A refined, silky red with currant, chocolate, walnut and leaf aromas and flavors. Medium to full body with very fine tannins and a polished, refined finish. Very sleek and creamy. It really sneaks up at the end. Better after 2025.

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. — J.M.

(93+ points) 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.

2018 is the gateway to Haut Brion as it clearly resembles the Grand Vin with all its complexities of tobacco leaf, spicy, red fruits and silky textures. Medium/full-bodied, elegant and forward, just a few years is all that's needed to make the most of all the sweet, ripe, earthy fruits and its soft, refined finish. The wine blends 51.3% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.1% Cabernet Franc and 2.6% Petit Verdot. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2018&wine=Le%20Clarence%20de%20Haut-Brion

The structure is more evident in Haut-Brion's Clarence than in La Mission's Chapelle - the former is not as luscious but has greater depth and the encircling walls that make this feel like the fruit is cosseted and will age well. It has a clear link to the grand vin. 3.6% Petit Verdot makes up the blend. A 44hl/ha yield, despite hail for just the third time in 30 years. 3.84pH. IPT68. Read more at https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/france/bordeaux/chateau-haut-brion-le-clarence-de-haut-brion-29592#wIVsYvztSKteGCso.99

(92+ points) The 2018 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion is composed of 58.2% Merlot, 28.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.7% Cabernet Franc and 3.6% Petit-Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it jumps up out of the glass with exuberant notes of black cherry compote, baked plums and blackberry pie, plus hints of star anise, underbrush and charcoal. The medium to full-bodied palate has impressive freshness with finely grained tannins supporting the juicy black fruits, finishing on an earthy note. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown