2025 Château Haut Bages Liberal
Two more terrific releases this afternoon, starting with Château Latour's neighbour in Pauillac, 2025 Château Haut Bages Libéral. James Suckling's rating of 96-97 points puts this within the top half dozen Pauillac releases of the vintage and at £156 for 6 is a fraction of the price of any of them.
The story behind the rise of this estate is as compelling as the wine. Winemaker Claire Villars-Lurton took over the estate following the untimely death of her mother and father in a car accident. Giving up her intended career as a physicist in Paris, Villars-Lurton returned to Bordeaux and made wine at Chasse-Spleen whilst studying oenology, before moving to Haut-Bages Libéral. Today she is widely admired as one of the top winemakers in Bordeaux.
Château Talbot in Saint-Julien needs little introduction, and its rise in quality over the last decade or so makes it one of the more consistent performers in the appellation and back to the quality levels seen in the 1982 and 1986. This will be in no small part due to the relatively recent appointment of Michel Laporte as Technical Director. Laporte has an impressive CV. After training with Jean-Claude Berrouet (oenologist for Château Petrus) he spent almost 14 years at La Conseillante.
For us the wine is summed up by Jeb Dunnock who writes: "a medium-bodied Talbot with soft tannins, wonderful balance, and a great finish. I love its overall balance, and it's an impeccably made, elegant effort that has tons to love."
You can see full details of these and other new releases on our Bordeaux 2025 En Primeur offer page, here.
Offered en primeur landing spring 2028. Magnums available with a bottling surcharge of £25 per six, other formats on request.
| RED | 2025 | Château Haut Bages Liberal | 75cl | £156 per case of 6 | Château Haut Bages Liberal 2025 / / 75cl £156 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"Intense, gunsmoke and roses opening, the perception of acidity that is typical in the vintage is higher here than in the Claire Lurton Margaux wines, but measured by salinity, autumnal fruits and chalky tannins, Eric Boissenot consultant. 3.56ph, with the highest proportion of limestone in any vineyard in Pauillac. Harvest September 8 to 18. Yield 32 hl/ha. 35% new oak. 3.56 pH. 93 points" janeanson.com------"The 2025 Haut-Bages Libéral was picked at 32 hl/ha between September 8 and 18 and matured in 35% new oak with 30% in concrete ovoid tanks. What distinguishes this property is that half the vines lie on limestone soils, which is unusual in Pauillac. This has clearly the most beguiling aromatics among the three wines that I tasted with Claire Villars Lurton, with pure black cherries, cassis and violet scents that burst from the glass. Wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, a silver thread of acidity and, crucially, that tingle from the limestone soils that defines the finish. What a superb and distinctive Pauillac this is. 93-95 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com------"The 2025 Haut-Bages Libéral is a powerful, tightly wound wine. Bright acids and beams of tannin are front and center. In this tasting, it is driven and also very shut down. The saline-drenched finish reverberates with tension. Intense red-toned fruit, chalk, mint, white pepper and blood orange fill out the layers. 93-96 points" Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com------"One of the best Haut-Bages Libérals I've tasted from barreel. Perfumed blackcurrants, quite dark and true to form with a gorgeous perfume. Aromatics are great. Juicy and crisp, sleek and svelte, definitely quite streamlined but with such soft, velvety tannins that give grip but support the vibrant fruit so well. I love this. Really very classic, muscular but gentle with purity and focus. Hard to explain but this is great, maybe quite light and not layered enough, but there’s such complex flavours and aromas. And the acidity is excellent. A very friendly wine that will be easy to approach. Half gravelly soil, half limestone with 50% chalk on Cabernet – really rare for a cru classé. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.56pH. A yield of 32hl/ha. 96 points" Georgina Hindle, Decanter Magazine------"Bright and vivid on the nose and palate, with blackberries, black currants, raspberries and violets. It's medium-bodied with firm and racy tannins and a salty undertone in the finish, Such real energy. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. 96-97 points" jamessuckling.com |
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