Lea & Sandeman Wine Merchants

CHÂTEAU HAUT BAGES LIBERAL

2005 5ème Cru Classé Pauillac

IN STOCK
Colour Red
Origin France, Bordeaux
Sub-district Haut Médoc
Village Pauillac
Classification 5ème Cru Classé
ABV 13%

Very deep black-centred colour. Fresh Cabernet nose, sweetly fragrant with huge depth. Almost monstrous fatness and weight constrained by great purity. Great length. Still very much in this property's dense Pauillac Cabernet style, but done with absolutely perfect ripeness. 7% press wine the in final blend has already been added. Rating: 92+ L&S (Apr 2006)

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The 2005 Haut-Bages-Libéral comes from an era when biodynamics were being introduced into the vineyard. This has a delightful bouquet, fresh and delineated with pure brambly red fruit and traces of orange zest and iodine. The palate is well balanced with sappy black fruit, quite sinewy at first, but a lovely salinity defines a finish that beckons you back for more. Excellent. Tasted at the château. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Jun 2025)

The 2005 Haut-Bages Libéral is a very young Pauillac that is just beginning to show the first signals of aromatic opening. Sweet dried cherry, mint, spice, licorice and dried flowers all grace this mid-weight Pauillac. Haut-Bages Libéral is not quite as opulent as most other Pauillacs in 2005, and it could have benefitted from a bit more depth, but it is impeccably done and very rewarding today. Drinking range: 2022 - 2040 Rating: 91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2021)

Good ruby-red. Cool aromas of blueberry, licorice and shoe polish. Sweet and lush, but with very good energy to the rather high-pitched flavors of dark berries, spices and licorice. Dry and classic wine, finishing with substantial, slightly tough tannins that call for patience. Rating: 89 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (May 2008)

Château Haut Bages Libéral

Pauillac Cinquième cru 1855 Château Haut Bages Libéral sits nearly atop the hill to the south of the hamlet of Bages - hence the name, Haut Bages - seperated by a country lane from Château Latour. The estate was owned by the Libéral family during the 18th Century, hence the last part of the name. Despite being surrounded by illustious neighbours - aside from Latour to the immediate south, Haut Bages Libéral can also count the two Pichons as "next door" - achieving 5th Growth status in 1855 seems to have been a bit of a high point as a century of typically Bordelais decline followed. In 1960 the Cruse family took control and, apart from cleaving off a portion of vineyards and handing them over to Château Pontet-Canet, the fortunes of Haut Bages Libéral began to improve. The Cruse family were forced to sell in 1982 and Château Haut Bages Libéral became part of the Merlaut family's Taillan Group, which includes Chasse Spleen and Gruaud Larose. The 28ha of vineyard are planted to 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. The wine is fermented in stainless steel before spending 16 months in wood (40% new). Whilst not living up to the greatest heights of its neighbour Latour, Haut Bages Libéral offers some very good value for a really well-made Pauillac.

This wine isn't currently part of a mixed case, but you can always browse our full selection of mixed cases here.
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