Château Haut-Bages Libéral 2017

The 2017 vintage in Pauillac

Vintage benchmark: 85/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: April frost cut the crop in half: the plots that were spared give fine, classic wines, and the vintage must be judged estate by estate.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Pauillac. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

Brilliant ruby-red colour with a fruity, fragrant nose of cherry and blackcurrant aromas. The finish is supple and round, with a well-integrated freshness. A charming, harmonious wine that is easy to drink.

The vintage

The winter saw a very significant rainfall deficit, which did not allow the water tables, already low following the drought of summer 2016, to be recharged. A contrast in temperatures was observed between the beginning and the end of winter: the first part was cold, while the second part saw rather mild temperatures. Budburst was relatively early, as it took place at the end of March.

At the end of April, a severe period of frost struck the region, causing damage in the south of the Médoc vineyard. In Pauillac, the river played its role as climate regulator and the vines were spared in the appellation. The mildness of May and June accentuated the earliness of vegetative growth. The early flowering was very even and ensured excellent fruit set. Our plots farmed biodynamically showed particularly interesting health profiles, with lastingly healthy foliage, especially after the summer rains and those of early September, when the pressure was high.

At the time of the early harvest, we found that the skins were thick, the seeds were ripe, the pulps were aromatic and the tannins were not very astringent. All these observations confirm the climatic data and the phenolic analyses.

2017 is characterised by ripe tannins; the wines are balanced, aromatic and dense.

Blend of the 2017 vintage

Figures from the 2017 sheet

• 35 yrsVine age

Winemaking

Traditional Bordeaux, in concrete tank. Plot selection. Fermentation on skins: 18 to 22 days.

Ageing

In French oak barrels for 16 months. 40% new.

Terroir

The vineyard covers 30 hectares, half of which are located around the property, adjoining Château Latour. The other part of the vineyard is on the Bages plateau, in the south of Pauillac. The estate's plots are located in 2 areas, one made up of deep gravels and the other of clay-limestone and chalky limestone. This type of soil gives the wine its power and its mineral character. A large part of its fine deep-gravel land overlooks the Gironde estuary. These gravels were carried down by the river from the Pyrenees during the Quaternary era. They rest on a limestone bedrock.