This has a big start of tannins and fruit, yet the tannins are round and polished. Impressive backbone. Full body. Compact. Lots of blackberry and wet-earth flavors. Powerful finish. As the second wine of Haut-Brion, this shows lots of potential for the vintage.

Formerly labelled as Bahans Haut Brion, this is the second wine of the legendary Haut Brion. Mineral driven rather than fruit-forward like its sibling La Chapelle, this offers a classy Pessac nose of warm earth and blackcurrant, plum fruit. Fine-grained tannins, a juicy, sweetly fruited but freshly balanced mid palate and a fine mineral finish mark this out as a wine of some class. - April 2018

The 2017 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion has a little more ripeness on the nose compared to the Chapelle de la Mission: summer red fruit, orange zest and light tertiary scents. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannins. Fleshy and approachable, this is a wine that can be broached when young. Easy going but surprisingly long on the finish. Very fine. www.vinous.com

Deep cherry red. Smells sweeter and darker-fruited than the Chapelle de la Mission just tasted. Gentle dark fruit and light spice. Subtle but fruity on the nose. Firmer and more graphite-scented on the palate but with impressive fruit depth and generosity within a dry, fine-boned tannic structure. Fresh but not strident. Finely balanced and lovely persistence. - Julia Harding, jancisrobinson.com, April 2018