bordeaux, actually tasted during en primeur week): This is quite steely actually…. And it surprisingly lacks the charm of most others. Could it have been the sample? I did not get a chance to try another one. Must be revisited. Note reserved.
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4/18/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 89 Points
- Medium/full-bodied with a crunchy, red berry, earth and tobacco profile, this wine will be appreciated by fans of a more classic Pauillac production. 88 - 90 Pts
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