Clarence de Haut Brion

 

 

Clarence de Haut-Brion
The second wine of Haut Brion, prior to the 2007 vintage known as Bahans Haut Brion, has one of the most interesting and oldest histories of any Bordeaux property.  Chateau Haut Brion was purchased in 1933 by Clarence Dillon, a known financier from New York. This was a time of acute crisis in Bordeaux, a period of continuous poor vintages between two World Wars. So it was quite to the astonishment of the Bordelaise that an American should determine to purchase this run down chateau.

Yet the moved proved both shrewd and lasting, the chateau remains in the Dillon family today and is well-prepared to continue its illustrious history as a producer of fine wine famously identified by then American ambassador Thomas Jefferson in 1787, although London diarist Samuel Pepys had already beaten him to it in 1663 (!).

Style

Clarence de Haut-Brion presents a rounded, fresh, full-bodied and richly fruited Graves wine.

 

Top-rated vintages

Vintage	RP	JR	market price £	£/ Parker points
2009	90-93	17	1,000	10.93
2008	91	16	1,100	12.09
2000	91		1,300	14.29
1989	90		2,000	22.22
2005	89	17.5	1,100	12.36
2003	89		1,000	11.18
1995	89		1,150	12.92
2006	88	17	1,050	11.93
2004	88		950	10.80
2001	88	16	1,000	11.59

as per June 2011

 

Market

The market for second wines has existed, among the top chateaux at any rate, for at least 250 years with the basic decision-making on their evolution and position within the market remaining unchanged. Which plots, vine-age, percentage in relation to the Grand Vin etc.  Following virtual abandonment during the terrible years of the 20^th century, when it was hard enough to sell the Grand Vin, the market has changed considerably from 1982 on.

Second wines have grown exponentially with 60% of the top 200 chateaux now producing one.  Viticultural practices are better than ever before and the First Growths in particular, have begun in earnest with the repositioning of their second wine as a noble wine in its own right, applying as exacting a standard to its cultivation and production as with their first wine.

Until very recently, the prevailing wisdom was that second wines had no investment value. However, like the opening of the US market in the 1950s which saw prices for the first growths shoot up 50%, the expansion of the market to include a new and more global rich would seem to herald a new era for the second wines.

Few are at a more interesting point in their development than Clarence de Haut Brion.

Liv-ex Power 100 ranking

2010	total score	2009	move
57	311	new	new

The Liv-ex Power 100 is a list of the top performers over the previous year and their position starting the current year.  The indice traces the movement of chateau and other wines using a sophisticated weighting system based on average prices, production, notional availability and Parker Points.

 

Release price evolution

Vintage	ex Negociant € / btl	London release price £ / cs
2009	90.00	895
2008	36.00	417
2007
2006	36.00	305
2005	34.00	350

 

Clarence Haut Brion at a glance

Commune: Pessac Leognann

Soils: similar to Medoc (gravels, sand and clay) with more variation in depth  soils consist of deep layers of gravel with stone below the gravel surface, layers of sand, hardpan and clay can be found, also shaped by the pine tree forests micro climate by protecting the vines from the humid western winds. 

Climate: Maritime, but milder than the Medoc, moderated by the Gironde estuary and Atlantic Ocean, pine forests provide insulation from strong winds off the ocean and help to lessen summer temperatures.

District: Graves, Left bank south of the Medoc below Bordeaux and parallel to the Garonne river. 

Classification: 

Owner: the Dillon family

Winemaker: Jean-Phillipe Delmas (2003) following father Jean-Bernard (1960)

Vineyard: 48Ha./119 acres of vineyard planted to 45.4% Merlot, 43.9. Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.7% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

Production: 5,000 – 7,000 cases