Soft and balanced, showing lovely velvety tannins and lots of coffee, chocolate, toasty oak and mushroom character, with bright fruit underneath. Full-bodied, round and unctuous. The second wine of Haut-Brion. Best after 2013.

The second wine of Château Haut-Brion is firm, mirroring its grand vin. It is dark, brooding and dense, rounded by ripe fruits. There is also an edge of bitter chocolate that offers an intriguing counterpoint to the elegance of the fruit.

The second wine, the 2005 Bahans-Haut-Brion, is a fruit-forward, deliciously soft, round, stylish offering possessing hints of figs, plums, black currants, cherries, and minerals. Soft, with supple tannin, it is ideal for drinking over the next 12-15 years. By the way, in 2007, this cuvee's name will be changed to Le Clarence de Haut-Brion.