Château Larrivet Haut-Brion 2018

Showing beautifully, the 2018 Château Larrivet Haut-Brion sports a dense purple hue as well as a ripe, concentrated, sweetly fruited style to go with classic Pessac notes of sweet tobacco, blackcurrants, damp earth, chocolate, and charcoal. It has a solid sense of purity and freshness, plenty of ripe, sunny fruit, and classy, seamless tannins, all pointing toward a long drink window. I think it's a step up over the 2016. Enjoy bottles over the coming 20-25 years.

Spiced cherry, blackcurrant, dried oyster, black olive and bark on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, creamy tannins. Chewy and flavorful with a savory, mineral finish. Better from 2023.

Dark spice and slivers of black chocolate make this a gourmet Pessac-Léognan but showing restraint at the same time. Successful, and a reflection of how much work is being done at this property to ensure balanced wines full of personality. - Jane Anson.

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Larrivet Haut-Brion reveals a very pretty nose of kirsch, redcurrant jelly and Black Forest cake, followed by emerging cassis, aniseed, bouquet garni and tree bark notes. The medium-bodied palate is delicately played with soft-spoken red and black fruits and herbal accents, framed by firm, fine-grained tannins and loads of freshness, finishing long and lifted. -Lisa Perrotti-Brown.