This is tight, yet so upright and proper, with a vertical line of fine tannin that runs true and deep. It’s medium- to full-bodied with an exquisite texture and a long, structured finish. 52.3% merlot, 38.6% cabernet sauvignon and 9.1% cabernet franc.

This is an exceptional Haut-Brion, offering juice and elegant balance alongside classically structured layers, generous but restrained, sense of architecture and building blocks of a truly great Left Bank wine. Rippling with sinewy muscles, juicy and controlled, packed with cocoa bean, espresso, liouqorice root, but none of these flavours dominate, knitted together, with a vertical lift. 100% new oak, Jean-Philippe Delmas director, Jean-Philippe Masclef technical director, no outside consultant.

A serious and supple Haut Brion, this opens with a hum of gravel and graphite. A little coaxing brings crushed violets and liquorice root too. The texture on the palate is extraordinary - chewy, firm, sinewy, and real saline grip to the tannin here. Brooding and intense there is a vertical structure to the wine, all the while clothed in cassis and black cherry fruit. This edges on the side of mineral for the moment with subtle ember notes on the end. Athletic and sinewy this really builds on the palate - it will be an extraordinary Haut Brion in the decades to come. Robert Mathias MW, Bordeaux Index.

The 2023 Haut-Brion was picked at the same time as the La Mission Haut-Brion albeit the secateurs sheathed one day later on October 6. The nose is less immediate than the La Mission and the fruit is a little darker: blackcurrant juniper hints of black olive and a light cedar scent. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grip and tension. This has superb energy presenting a crescendo of flavors toward a complex and persistent finish that lingers in the mouth. There is real pedigree to this First Growth and it will certainly give 30 to 40 years of drinking pleasure.- By Neal Martin on April 2024

The 2023 Haut-Brion is superb. Silky soft tannins enshroud a core of black fruit gravel chocolate cloves and licorice building into a potent sumptuous dazzling wine. Exotic and racy with remarkable polish this has a ton of potential. It’s an especially sensual seamless Haut-Brion. All the 2023 needs is time—probably quite a bit of it especially for readers who want a full-on Haut-Brion experience.