LE CLARENCE DE HAUT BRION
2013 Pessac-Léognan Château Haut Brion
Somehow a bit of a plain Jane; good volume, not much aromatic distinction. Red and black fruit on the palate, all 'just' ripe. Feels like it will be 'fine' but it is not clear where the interest is going to come from. Rating: 87 L&S (Apr 2014)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The second wine of Haut-Brion, the 2013 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion, is a blend of 57% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc. It is better than its nearby rival, the second wine of La Mission Haut-Brion, La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, because it is more charming and has plenty of black currant, cherry and plum-like fruit. It has good color, not a lot of tannin, structure or density, but does have the Graves-like minerality one expects from this appellation. It is meant to be drunk in its exuberant youthfulness and thus should be consumed in its first 7-8 years of life. 2014-2022 Rating: 87-88 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Aug 2014)
Rating: 85-87 Ian d'Agata - Stephen Tanzer website (May 2014)
Merlot 57% Cabernet Franc 16% Cabernet Sauvignon 27% Deep black fruited the nose has a brooding richness and the start of the palate has black cherry firmness. There is depth in the middle some powerful fruits with sweetness and richness on the back palate yet the finish is firmer quite tight at the moment. 2018-30 Rating: 88-90 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (May 2014)
(57 Merlot, 27 Cabernet Sauvignon, 16 Cabernet Franc) With lashings of minerality and dark, cool fruit this is a plummy wine with plenty of pencil lead and a long, lithe, resonant finish. There is a good bite of tannin which will keep this wine rolling for a while. The finish is dry, spicy and long and it needs 5+ years to settle and unravel. Rating: 17+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Apr 2014)
57% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cedar and blackcurrant, and attractive medium-grained tannins. No bitterness, no leafiness – this is well coiffured. Again, it displays a lightness that betrays the tricky vintage. (RH) Drink 2017-2027. Rating: 16.5 Richard Hemming MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2014)
Superb carmine-ruby, smooth and ripe black fruits, slightly earthy with lovely texture, clarity and good future. Drink: 2017-2024. Rating: 17 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2014)
Features a plump feel, with plum, cherry and blackberry fruit lined with savory, tobacco and warm cedar notes. Lightly firm through the finish, but this has ample flesh for the vintage. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Rating: 88–91 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2014)
The 2013 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion is soft, silky and medium in body. Rose petals, mint and sweet red berries all lift from the glass in an intensely floral wine supported by beams of mineral and graphite notes. Silky tannins add finesse to the supple, gracious finish. The 2013 is 57% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Cabernet Franc. Rating: 89-91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Apr 2014)
The La Clarence de Haut-Brion showed a little differently during my two tastings at the property. The first was a little anonymous but the second exhibited more fruit intensity with pleasant dark plum and briary aromas. The palate is pinched on the entry with slightly aggressive tannins, although there is more depth on the finish compared to the La Chapelle de La Mission, especially the second sample that seemed infused with greater tension. Rating: 85-87 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2014)
Château Haut Brion
1855 classification - Premier Grand Cru Classé Château Haut Brion is famously the only estate in Graves to have featured in the 1855 classification reflecting a long established reputation, even if, at the time, the crown was beginning to slip. During the 16th Century, Haut-Brion was briefly owned by Jean de Ségur of the Ségur family who at various times owned both Lafite and Latour. Jean de Pontac inherited Haut Brion as a wedding dowry in 1525 and, apart from a brief period during the French Revolution, his descendents owned the estate until 1801. The Pontacs were an interesting lot, including in their number a very pious Bishop, a politician, and François-Auguste Pontac who started a London inn called l'Enseigne de Pontac where Samuel Pepys enjoyed "a sort of French wine called Ho Bryan", finding it "hath a good and most particular taste". Jonathon Swift, however, thought the wine "dear at seven shillings a flagon" - 35p a bottle, if only! Haut Brion was the first Bordeaux wine known to have been imported into the USA when Thomas Jefferson had six cases shipped home to Virginia. Eventually, in the earlier years of the 19th Century, Haut Brion found its way into the hands of the Larrieu family. Preceding reputation was enough to get Haut Brion classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé in 1855, and a string of copy cat estates appended "Haut Brion" to their names (a source of some litigation in the 1920's) but in reality the 19th and early 20th Centuries were not great times for the wines of Haut Brion. When the bank seized the assets of Milleret Larrieu after WWI, the estate fell into the hands of the Société des Glacières under who's unenlightened guidance much of the gardens were sold off the make way for expanding city of Bordeaux. They then offered Château Haut Brion to the City of Bordeaux, who turned it down, allowing American financier Clarence Dillon to realise his dream of owning a Bordeaux château, buying the estate in 1935. His descendents own Haut Brion to this day. The gravel soils of Haut Brion are planted with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc for reds, and a more or less 50/50 split of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon for the whites. There are around 45ha under vine. Haut Brion were one of the first estates to ferment in stainless steel. After fermentation, red wines spend up to two years in oak, previoulsy 100% new for the grand vin but, now, more like 35%. The second wine of the estate was known for many years as Bahans Haut Brion, but was renamed recently as Le Clarence de Haut Brion in honour of Clarence Dillon.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.