(94-96 points) Forest leaf, cigar box, herbs, flowers, cherry pipe tobacco, forest scents and spice nuances start off the perfume. On the palate the wine is juicy, silky, fresh and vibrant with layers of fresh, sweet, vibrant, polished red fruits that linger. Elegance is the keyword here. This is probably the finest vintage of Le Clarence de Haut Brion ever produced. It is a great example of a baby Haut Brion. Enjoy this for the next 10-15 years while waiting for the Grand Vin to develop. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2020&wine=Le%20Clarence%20de%20Haut-Brion

(WE 93–95 points) This year, the second wine of Haut-Brion brings out much of the initial austerity of its senior sibling. It has tannins and fruits that are centered around the wine's structure. Expect this wine to age well. - ROGER VOSS

(94+ points) Leading off the reds, the 2020 Le Clarence De Haut-Brion is a darker, more structured version of this cuvée that has lots of ripe blackcurrant fruit, notes of scorched earth, tobacco, cedar, and lead pencil, medium to full body, ripe tannins, and a great finish. With its brilliant Graves character, this is a second wine that deserves 4-5 years of bottle age and will evolve for two decades.

Dark fruits on the nose, plum and blackcurrant with a gentle fragrance. Nice body and weight in the mouth, round and juicy, plump and alive with lovely energy and focus. Tannins are fine and do well to give quite a wide frame while the fruit stays in the centre. Lovely lingering fruit and spiced flavours on the mid-palate, this is long and really keeps the intensity from start to finish with a menthol, aerated aspect. Feels extremely well made, not pushed too hard, everything in balance. Juicy, supple, crunchy even with a hint of silky creaminess at the back. Not massively layered but packing a punch in terms of flavour and purity. 1.5% Petit Verdot completes the blend.

Concentrated spice notes, seductive texture of slate and satin, with aromatics of incense, rosemary, cut herbs. These are big tannins that are fully ripe, cradling the blackberry fruit and christmas pudding spice. A serious wine but one with a smile on its face.

The 2020 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion exhibits attractive aromas of dark berries, rose petals, cigar wrapper and burning embers, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered palate that's rich, seamless and enveloping, with an open, expressive profile and a long, subtly kirsch-inflected finish. - William Kelley

The 2020 Le Clarence de Haut-Brion is quite flamboyant on the nose with black plum, boysenberry and sous-bois scents, just a touch of pitted black olive. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fleshy, with more weight and amplitude compared to the La Chapelle and with a lovely savory/Provençal herb tincture towards the finish. This is a lovely Deuxième Vin. -- Neal Martin