This is an excellent mature claret. Perfectly balanced, great middle and long finish. Quite elegant considering its price point on release. As others have noted, if your bottle has been well-stored (no orange edge) then it needs a long decant time. I decanted it, got rid of the sediment and then divided it half and half in decanter and cleaned bottle. Refilled the bottle after 8 hours (!), took it to the restaurant and it was perfect. All my previous bottles never came around with a shorter decant period.
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Classic aged claret with a gorgeous Pauillac nose of tobacco leaf, cassis, cedar, pencil lead and saddle leather. This bottle had a base neck fill with a cork in excellent condition; color is brick-ruby and still looks quite youthful. Not quite as nice as an '85 Beychevelle I had last week, but pretty close. HBL made some really lovely wines in the '80s.
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The 1985 Haut Bages Libéral seems slightly past its apogee, showing more in the way of tertiary components than fruit at this point but deliciously, classically Pauillac nonetheless. The nose leads with blistered shishito, pencil, warm cedar, unsmoked cigar, and leather. A little diffuse and surely without the energy it once had, but still comfortingly enjoyable (neck fill, good cork, followed 3 hours in decanter).
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This is even better than the fine '82. This was from a bottle with an excellent fill, into the neck, and pours a beautiful ruby color with no signs of bricking. Gorgeous aged claret nose, showing brambly blackberry, cassis, pencil lead and cedar aromas. Rich and mouth coating, fully resolved tannins, still showing a nice acid lift. Drinking beautifully right now and not likely to improve further, but well stored bottles should continue to be at peak condition for another 5 years. This hits way above its pedigree and price point.
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Purchased at the AMC Internet auction a few months ago for $49 including premium. Bottle looked in good shape except for some what spots on the label. Opened with the Durand. Cork was fully infused but still in good shape. Decanted, left for an hour, and then followed for four more. Color was excellent, dark wine color with no noticeable bricking. Just a tiny tinge of orange if I hold the last inch in my final glass up to the light after 5 hours.
Mature but not fruit driven. Spices, balanced acidity, a bit of earthiness/herbs but nothing like, let's say, an aged Gruaud with the saddle leather and and barn dirt. Perhaps a little floral on the nose. Extremely smooth, no tannic bite. Finish is on the long side of medium. I get no indication that this is on the down slope yet.
I can't get tech data back that far on their website, but all wines since 2000 have been between 70% and 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest Merlot. After what is not almost 6 hours since decanting, the wine stands up well with no degredation. I may have had this before, but I do not recall, so I cannot compare it with other vintages, but it is excellent for a Fifth Growth.
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Medium, light red with clear edges. Very nice lively nose of cedar box, hardwood floors, cassis, mushroom and forest floor. Delicious cassis and cedar flavours and a balanced elegant finish.
The fruit was very much alive and in the fore. The guess that it was an 82 was a good one.
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This is a hidden star in Grand Cru Classe which performs great in older vintage and backward in younger vintage. This wine has a very fresh and fruity nose together with oak and tertiary aromas like chocolate, coffee beans. Very elegant as nose. On palate it's complex and structured with sufficient acidity. The wine was opened for 3 hrs and its aromas starts to go away. The tannin is very fine which is hardly detectable. A good wine to have for such a good vintage at this price
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A stunning Pauillac and a real steal at around $40 I paid for it recently. Never had an Haut Bages Liberal as they are not exactly known as a top producer in Pauillac but bought this following the remarkable reviews here. Bottom neck fill, cork in very good condition with only the bottom two thirds soaked. Still a fairly dark garnet with no bricking to speak of, a nose of dark fruit, touch of bell peppers and capsicum, also a touch of emerging tobacco and leather, still juicy dark fruit on the medium weight palate, lead pencil, all in perfect balance and harmony. Finish could be longer. Fantastic, this has pretty much all I am looking for in a top Pauillac, and would be interesting to include this in a, say Pichon Baron vertical as a pirate. 92-93 and good bottles perfect to drink now.
PS: Very interesting to read Parker's tasting note of this wine from 1989. He gave it 89 points then but his note reads like for one of his 95 point "blockbusters" today (full bodied - tick box, impressive extract - tick box, powerful, long and ripe finish - tick box. How did we again get to 89 points from here?)
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My drinking experience today was very much inline with this review from Andtheodor: "Old cedar chest, old cigar wrapper, humidor nose. Fruit starting to dry out on palate, mushrooms, cigarette, capsicum tastes. Still balanced and enjoyable, but somewhat dusty and thin. Much less interesting than my last bottle."
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Old cedar chest, old cigar wrapper, humidor nose. Fruit starting to dry out on palate, mushrooms, cigarette, capsicum tastes. Still balanced and enjoyable, but somewhat dusty and thin. Much less interesting than my last bottle.
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Textbook Pauillac nose, with prominent graphite and wet rocks. Light-medium bodied, well resolved tannins on the palate, and adequate fruit and acidity to keep things in balance. Weightless and taught.
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Gorgeous nose. Cassis, plum, cigar, some leather. Smooth. Good acidity and minerality. Nice finish. Won't get any better and probably at the tail end of its life.
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1985 Bordeaux Blind (Berkeley): Group's #6; my #3; 0 first; 2 second; 3 third; 1 last. Aromas and flavors of cassis, cedar, leather, smoke, and meat. Smooth, full-bodied, with balancing acidity and a medium+ finish.
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Brought by Matt N. Light bricking, but pretty dark and solid in the center: purple-red. Very herbal nose with meat and plum and cassis. Dark fruits and tobacco. Very clear in the nose and palate. Still young on the palate: tight with creamy tannins. Very Bordeaux. Dark cherry and cassis. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 4/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 0.5/2 = 14/20.
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The classic Cabernet green pepper aromas came out right from the begnning following with aromas of red cherries, currants, cedar, tobacco, herbs and earth. Medium-full bodied with integrated tannins and a velvety smooth texture showing plenty of red fruit on the palate. Good depth and nicely balanced with a quite good length. Probably not going to improve further with additional bottle age, but should hold for quite some time yet.
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The fill was base neck and the cork was sound; popped and poured. Another wonderful bottle, with an extroverted bouquet, wonderful texture, and a long and complex finish.
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The fill was base neck and the cork was sound; popped, poured and consumed over the following 2 hours. Some bricking at the rim. Outgoing and complex bouquet, offering up notes of white truffle, cedary black fruits, tree bark and earth. Medium-bodied, with a surprisingly velvety texture, good stuffing, depth, balance. Good grip and focus on the long finish.
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The fill was into the neck and the cork was fantastic -- what a difference a great cork can make with a older wine! A ruby core with some garnet at the rim. A very extroverted bouquet, offering up notes of roasted herbs, crushed rocks, black fruits and earth. Medium-bodied, with some velvet on the mid-palate, good structure, and a complex finish. A bit high-toned, and I will be drinking my remaining half-case over the near term, but this wine continues to deliver the goods from pristine bottles.
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The fill was into the neck, the cork was in great shape -- a pristine bottle all around. A ruby core with a hint of amber at the rim. Quite an extroverted bouquet, with notes of roasted herbs, leather, truffle and spice; very complex, and quite to my liking. Less impressive on the palate, with the structure more noticeable than in the past; became a bit angular and drying on the finish.
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Base neck fill; the cork was sound. A purple-ruby core, turning to garnet at the rim. Lovely and outgoing bouquet, offering up complex notes of roasted herbs, tapenade, fennel and leather. Medium-bodied, with good balance, impressive depth, and a complex and focused finish. Fully mature, and an impressive claret!
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nose: quintessential pauillac on the nose with all sorts of pencil lead, cedar box, rich dark red cherries, leather and spice box. Excellent depth and is extremely well balanced
taste: really good medium body with well balanced and layered tones of Dark red cherries, sour cranberries, pencil lead, leather, and some bits of earth and cedar that lie underneath. Some fine grained tannins lets themselves be known, but this is certainly mature
overall: Fully mature and extremely elegant. Has a regalness to it showing off some of the pauillac power but also having a refined sense to it as well. This was double decanted for about 45 minutes before drinking
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A landmark tasting note for me - marking 25 years to the day since I wrote my first. Good garnet red with expected amber at the rim. Smelt a little bretty in the decanter but not really noticeable in the glass. Nose has red fruits, cedar, a touch of green pepper and a hint of white pepper on the finish. To taste, a touch stalky at first but it developed well after 3 hours in the decanter. Fully mature with that lovely 1985 red fruits softness. A medium bodied wine with good mellow claret fruit, a hint of green but not a distraction. Just a little short on the finish.
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Six bottles, Chaine Dinner at Gayle. The fills were all base neck or better and the corks were sound. A dark ruby core turning to garnet at the rim. An outgoing bouquet, offering up notes of ripe dark fruits, lilly, anise and spice. Medium-bodied on the palate, with a lush texture, good concentration, and a focused finish. Drinking wonderfully at present.
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A touch of ‘merde’ to the aroma but not enough to detract from the red currants, earth, tar and flora. It is relatively supple in the mouth with nice earthy flavours and a gentle, sweet core of fruit. There’s just a kiss of minerally acidity to bring home the finish and whilst it’s a nice drink it doesn’t hold a candle to the fabulous 88 Lynch Bages I had earlier in the week.
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Fill was base neck and the cork was saturated about halfway through, but was able to remove it one piece. A suprisingly youthful appearance, with only a hint of amber at the rim. An expressive bouquet, offering up scents of ripe dark fruits, anise, lavender and cedar. Medium-bodied, with an opulent texture, velvety mouthfeel, and a long finish.
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Top shoulder fill; the cork was sound. Decanted for sediment right before serving. The performance of this wine was shockingly good; I had never before tasted any vintage of Haut-Bages Liberal. A youthful purple-ruby core, turning to garnet at the rim. Lovely bouquet of ripe dark fruits, anise, leather and spice. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with fine concentration, lush texture, and nicely focused finish. In short, this wine had great fruit and a lovely mouthfeel.
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This was very yummy again, I decanted it and enjoyed it with prime rib. Fully mature aromas of cedar, pencil and red fruit were perfectly ballanced with that Paulliac elegance that I love. A fairly concentrated effort. This was not really showing it's age, but it was great to drink now, I do not think it will improve, but it is far fromover the hill. If only all bordeaux was like this.
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Picked up two bottles in a mixed lot at auction this fall. I do not think i have ever tried this chateau before. This is the first bottle of my stash, neck fill. Beautiful dark core color for an almost 20 year old wine with only the slightest hint of orange on the rim. Fully mature Paulliac nose of herbal cedar, violets and cherry caugh candy. Reasonably intense. The pallet is full, integrated roasted fruit, and there is a strong grip to the follow through. Elegant drinking and nice now. The wine feels medium weight, and is not super silky the way some of the higher classed Paulliacs are, probably it's one downfall. Still, a very nice bottle of wine, and I think RP has commented on an improvement in the winemaking recently, making this a chateau that I should look out for in the future. This will last 10+ years if well stored, based on this bottle.
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Auswine offline (Darlinghurst, Sydney): Bright glowing red, with a tinge of brick. A classical bordeaux nose of cedar and lead pencil, with a slightly leafy fruit quality. Much softer than the preceding YY wine, still quite rich with secondary flavours, but lighter bodied, and more evidently acidic. Medium weight, but with lovely length. What it lacks in sheer power it compensates for with a gentle elegance. Drinking beautifully now.
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2/8/2022 - stillrunning Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is an excellent mature claret. Perfectly balanced, great middle and long finish. Quite elegant considering its price point on release. As others have noted, if your bottle has been well-stored (no orange edge) then it needs a long decant time. I decanted it, got rid of the sediment and then divided it half and half in decanter and cleaned bottle. Refilled the bottle after 8 hours (!), took it to the restaurant and it was perfect. All my previous bottles never came around with a shorter decant period.
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11/11/2021 - CGWIND Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very nice - mature but nicely integrated and balanced. Some green pepper on nose and palate Good acid and lovely tannin
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9/19/2021 - GrapeScott wrote: 91 Points
Classic aged claret with a gorgeous Pauillac nose of tobacco leaf, cassis, cedar, pencil lead and saddle leather. This bottle had a base neck fill with a cork in excellent condition; color is brick-ruby and still looks quite youthful. Not quite as nice as an '85 Beychevelle I had last week, but pretty close. HBL made some really lovely wines in the '80s.
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8/20/2021 - englishman's claret wrote: 89 Points
The 1985 Haut Bages Libéral seems slightly past its apogee, showing more in the way of tertiary components than fruit at this point but deliciously, classically Pauillac nonetheless. The nose leads with blistered shishito, pencil, warm cedar, unsmoked cigar, and leather. A little diffuse and surely without the energy it once had, but still comfortingly enjoyable (neck fill, good cork, followed 3 hours in decanter).
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6/17/2021 - msauer Likes this wine: 91 Points
bemerkenswert frisch, überhaupt nicht „au“
frische Frucht. Erfreuliche 12.5%
Gute Struktur und Fülle
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11/21/2020 - paulst Likes this wine: 92 Points
Light and smooth with soft light blackberry; mature and lean; nice soft sweet raspberry finish.
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10/1/2020 - GrapeScott wrote: 93 Points
This is even better than the fine '82. This was from a bottle with an excellent fill, into the neck, and pours a beautiful ruby color with no signs of bricking. Gorgeous aged claret nose, showing brambly blackberry, cassis, pencil lead and cedar aromas. Rich and mouth coating, fully resolved tannins, still showing a nice acid lift. Drinking beautifully right now and not likely to improve further, but well stored bottles should continue to be at peak condition for another 5 years. This hits way above its pedigree and price point.
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5/3/2020 - paulst Likes this wine: 93 Points
Leather and rich blackberry; nicely mature; decent balance; nice finish.
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3/14/2020 - paulst Likes this wine: 92 Points
Light leather and earth; blackberry; nice texture and sweet finish.
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3/5/2020 - paulst Likes this wine: 95 Points
Resolved and where it should be; peaking and together with balance, length, complexity and soft tannins with leather and blackberry.
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2/29/2020 - Jay Hack wrote: 91 Points
Purchased at the AMC Internet auction a few months ago for $49 including premium. Bottle looked in good shape except for some what spots on the label. Opened with the Durand. Cork was fully infused but still in good shape. Decanted, left for an hour, and then followed for four more. Color was excellent, dark wine color with no noticeable bricking. Just a tiny tinge of orange if I hold the last inch in my final glass up to the light after 5 hours.
Mature but not fruit driven. Spices, balanced acidity, a bit of earthiness/herbs but nothing like, let's say, an aged Gruaud with the saddle leather and and barn dirt. Perhaps a little floral on the nose. Extremely smooth, no tannic bite. Finish is on the long side of medium. I get no indication that this is on the down slope yet.
I can't get tech data back that far on their website, but all wines since 2000 have been between 70% and 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest Merlot. After what is not almost 6 hours since decanting, the wine stands up well with no degredation. I may have had this before, but I do not recall, so I cannot compare it with other vintages, but it is excellent for a Fifth Growth.
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2/6/2020 - paulst Likes this wine: 94 Points
Tar and blackberry; deep; earthy fruit; complex; long layered finish.
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10/17/2016 - andtheodor wrote: 88 Points
Pencil, mint, smoked tobacco nose that I quite like. Palate has very little fruit remaining and the wine finishes on a dusty bitter note. OK.
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10/1/2016 - David J Cooper wrote: 92 Points
Medium, light red with clear edges. Very nice lively nose of cedar box, hardwood floors, cassis, mushroom and forest floor. Delicious cassis and cedar flavours and a balanced elegant finish.
The fruit was very much alive and in the fore. The guess that it was an 82 was a good one.
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8/14/2015 - ETT95 wrote: 92 Points
This is a hidden star in Grand Cru Classe which performs great in older vintage and backward in younger vintage. This wine has a very fresh and fruity nose together with oak and tertiary aromas like chocolate, coffee beans. Very elegant as nose. On palate it's complex and structured with sufficient acidity. The wine was opened for 3 hrs and its aromas starts to go away. The tannin is very fine which is hardly detectable. A good wine to have for such a good vintage at this price
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5/3/2015 - pavel_p Likes this wine: 93 Points
A stunning Pauillac and a real steal at around $40 I paid for it recently. Never had an Haut Bages Liberal as they are not exactly known as a top producer in Pauillac but bought this following the remarkable reviews here.
Bottom neck fill, cork in very good condition with only the bottom two thirds soaked. Still a fairly dark garnet with no bricking to speak of, a nose of dark fruit, touch of bell peppers and capsicum, also a touch of emerging tobacco and leather, still juicy dark fruit on the medium weight palate, lead pencil, all in perfect balance and harmony. Finish could be longer.
Fantastic, this has pretty much all I am looking for in a top Pauillac, and would be interesting to include this in a, say Pichon Baron vertical as a pirate. 92-93 and good bottles perfect to drink now.
PS: Very interesting to read Parker's tasting note of this wine from 1989. He gave it 89 points then but his note reads like for one of his 95 point "blockbusters" today (full bodied - tick box, impressive extract - tick box, powerful, long and ripe finish - tick box. How did we again get to 89 points from here?)
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9/18/2014 - europat55 wrote: 91 Points
My drinking experience today was very much inline with this review from Andtheodor: "Old cedar chest, old cigar wrapper, humidor nose. Fruit starting to dry out on palate, mushrooms, cigarette, capsicum tastes. Still balanced and enjoyable, but somewhat dusty and thin. Much less interesting than my last bottle."
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12/28/2013 - andtheodor wrote: 91 Points
Old cedar chest, old cigar wrapper, humidor nose. Fruit starting to dry out on palate, mushrooms, cigarette, capsicum tastes. Still balanced and enjoyable, but somewhat dusty and thin. Much less interesting than my last bottle.
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3/9/2013 - bpj87 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Textbook Pauillac nose, with prominent graphite and wet rocks. Light-medium bodied, well resolved tannins on the palate, and adequate fruit and acidity to keep things in balance. Weightless and taught.
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1/13/2013 - europat55 wrote: 93 Points
Gorgeous nose. Cassis, plum, cigar, some leather. Smooth. Good acidity and minerality. Nice finish. Won't get any better and probably at the tail end of its life.
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9/4/2012 - psrv wrote: 92 Points
1985 Bordeaux Blind (Berkeley): Group's #6; my #3; 0 first; 2 second; 3 third; 1 last. Aromas and flavors of cassis, cedar, leather, smoke, and meat. Smooth, full-bodied, with balancing acidity and a medium+ finish.
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6/26/2012 - Seth Rosenberg wrote: 88 Points
Brought by Matt N. Light bricking, but pretty dark and solid in the center: purple-red. Very herbal nose with meat and plum and cassis. Dark fruits and tobacco. Very clear in the nose and palate. Still young on the palate: tight with creamy tannins. Very Bordeaux. Dark cherry and cassis. Nose - 5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 4/6, Je Ne Sais Quoi - 0.5/2 = 14/20.
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3/2/2012 - andtheodor wrote: 94 Points
Fresh bell pepper, cedar, cassis, cigar, and a groundswell of sexy herbaceousness fleshes this wine out. Beautiful presence, Wow.
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1/23/2012 - wickedwax wrote:
The classic Cabernet green pepper aromas came out right from the begnning following with aromas of red cherries, currants, cedar, tobacco, herbs and earth. Medium-full bodied with integrated tannins and a velvety smooth texture showing plenty of red fruit on the palate. Good depth and nicely balanced with a quite good length. Probably not going to improve further with additional bottle age, but should hold for quite some time yet.
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11/14/2011 - tbabes wrote: 92 Points
The fill was base neck and the cork was sound; popped and poured. Another wonderful bottle, with an extroverted bouquet, wonderful texture, and a long and complex finish.
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10/19/2011 - tbabes wrote: 94 Points
The fill was base neck and the cork was sound; popped, poured and consumed over the following 2 hours. Some bricking at the rim. Outgoing and complex bouquet, offering up notes of white truffle, cedary black fruits, tree bark and earth. Medium-bodied, with a surprisingly velvety texture, good stuffing, depth, balance. Good grip and focus on the long finish.
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7/25/2010 - tbabes wrote: 92 Points
The fill was into the neck and the cork was fantastic -- what a difference a great cork can make with a older wine! A ruby core with some garnet at the rim. A very extroverted bouquet, offering up notes of roasted herbs, crushed rocks, black fruits and earth. Medium-bodied, with some velvet on the mid-palate, good structure, and a complex finish. A bit high-toned, and I will be drinking my remaining half-case over the near term, but this wine continues to deliver the goods from pristine bottles.
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6/11/2010 - tbabes wrote: 88 Points
The fill was into the neck, the cork was in great shape -- a pristine bottle all around. A ruby core with a hint of amber at the rim. Quite an extroverted bouquet, with notes of roasted herbs, leather, truffle and spice; very complex, and quite to my liking. Less impressive on the palate, with the structure more noticeable than in the past; became a bit angular and drying on the finish.
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4/10/2010 - tbabes wrote: 93 Points
Base neck fill; the cork was sound. A purple-ruby core, turning to garnet at the rim. Lovely and outgoing bouquet, offering up complex notes of roasted herbs, tapenade, fennel and leather. Medium-bodied, with good balance, impressive depth, and a complex and focused finish. Fully mature, and an impressive claret!
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1/15/2010 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
nose: quintessential pauillac on the nose with all sorts of pencil lead, cedar box, rich dark red cherries, leather and spice box. Excellent depth and is extremely well balanced
taste: really good medium body with well balanced and layered tones of Dark red cherries, sour cranberries, pencil lead, leather, and some bits of earth and cedar that lie underneath. Some fine grained tannins lets themselves be known, but this is certainly mature
overall: Fully mature and extremely elegant. Has a regalness to it showing off some of the pauillac power but also having a refined sense to it as well. This was double decanted for about 45 minutes before drinking
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1/5/2010 - kevin h wrote: 89 Points
A landmark tasting note for me - marking 25 years to the day since I wrote my first. Good garnet red with expected amber at the rim. Smelt a little bretty in the decanter but not really noticeable in the glass. Nose has red fruits, cedar, a touch of green pepper and a hint of white pepper on the finish. To taste, a touch stalky at first but it developed well after 3 hours in the decanter. Fully mature with that lovely 1985 red fruits softness. A medium bodied wine with good mellow claret fruit, a hint of green but not a distraction. Just a little short on the finish.
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5/17/2009 - tbabes wrote: 91 Points
Six bottles, Chaine Dinner at Gayle. The fills were all base neck or better and the corks were sound. A dark ruby core turning to garnet at the rim. An outgoing bouquet, offering up notes of ripe dark fruits, lilly, anise and spice. Medium-bodied on the palate, with a lush texture, good concentration, and a focused finish. Drinking wonderfully at present.
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5/3/2009 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
A touch of ‘merde’ to the aroma but not enough to detract from the red currants, earth, tar and flora. It is relatively supple in the mouth with nice earthy flavours and a gentle, sweet core of fruit. There’s just a kiss of minerally acidity to bring home the finish and whilst it’s a nice drink it doesn’t hold a candle to the fabulous 88 Lynch Bages I had earlier in the week.
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4/21/2009 - tbabes wrote: 92 Points
Fill was base neck and the cork was saturated about halfway through, but was able to remove it one piece. A suprisingly youthful appearance, with only a hint of amber at the rim. An expressive bouquet, offering up scents of ripe dark fruits, anise, lavender and cedar. Medium-bodied, with an opulent texture, velvety mouthfeel, and a long finish.
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3/1/2009 - tbabes wrote: 93 Points
Top shoulder fill; the cork was sound. Decanted for sediment right before serving. The performance of this wine was shockingly good; I had never before tasted any vintage of Haut-Bages Liberal. A youthful purple-ruby core, turning to garnet at the rim. Lovely bouquet of ripe dark fruits, anise, leather and spice. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with fine concentration, lush texture, and nicely focused finish. In short, this wine had great fruit and a lovely mouthfeel.
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2/7/2008 - Myownscale wrote: 92 Points
Nose:
currant, nice vanilla, mocha
Palate:
currant, great long finish, well balanced, coffee and chocolate
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11/6/2005 - beachbum wrote: 91 Points
This was very yummy again, I decanted it and enjoyed it with prime rib. Fully mature aromas of cedar, pencil and red fruit were perfectly ballanced with that Paulliac elegance that I love. A fairly concentrated effort. This was not really showing it's age, but it was great to drink now, I do not think it will improve, but it is far fromover the hill. If only all bordeaux was like this.
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12/24/2004 - beachbum wrote: 90 Points
Picked up two bottles in a mixed lot at auction this fall. I do not think i have ever tried this chateau before. This is the first bottle of my stash, neck fill. Beautiful dark core color for an almost 20 year old wine with only the slightest hint of orange on the rim. Fully mature Paulliac nose of herbal cedar, violets and cherry caugh candy. Reasonably intense. The pallet is full, integrated roasted fruit, and there is a strong grip to the follow through. Elegant drinking and nice now. The wine feels medium weight, and is not super silky the way some of the higher classed Paulliacs are, probably it's one downfall. Still, a very nice bottle of wine, and I think RP has commented on an improvement in the winemaking recently, making this a chateau that I should look out for in the future. This will last 10+ years if well stored, based on this bottle.
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3/11/2001 - graemeg wrote:
Auswine offline (Darlinghurst, Sydney): Bright glowing red, with a tinge of brick. A classical bordeaux nose of cedar and lead pencil, with a slightly leafy fruit quality. Much softer than the preceding YY wine, still quite rich with secondary flavours, but lighter bodied, and more evidently acidic. Medium weight, but with lovely length. What it lacks in sheer power it compensates for with a gentle elegance. Drinking beautifully now.
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4/26/1994 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
Christie's Pre-Sale Tasting (Amsterdam): Excellent HBL: soft, good weight and structure, well-balanced, lovely acidity.
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