Lovely second wine of Haut Brion with tobacco, chocolate and dark fruits. Earth too. Full body with fine tannins and pretty finish. Very balanced. Nicely done.

Offers the racy, taut edge of the vintage, but shows slightly better flesh than its La Chapelle counterpart. In the end, this offers a nice briary edge to its range of red and blue fruits, with a lively iron note on the finish. Tasted non-blind.-J.M.

The 2011 Le Clarence de Haut Brion is a blend of 71.5% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc 22.8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1.2% Petit Verdot representing around 46% of the crop (11% of the crop was declassified compared to 20% in 2010.) The nose shows a little more cohesion and fruit intensity than the La Chapelle de la Mission with ripe blackberry and a touch of Hoi Sin. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry, fine acidity, the tannins a little “fatter” and “juicier” than the tensile La Chapelle. Good length on the finish. Very fine. Tasted April 2012.

An impressive second wine, delicious red and black currant, spice box and earth notes intertwined with an underlying floral-like character jump from the glass of the 2011 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion. Complex with silky tannins, medium to full body and a long finish, this sleeper of the vintage can be drunk early on or cellared for 10-15 years.
-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #212 Apr 2014

(89-91)
The 2011 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion is more mineral-based than La Mission’s second wine, La Chapelle. The Clarence de Haut-Brion possesses a deep ruby/purple color along with copious notes of black cherries and black currants intermixed with hints of crushed rocks and wet gravel. It’s easy to tell it is from the Haut-Brion vineyard. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.

Drink 2020-2030 71.5% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc, 22.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1.2% Petit Verdot. Deep glowing crimson again. Less aromatic than La Chapelle and darker fruited. Very soft tannins but thicker in texture than La Chapelle, more chocolate textured. Gentler all round though the acidity is still very fresh. Gentle softness on the finish without falling away. Denser in the middle and richer all round, though that may be the lower acidity. (JH) 13.4%