Château Haut Brion, 1er Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan, 2010

57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc with yields of 41 hl/ha, which is just two hl/ha less than the 2009, but production will be just 7800 cases, some 26% less. The estate reported one of the lowest pH every recorded, so it is no surprise that this possesses wonderful freshness and lift, which complements the extraordinary levels of concentration and extract. A regal bouquet of brooding dark fruits, perfumed black cherries, spices, tobacco, high toned minerals and violets. The palate is awash with suave, detailed fruit, layer upon layer of complexity; it builds and builds to a crescendo. Enormous yet perfectly balanced, dense yet precise and effortlessly elegant, everything is perfectly in place and taut - a wine with paradoxical opulence and strictness, there is not a hair out of place; an exquisitely refined, polished Haut Brion and a worthy rival to the magnificent 2009.