2016 Haut-Brion (Pessac-Leognan)

The 2016 Haut-Brion has a precise, focused bouquet of blackberry, briar, pressed flowers and supremely well-integrated oak; there is real panache here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, pinpoint acidity and a little grittiness to the texture. Quite spicy, revealing white pepper and cedar toward a finish that just tapers in slightly, probably because this is beginning to close down. I have had better bottles in the past. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting. 96+ points

The 2016 Haut-Brion is quite possibly even more magnificent from bottle than it was from barrel. Powerful and rich, yet not at all heavy, the 2016 is a wine of nearly indescribable beauty. Haut-Brion is often a thrilling wine, but it is rarely this finessed in its youth. Gravel, cure meat, tobacco and cedar are some of the many nuances that develop with air, but it is an extraordinary sense of harmony that really stands out. What a wine! 100 points