Haut Marbuzet - Saint-Estèphe 2018

Jeb DUNNUCK

94 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/16/2021

An impressive Saint-Estèphe, the deep purple-hued 2018 Château Haut-Marbuzet offers up a textbook nose of ripe black and blue fruits interwoven with lots of toasty oak, earth, and chocolate. Rich, powerful, and concentrated on the palate yet also balanced and lively, with a good spine of acidity, it's going to need 4-6 years of bottle age but should keep for 15-20 years. It's superb wine.

The Wine Cellar Insider

92 / 100

byJeff Levethe3/16/2021

Flowers, espresso, smoke, tobacco leaf, barbecue and black cherries create the aromatic qualities. The wine is rich, round, supple and fruity, with hints of vanilla overtones that ride along perfectly with all the ripe, red berries. This is the best vintage of Haut Marbuzet I have tasted in years.

Vinous

89 / 100

byNeal Martinthe3/12/2021

The 2018 Haut-Marbuzet has a ripe nose offering layers of brambly red berry fruit, although there is something static about the aromatics; they lack vibrancy. The palate is medium-bodied and tannic, with sappy red berry fruit and a firm backbone. Slightly chalky in texture toward the finish, it just needs more persistence. An atypically austere Haut-Marbuzet; I miss its usual fleshiness and charm.

Yvesbeck.wine

96 / 100

byYves Beckthe1/26/2021

Que de finesse et de complexité dans ce bouquet. Il crée une très belle cohabitation (positive en l'occurrence) entre maturité et fraîcheur au travers de notes de menthe, de baies noires et de fruits confits. Attaque sapide et friande avec une légère sucrosité. Quelle rigueur et quel charme, quelle puissance et quelle délicatesse... Les tannins sont serrés, juteux et en parfaite symbiose avec le tempérament racé de la structure. Il en résulte un vin brillant, juvénile, séduisant, conquérant mais aussi revendicateur de la grandeur de St-Estèphe en 2018 ! Chapeau !

Jamessuckling.com

96 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe1/19/2021

Crushed strawberries, currants and blackberries on the nose with spice, vanilla and floral undertones. Full body with firm, polished tannins that really grow on the palate. Silky texture with pleasant acidity, leading to a bright, fruity finish with super length. A fantastic Haut-Marbuzet. Best in years. Try after 2025.

Decanter.com

92 / 100

byJane Ansonthe1/12/2021

Vinous

88-90 / 100

byNeal Martinthe11/15/2019

The 2018 Haut-Marbuzet offers ripe and exotic red berry fruit laced with kirsch, blood orange and dates, coming across a little too strong for my preference. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannins, quite oaky at the moment and these slightly dry out the finish. It needs a little more integration once in bottle.

WeinWisser

17 / 20

the5/7/2019

Vinifera

92 /

byJacques Perrinthe5/1/2019

Nez très avenant, élégant et appétant de fraises au sucre, ouvert et épanoui. Attaque ample et riche avec une certaine prise de bois mais le vin offre une chair suave et évidente, un grand volume, avec le côté séducteur qui signe le cru dans les bons millésimes. A la fois sérieux et hédoniste.

Vinous

91-94 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe5/1/2019

One of the hidden jewels of the vintage, the 2018 Haut-Marbuzet is absolutely gorgeous. Pliant and deep in the glass, with terrific persistence, the 2018 has so much to offer. Sweet red cherry, blood orange, dried flowers and mint add layers of nuance, but it is the wine's balance that is most impressive. In 2018 Haut-Marbuzet has an extra kick of flavor intensity, not to mention tremendous character, with none of the quirky edges that have at times characterized this wine in the past.

La Revue du Vin de France

17-18 / 20

the4/24/2019