Château Haut-Brion is the oldest of the great Bordeaux estates, documented from 1533, and the only property outside the Médoc ranked a first growth in 1855. Samuel Pepys drank « Ho Bryan » in a London tavern in 1663 and wrote it down — the first time in history a wine was named for its estate rather than its region.

The vineyard sits on a gravel mound in Pessac, now surrounded by the suburbs of Bordeaux. The city keeps it warm, and it ripens earlier than the Médoc. The blend leans more heavily on Merlot than its peers, which is much of why Haut-Brion tastes rounder and more perfumed than the Cabernet estates to the north.

The estate has belonged to the Dillon family since Clarence Dillon bought it in 1935.

Le Clarence is the second wine of the château, named for Clarence Dillon and drawn from the parcels and vats not selected for the grand vin.

2016 is the vintage Bordeaux still talks about: a wet spring, then a rainless summer broken by perfectly timed September rain. The wines have both ripeness and grip — more classical and more structured than the 2015s, and they will outlive them.

Blackcurrant and graphite over cedar and a smoky earth note; firmer than the 2015 on the palate, the tannins fine-grained, the close long and fresh. Worth holding a few more years.