Ripe and rich, but suave and elegant in style, letting its range of steeped plum, warmed cassis and mulled black cherry fruit play out slowly while sweet tobacco, incense and black tea notes swirl about. Very finely beaded acidity stretches out the finish. Hard to resist now, but this has some time to develop. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2034.

A rocking second wine, the 2018 Le Clarence De Haut-Brion (58% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) offers lots of ripe blackcurrants, cassis, damp earth, tobacco leaf, violets, and spring flower-like aromas and flavors. Rich, medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured, and elegant on the palate, it's a more focused, backward wine than the La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion and needs 4-5 years of bottle age (at a minimum) and will evolve for 20+ years or more.

The 2018 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion has really come out of its shell. Bold, juicy and super-expressive, Le Clarence is so polished and sophisticated. Dried herbs, cedar, tobacco, licorice and coffee lift out of the glass. Medium in body and wonderfully persistent, the Clarence is a real beauty.