Château Haut-Bages-Libéral 2025
Pauillac 5ème Grand Cru Classé
Bordeaux, France
Regular price£157.00
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Arriving: Mid 2028
Shipping duty paid to Mainland UK is charged at a flat rate of £9.99 per consignment and POA for Northern Ireland or Islands.
Shipping under bond is dependant on location, but starts at £15 per consignment.
| Style: Red | Packaging: OWC |
| ABV: 13.2% | Closure: Cork |
| Organic: Yes | Drink from: 2032 |
| Biodynamic: Yes | Drink to: 2050 |
| Grapes: 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot | |
Critic scores
93-95 NM, 93-96 AG, 96-97 JS, 93 JA, 96 DC, 95-97 DB
Critic reviews
"The 2025 Haut-Bages Libéral was picked at 32 hl/ha between September 8 and 18 and matured in 35% new oak with 30% in concrete ovoid tanks. What distinguishes this property is that half the vines lie on limestone soils, which is unusual in Pauillac. This has clearly the most beguiling aromatics among the three wines that I tasted with Claire Villars-Lurton, with pure black cherries, cassis and violet scents that burst from the glass. Wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, a silver thread of acidity and, crucially, that tingle from the limestone soils that defines the finish. What a superb and distinctive Pauillac this is."
Neal Martin, May 2026, Vinous.com
"The 2025 Haut-Bages Libéral is a powerful, tightly wound wine. Bright acids and beams of tannin are front and center. In this tasting, it is driven and also very shut down. The saline-drenched finish reverberates with tension. Intense red-toned fruit, chalk, mint, white pepper and blood orange fill out the layers."
Antonio Galloni, April 2026, Vinous.com
"Intense, gunsmoke and roses opening, the perception of acidity that is typical in the vintage is higher here than in the Claire Lurton Margaux wines, but measured by salinity, autumnal fruits and chalky tannins, Eric Boissenot consultant. 3.56ph, with the highest proportion of limestone in any vineyard in Pauillac. Harvest September 8 to 18. Yield 32 hl/ha. 35% new oak. 3.56 pH"
Jane Anson, April 2026, JaneAnson.com
"One of the best Haut-Bages Libérals I've tasted from barreel. Perfumed blackcurrants, quite dark and true to form with a gorgeous perfume. Aromatics are great. Juicy and crisp, sleek and svelte, definitely quite streamlined but with such soft, velvety tannins that give grip but support the vibrant fruit so well. I love this. Really very classic, muscular but gentle with purity and focus. Hard to explain but this is great, maybe quite light and not layered enough, but there’s such complex flavours and aromas. And the acidity is excellent. A very friendly wine that will be easy to approach. Half gravelly soil, half limestone with 50% chalk on Cabernet – really rare for a cru classé. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.56pH. A yield of 32hl/ha."
Georgina Hindle, April 2026, Decanter.com
"(Pauillac; 80% Cabernet Sauvignon; 19% Merlot; 1% Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot; a final yield of 32 hl/ha; pH 3.57; 13.2% alcohol; tasted with Claire Villars-Lurton in Bordeaux). Utterly divine aromatically. Classical but somehow more vibrant than almost any other wine of the appellation, both from the impact of the limestone and from the biodynamic winemaking. Cedar and graphite are already very present, rendering this more classically Pauillac in personality than it sometimes can be; the fruit is darker too and this has a beguiling almost slightly aristocratic charm. The tannins are fabulous, with that lovely chalky powdery feel right on the finish. The vivid sense of freshness is helped greatly here by the limestone (present here in the highest proportions for a classed growth). Sapid and almost scrunchy on the finish, with the grip and twist of the tactile tannins squeezing additional freshness onto the palate. I love it."
Colin Hay, May 2026, DrinksBusiness.com
Neal Martin, May 2026, Vinous.com
"The 2025 Haut-Bages Libéral is a powerful, tightly wound wine. Bright acids and beams of tannin are front and center. In this tasting, it is driven and also very shut down. The saline-drenched finish reverberates with tension. Intense red-toned fruit, chalk, mint, white pepper and blood orange fill out the layers."
Antonio Galloni, April 2026, Vinous.com
"Intense, gunsmoke and roses opening, the perception of acidity that is typical in the vintage is higher here than in the Claire Lurton Margaux wines, but measured by salinity, autumnal fruits and chalky tannins, Eric Boissenot consultant. 3.56ph, with the highest proportion of limestone in any vineyard in Pauillac. Harvest September 8 to 18. Yield 32 hl/ha. 35% new oak. 3.56 pH"
Jane Anson, April 2026, JaneAnson.com
"One of the best Haut-Bages Libérals I've tasted from barreel. Perfumed blackcurrants, quite dark and true to form with a gorgeous perfume. Aromatics are great. Juicy and crisp, sleek and svelte, definitely quite streamlined but with such soft, velvety tannins that give grip but support the vibrant fruit so well. I love this. Really very classic, muscular but gentle with purity and focus. Hard to explain but this is great, maybe quite light and not layered enough, but there’s such complex flavours and aromas. And the acidity is excellent. A very friendly wine that will be easy to approach. Half gravelly soil, half limestone with 50% chalk on Cabernet – really rare for a cru classé. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.56pH. A yield of 32hl/ha."
Georgina Hindle, April 2026, Decanter.com
"(Pauillac; 80% Cabernet Sauvignon; 19% Merlot; 1% Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot; a final yield of 32 hl/ha; pH 3.57; 13.2% alcohol; tasted with Claire Villars-Lurton in Bordeaux). Utterly divine aromatically. Classical but somehow more vibrant than almost any other wine of the appellation, both from the impact of the limestone and from the biodynamic winemaking. Cedar and graphite are already very present, rendering this more classically Pauillac in personality than it sometimes can be; the fruit is darker too and this has a beguiling almost slightly aristocratic charm. The tannins are fabulous, with that lovely chalky powdery feel right on the finish. The vivid sense of freshness is helped greatly here by the limestone (present here in the highest proportions for a classed growth). Sapid and almost scrunchy on the finish, with the grip and twist of the tactile tannins squeezing additional freshness onto the palate. I love it."
Colin Hay, May 2026, DrinksBusiness.com