WTN: 2001 Larrivet-Haut-Brion

Recently I had this splendid Larrivet-Haut-Brion... A luscious nose of cassis, smoke, and cinnamon explodes out of the glass at first swirl. An irresistible attack of pure, ripe, black cherry fruit and licorice evolves into a deep, complex mid-palate of ripe black currant/black berry fruit, leather, cedar, tobacco, exotic spices, smoke, earth, and even a hint of dark chocolate. Medium-bodied, with soft, silky tannins and decent acidity, this elegant and perfectly balanced wine has a long finish with lingering dark fruits and spices.
The multifaceted character of this Larrivet-Haut-Brion changes from sip to sip. And with time, its initial Médoc character turns into a smoky, minerally, earthy Graves character. Simply delicious! At the same time, surprisingly, even the medium garnet color turns into a deeper garnet color. Interesting phenomenon. I was also surprised at the considerable amount of sediment in the bottle. This is great Bordeaux and a fascinating wine to contemplate...

Many thanks for your post Rudi.

I think that this estate has improved markedly in recent years. Seeing as it has not yet become the darling of Parker or anyone else, it represents good value for money too!

For about a decade, red LHB disappointed me, whereas the white was much better.
Now, a bit like Cabonnieux, the red is catching up!
The "terroir" is ideal, and I hope they do bigger and better things as time goes on.

All the best,
Alex

I don't know about recent years but my friends and I loved the 98 red LHB which (re?)-appeared in Israel about 3 years ago, just about ready to drink. Didn't cost more than recent vintages either.

...For about a decade, red LHB disappointed me, whereas the white was much better.
Now, a bit like Cabonnieux, the red is catching up!...

Yes, indeed, Alex, the red Carbonnieux is so much better today than one or two decades ago. The red Bouscaut is also worth to mention in this context.