| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Historically a part of Batailley until the property was split in two in the 1940s. Until recently this château was owned by the aunt of Grand Puy Lacoste proprietor Xavier Borie, who made the wine. The property was sold to the Cazes family of neighbouring Lynch Bages in March 2017. Quality has jumped under the new ownership and there is a stylish new label and a new second wine called "Verso". The 40 hectare property has 22 hectares of vines (average age 35 years) and these are planted with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. The vines are extremely well situated, bordering those of Lynch Bages, Les Forts de Latour and Pichon Lalande.
The 2023 is made from 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot. One third of the crop has been relegated to Verso.
The 2023 Haut-Batailley is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot that increasingly resembles its stablemate Lynch Bages in style. Offering up aromas of dark berries, plums, pencil shavings and creamy new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with plenty of generously extracted, youthfully chewy tannin and a long, lusty finish.
The 2023 Haut Batailley was picked from 14 September and matured in 65% new oak. It has a harmonious and focused bouquet with blackberry, graphite and iris flower scents. The oak here is neatly integrated. It's actually stylistically not dissimilar to the Mouton Rothschild! The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins—quite rounded in the mouth, but there is backbone here. A subtle white pepper note mixes with pencil shavings on the classically styled finish, completing this refined Pauillac.
The transformation under Cazes ownership here is clearer to see each year. Sweet, succulent cassis fruit on the nose is propped up by savoury, lightly charred wood smoke and pencil shavings. This follows on the palate, which is powerful but athletic, with no fat or excess on show. Sinewy Cabernet fruit weaves through notes of tobacco, graphite and incense, always piercing and focused right through to the finish. The tannins keep everything tight and tense, this will need a little bottle age before approaching. Excellent purity, another success for this estate on the rise.
This shows structure and focus, with creamy, powdery tannins and a very pretty, silky texture. Medium to full body with a solid line of tannins running through the wine. Blackberries and currants with a hint of crushed stone. Better than 2022?
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2023 Haut-Batailley comes tearing out with eager-to-please scents of blackberry pie and warm cassis followed by suggestions of lavender, tree bark, and black olives. The medium-bodied palate is soft and approachable, with plenty of freshness and a chalkiness to the finish. The blend is 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, with pH 3.69 and TPI 87.
Delivering elegance and finesse, this showcases why Haut-Batailley is so different in personality from Lynch Bages in this stable of wines, with a fragrant violet and peony note that takes it almost into St Julien, while slowly building the tannins that root it in Pauillac. Smoke, campfire and slate mix with blackberry and bilberry fruits. 65% new oak for ageing
The 2023 Haut-Batailley is another impressive wine from this Chateau. There's plenty of the typical dark fruit and overall breadth that is such a signature, but the tannins show greater finesse than in some prior years—a very positive evolution that continues here. Black cherry, plum, lavender, cloves, leather and licorice are all beautifully amplified. The 2023 marks another major step forward for Haut-Batailley. 2028 - 2043
71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot. Cask sample.
Lovely purity of fruit. A certain opulence but fresh and defined. Tannins suave and long but present. Persistence on the finish. Well crafted. (JL) 13.2%
Drink 2030 – 2045
