Château Haut-Marbuzet 2019

Lovely fragranced nose, heady and perfumed, full. This has a silky texture, smooth and driven with vibrant energy and a coolness to the fruit profile, blueberries and cherries with some definite liquorice spicing. The overall frame is dense and still tightly knit right now. You can feel the underlying power, yet it’s well balanced and integrated at this stage, with lovely freshness. Great potential for ageing.

Black and blue fruit, walnuts, gravy, vanilla, praline and cigar box on the nose. Full-bodied with fine tannins. Balanced, layered and polished with a fleshy texture. Harmonious, with elegance and intensity. Beautiful finish. Wow. Drink from 2025.

Tasted blind. Looks quite evolved. Fresh, perky, energetic nose. Dense and rich and much riper than the average Médoc. Good effort, with no shortage of tannin underneath. A promising package! Even if a tad chunky in terms of tannins. (JR)

The 2019 Haut-Marbuzet has a wonderful, pure and enticing bouquet of red cherries, wild strawberry, Seville orange marmalade and crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied, fleshy and ripe, with supple tannins and one of the most complex finishes I have encountered on this Saint-Estèphe. It might even merit a higher score with bottle age. The best Haut-Marbuzet in years.

There is a strong oaky note on the nose, which is the first thing you notice until you begin to dig into all of its spicy, savory-tinged, red fruits, citrus and wet earthy nuances. Lush, round and richly textured, the medium-bodied wine shows a plush, polished, fresh, sweet, vibrant cherry character that shines brightly on the mid-palate and in the finish. Drink from 2025-2037.

A juicy dollop of damson and grilled oak, more modern in style than you might expect from the old school Henri Duboscq, but this is enjoyable. Grilled almonds, cassis, St Estèphe power through the mid palate with mint leaf and liquorice root.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Haut-Marbuzet flies out of the glass with notes of redcurrant jelly, black raspberries, and mulberries, followed by hints of Provence herbs, cedar, and charcoal. The medium-bodied palate is laced with oak and delicate berry flavors, supported by chewy tannins and finishing a little rugged.

Beautiful colour, a magnificent nose wrapped in notes of top-quality oak, with hints of cedar and vanilla, but very quickly the floral and the vintage’s hallmark menthol notes blossom. A very fine wine.

The 2019 stands out as one of the unquestionable successes of the vintage, with that distinctive mouthfeel and fruit coating that mark Henri Duboscq’s greatest achievements. A wine that is both dense and sensual. It will be perfect in 10 years.

A sappy, energetic nose with delicate blue and red fruit aromas that are almost Burgundian in their open-minded expression, highlighted by gentle vanilla notes, undergrowth and prune. This beautiful energy carries onto the palate, with a fresh framework that coats the mouth as the fruit ultimately takes the lead.

What expression and complexity in this bouquet! It is highly inviting with notes of gingerbread, blackberries, and raspberries. On the palate, the wine reveals itself step by step, very gently. It tiptoes into the mouth to ultimately unveil powerful yet silky tannins that appear on the finish. These are in line with the acidity structure, creating exceptional balance! A generous, lively, and fruity wine with a healthy dose of serenity. A great success.

The nose is aromatic and offers complexity, good definition, depth, and a fine, fairly powerful grain. It reveals notes of fleshy wild blackcurrant, vibrant blackberry and, more subtly, strawberry, combined with hints of liquorice, Sichuan pepper and nutmeg, along with fine touches of graphite and liquorice. The palate is fresh, mineral, balanced, elongated, and tense, offering a juicy/pulpy framework, good definition, a certain indulgence, and well-judged noble bitterness. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/ripe blackcurrant, spices, pulpy/ripe black berries and, more lightly, violet, combined with touches of toasted almond as well as a subtle hint of fresh cocoa and flower pistil. Good length.

Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Very aromatic and subtle nose, with ripe fruit. Soft on the attack, perfumed mid-palate, with a supple body and plenty of flavor; the wine caresses the juicy palate, noble and impossible to spit out. It’s very good.