Haut Bages Libéral (BIO-ORGANIC) - Pauillac 2023

Jeb DUNNUCK

93

par Jeb Dunnuck le 31/03/2026

A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot aged 16 months in 40% new French oak, 40% one-year-old barrels, and 20% amphora, the 2023 Château Haut-Bages Libéral sports a deeper ruby/purple hue as well as a great nose of bright berries, sappy tobacco, liquid violets, and damp earth. Coming from two separate terroirs in Pauillac, it's medium-bodied and has a pure, graceful, layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and nicely integrated acidity. This is a beautifully layered, elegant 2023 that shows the style of the vintage as well as the château. Drink bottles any time over the coming 25+ years. Drink 2026-2051.

Vinous

96

par Antonio Galloni le 16/03/2026

The 2023 Haut-Bages Libéral is a potent, virile wine. In many vintages, Haut-Bages Libéral is a bit more pliant and inviting, but the 2023 is a wine that is going to need time to come around. Swaths of tannin wrap around a core of black fruit, leather, lavender, licorice, incense and gravel. The 2023 was aged for 16 months in 40% new barrels, 40% once-filled barrels and 20% in a mix of amphora and concrete ovals. I can't wait to see how this ages.

Vinous

93

par Neal Martin le 01/02/2026

The 2023 Haut-Bages Libéral has a very fine bouquet, black fruit mixed with cedar and pencil-shaving scents that is classical in style, not powerful but nicely focused. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins. Fine weight, driven by the 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, so that there is weight and density on the finish. This deserves four to five years in bottle. Excellent.

Jamessuckling.com

96

par James Suckling le 27/01/2026

This has an attractive, expressive nose of cassis, graphite, blue and red fruit and a subtle floral lift. Medium- to full-bodied with impressive depth and energy, it shows chalky, vibrant tannins that bring focus and definition. Expansive yet controlled, with great tension and length. A blend of 86% cabernet sauvignon and 14% merlot, aged in new French oak barrels, concrete and amphorae. Already pleasant, but will evolve beautifully with time. Drink or hold.

My Bettane + Desseauve

92

par Bettane & Desseauve le 15/05/2024

Souple et onctueux, avec ce qu’il faut de rebond et de finesse, un pauillac qui a du potentiel.

Yvesbeck.wine

94-95

par Yves Beck le 14/05/2024

Welch schöne Intensität des Bouquets, in dem kreidige und mentholhaltige Noten schwarzen Beeren und Süßholz vorausgehen. Der Wein ist von guter Dichte und zeigt einen cremigen Charakter im Auftakt. Er weist Finesse und Tiefe auf und kann sich der Stärke und des Temperaments seiner Tannine rühmen. Ein Wein, der Fülle und Kraft in sich vereint und den man schon in seiner Jugend genießen kann. Ein gutes Reifepotenzial hat er aber auch.

Jeb DUNNUCK

94-96

par Jeb Dunnuck le 13/05/2024

The 2023 Château Haut-Bages Liberal is gorgeous, with classic Pauillac cassis, cedar, and graphite notes as well as a beautiful sense of minerality. More medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a round, supple, yet focused mouthfeel, classy tannins, and a great finish. It's a stunning bottle of wine that will have some early accessibility yet also age gracefully.

The Drinks Business

94-96

par Colin Hay le 07/05/2024

Haut-Bages Libéral (Pauillac; 86% Cabernet Sauvignon; 14% Merlot; an impressive final yield 53 hl/ha; pH 3.48; 13.5 alcohol; practicing agroforestry and certified both organic and biodynamic; tasted with Claire Lurton). At Haut-Bages Libéral it’s as if the terroir speaks! Limestone-accented, chalky, vertical and with a very dynamic sense of lift. There’s great aromatic purity and pixilation here too (even if one typically thinks of pixilation in visual terms)! And it is so very different to Durfort Vivens (tasted immediately before) in terms of its essential characteristics and fruit profile. Red berries – raspberry, loganberry, just a little hint of bramble and wild strawberry too (a note I tend to associate with Haut-Bages Libéral). Graphite but none of the cedar of Durfort. There’s a little touch of flint too. This seems to glisten with energy. Vivid and vibrant, the acidity so well incorporated. Full, cylindrical in the mouth, rich and fully charged – quite a mouthful in fact. Super-svelte tannins, nice grip and with great freshness on the long finish. Fabulous. 

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

93

par Jane Anson le 06/05/2024

Intense and crunchy blue and black fruits, delivering tons of Pauillac character, reserved and well judged, juicy cassis, liqourice root, slate and cocoa bean. Delicous, a lovely vintage of this wine. Harvest September 12 to 30. 53hl/h yield, just a little higher than the already high yield of Pauillac in this vintage, no mildew. 3.48ph, 40% new oak, with the rest of one year old, pls concrete eggs and amphora. Claire Villars-Lurton owner.

Vinous

94-96

par Antonio Galloni le 30/04/2024

The 2023 Haut-Bages Libéral is fabulous. Deep, layered and exquisitely beautiful, the 2023 bristles with tension. Dark red cherry, plum, spice, leather, menthol and licorice grace a wine of depth, richness and sensuality. It's a terrific effort from proprietor Claire Villars-Lurton.

Vinous

92-94

par Neal Martin le 29/04/2024

The 2023 Haut-Bages Libéral was picked at 53hL/ha between September 12 and 30, matured for 16 months in 40% new oak. The nose was quite backward when I tasted it, though Claire Villars-Lurton commented that it had just closed down the week that I visited. It will be more open once in bottle. The palate is more indicative: clean, fresh, linear and nicely focused, with more grip than the Ferrière. Touches of graphite linger on the finish. This is very classically styled, and there is nothing wrong with that–a wine for Pauillac purists and those seeking wines with less sulfites.

Falstaff

94

par Peter Moser le 29/04/2024

Dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate edge brightening. Fine nuances of cassis, ripe red heart cherry, fine herbal savouriness, still somewhat reserved. Juicy, red forest berries, compact, ripe tannins, good freshness, red berry nuances on the finish, an energetic food companion.

Alexandre Ma

92-94

par Alexandre Ma le 28/04/2024

Wine Advocate

93-95

par William Kelley le 26/04/2024

The 2023 Haut-Bages-Libéral is very promising, bursting with aromas of dark berries, cassis, pencil shavings and violets, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and suave palate with an enveloping core of fruit, lively acids typical of this limestone terroir, and sweet, powdery tannins. It's a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot with a low pH of 3.48.

Jamessuckling.com

95-96

par James Suckling le 25/04/2024

A very pure and beautiful HBL with blackcurrant and mineral notes, like crushed stones, as well as a vivid freshness. Purity and brightness in the center-palate, with essence of cassis and a crunchy minerality from part of the vineyard in limestone. 86% cabernet sauvignon and 14% merlot. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification.