| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Fantastic aromas of crushed plums and blackberries. Perfumed! Full-bodied and very silky with stone undertones. Best ever? Drink in 2021.
Located in Pauillac, Château Batailley has made a beautiful 2015, but it’s going to need time to integrate its oak. Made from primarily Cabernet Sauvignon mixed with 20% Merlot and just a splash of Petit Verdot, it gives up lots of red currants, coffee, and cedary, woody spice characteristics as well as a meaty undercurrent. Medium to full-bodied, ripe and polished on the palate, with ripe, yet present tannin, give bottle 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades or more. Tasted once. 2022 - 2042
The 2014 Batailley has a slightly more mature color than its peers. The nose is completely different: much more red fruit, dried blood, white pepper and warm gravel scents. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, rigid tannin. The acidity is nicely judged although I find the finish here lacking the delineation and precision of its peers. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2020 - 2040
Tasted blind. Rich and sweet on the nose. Quite spicy. Polished and rich. Much more evolved than most. Flattering but not as refreshing as some…
Drink 2024-2036
Deep ruby colour in the glass. The nose is classic Batailley, meaty and rich from toasty oak but also fleshy with cassis fruit. The palate follows, with the oak adding a plushness and rounding the edges of the fruit. Pure Cabernet blackcurrant shines through with plums and dark cherries. The tannins have softened nicely, making for an approachable, succulent style in this vintage. The finish is long and fine, with brambly fruits, roasted coffee bean and cedar. Drink now, or over the next 15 years.
A light sous-bois note leads off, followed by a core of steeped plum and blackberry fruit, while licorice root and tobacco accents fill in on the finish. This fleshes out steadily, showing some slightly austere grip but enough depth of fruit to warrant cellaring. Best from 2018 through 2026. 15,000 cases made.
The nose has a black fruited mix quite fresh and on the palate the cassis and bramble mix is bright. Depth and richness in the middle the tannins although there are well handled supporting but not over firm. The sweetness on the mid palate gives way to freshness at the back. 2025-36
This château's reputation for producing dependable, well-priced clarets is well deserved. This is a classic, Cabernet-based Pauillac, albeit in a comparatively approachable style. Focused acidity, medium structure and fine cassis and bramble fruit are supplemented by attractive oak.
Full and forward, this has body and bones, nice high acidity but balanced with cool blue fruits and well integrated tannins that have a soft accent of graphite about them adding some mineral flavour and texture. It's quite linear, not so layered or dense, but this has style and charm and is a nice, complete offering for 2014 still with energy, lift and freshness. Good drinkability. 2024-2040
The 2014 Batailley has an attractive bouquet, lilting scents of redcurrant and raspberry coulis, quite floral and very precise. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, good depth and body, rounded for Batailley and less austere than usual. It feels closed towards the finish, tight-lipped, but there is certainly grip and presence here. It will require several years in bottle before it can show its true potential, but there is a sense of class to this Batailley that I suspect will become more evident with maturity. Tasted twice with consistent notes. Drink Date 2022-2045
The Château Batailley 2014, which Frédéric Castèja served before the Lynch Moussas instead of after, is a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc matured in 55% new oak. He told me that hail in July touched the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines and decreased the yield to 33 hectoliters per hectare. It underwent a slow pumping-over and a warm maceration. It has a well defined and fresh bouquet, perhaps a little foursquare compared to recent vintages, light pencil shaving notes developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied is with rigid, unwavering tannin: masculine in style with a foursquare cedar and mint-tinged finish. This is a fine Batailley though not quite in the same class as some of their impressive recent vintages. The fast-improving Lynch Moussas might have the upper hand this year. Drink: 2018-2035.
A big and juicy red with blueberry, cassis and chocolate character. Full and velvety with lovely purity. Wonderful ripeness of tannin. Cabernet sauvignon here.
Dark crimson. Attractively intense pencil-shavings and graphite nose. Sweet start and has less concentration than some. A relatively early-maturing Pauillac. There is some tannins but not in huge register. Falls away rather on the finish. Drink 2020-2030
