Wine Words & Video Tape

Wine, Words and Videotape

Fine Wine Review site

Château Haut-Batailley

Haut Batailley - cu

Address: 33250 Pauillac

Telephone: +33 (0)5 56 73 16 73

Yet another Pauillac estate classified fifth growth in 1855, Château Haut-Batailley today produces very fine wine, elegant yet intense, with very precise flavours. The estate is managed by the same team as Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste and is generally a very good value wine. Traditionally it is very different from neighbour Château Batailley which tends produces the stronger more forceful wine.  The vineyards are located close to the border of St Julien and neighbour Château Latour’s Petit Batailley plot that goes into their grand vin, along with Les Forts de Latour vineyard. Over the fence is Château Talbot in St Julien. Enviable terroir indeed!

Vineyard/Terroir: Vineyard planted with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.

Winemaking/Elévage: sixteen to twenty day fermentation and maceration in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. 16-20 months in barrels of which 30-50% are new each vintage.

Tasting notes:

  • 2015 Mid depth; attractive colour and freshness at the edge; healthy; lovely joyful Pauillac; pretty fruit but with some texture; really attractive; lovely blackcurrant tones; ripe and fresh; nice texture on the palate; fresh and medium bodied; nice and round and harmonious; nice spice and blackcurrant tones; nice elegant finish. Nice acidity. Good length. Refreshing. [72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot 49hl/ha]. Drink 2024-2032. Tasted 7/4/16 at Grand-Puy-Lacoste. 90-92+
  • 2014 Deep; attractive; fresh looking; deep at centre; beautiful blackcurrant fruit; nice cool aromas; harmonious; beautiful aromatics; lovely purity; lovely glossy; blackcurrant flavours on the palate; fresh and acid; with length; acidity on the finish. Fresh. Attractive. Little oak to combine. Fresh. Nicely composed. 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 13.5% 60% new oak]. Tasted at Grand-Puy-Lacoste, 2 April 2015. Drink 2020-2030. 89-91+
  • 2013 Mid depth; healthy look; earthy purple at edge; attractive and composed on the nose; some perfume and blackcurrant spice; very open aromatically; round and elegant on the palate but with some substance in the middle; little wood here to integrate; blackcurrant fruit and spice; some menthol tones and spicy Cab; good-ish length. Good effort. [76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 60% new oak, 31hl/ha]. Drink 2018-2025. 87-89+
  • 2012 Healthy red; black at centre; blackcurrants; leaf; some graphite; freshness; lovely creamy blackcurrant flavours on the palate; elegant and refined; nicely harmonious; crisp finish but very well balanced. Excellent 2012. Drink now-2028. 89+ Tasted April ’15 [Earlier note] Good looking; polished; very attractive, pretty nose; blackcurrants, smoke, earth; very nicely done; palate attractive too [little oak to integrate] but nice layers here with some cream and plenty of blackcurrant tones; nice balance and harmony. Good length and good effort. 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 60% new oak. Tasted Friday April, 12, 2013 at Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste. 88-90+
  • 2010 Mid depth; vibrant looking in the glass; creamy notes; ink; some blackcurrants; some lift; little closed; palate crisp with some chalky fruit; blackcurrant tones and wet rock; blackcurrant and tobacco notes on the finish. Good-ish depth and weight. Nicely balanced as usual. Little reticent on the day. Needs a couple of years? Drink 2018-2030. 91+ MW Institute Nov ’14 [Earlier note] Deep looking; saturated core; creamy blackcurrant aromas, some smoke and wet rocks; graphite too; very polished nose; tighter at present than 2009; nice seam of blackcurrant fruit and very nice precision; good intensity with excellent length. Balanced again. A great buy in my book. ’09 and ’10 are two of the best vintages of Haut-Batailley I’ve had. 92+/100 April 2013
  • 2009 Mid depth; dark core; ripe Cabernet tones [Franc and Sauvignon] with sweet blackcurrant aromas; fine; elegance here; attractive earthy blackcurrants and cereal tones; spicy and very attractive indeed. Drink now-2030. 92+ MW Institute [Earlier note] Mid depth; saturated core; red at edge; wonderfully enticing blackcurrant and cassis aromas with a little pencil, leaf and earth; very enticing nose; a generous dose of blackcurrant cassis on the palate; already open and drinkable after an hour in a decanter. Very balanced and harmonious. Will last too – but already a treat. 92+ April 2013
  • 2008 Mid depth; some reddening; quite elegant; some blackcurrant and redcurrant; some spice and undergrowth; palate clean and fresh; elegant and quite fine. 88+ MW Institute Nov ‘12
  • 2007 Quite deep; not dissimilar to GPL; some mineral and leafy blackcurrant tones; earthy and attractive; elegant and harmonious on the palate with blackcurrant, tobacco and undergrowth tones. This works well in 2007. 88+/100 MW Institute Nov ‘11
  • 2006 Good colour with nice depth; some stalky blackcurrant fruit, some chocolate and minerals; softish palate compared to Lynch Bages and not worse for it; quite fine grained tannins, structured wine but more approachable and enjoyable now than most. Slightly lighter, softer style but good 88/100 MW Institute Nov ‘10
  • 2005 Earthy red at edge, dark at centre; legs; good depth, ripe, sweet and attractive nose; blackcurrants and cassis; fine; some darker savoury notes at the edge; palate well balanced; good entry to the palate with pure blackcurrant and cassis flavours; mid weight and pure Pauillac style; quite classic and pent up still; fine tannins. Polished wine with good definition and length. Nicely balanced, this is a very pure style of wine making here. 90+/100 Tasted June ‘10.
  • 1996 Youthful colour, vibrant – up to edge, some blackcurrant, pencil – fresh – felt youthful and less evolved that Batailley in this vintage. Very fine, pure blackcurrant palate with some graphite, oak but quite taut; will age well for another then years and gain in complexity 90+/100  Mar ‘08
  • 1995 Deep red; some blackcurrant cassis and tobacco but quite elegant and didn’t open up that much in the decanter. Not as full-throttle Pauillac as neighbour Batailley but with more finesse and intensity and cleaner, less feral. 88/100 June ‘08
  • 1983 Good depth, tight to rim; red black; dust on nose some blackcurrant; palate dry and lean, drying out. Feels lean and bit austere. 84/100 April ‘97

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Follow Us