2018 chateau haut-bailly cru classe, pessac-leognan
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Why We're Buying
Château Haut-Bailly offers wine investors and connoisseurs a series of paradoxes. It's intricate yet balanced, direct yet gentle, immediate yet timeless. The one-of-a-kind Bordeaux red blend is a must-have amongst serious collectors.
Critics Scores
Jeb Dunnuck
A wine that's going to flirt with perfection, the 2018 Château Haut-Bailly is a blend of 55 Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 Merlot, and 5 Each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, brought up in 60 new French oak. Hitting 14.5 alcohol, its deep purple color is followed by a fabulous bouquet of pure crème de cassis, crushed violets, white flowers, graphite, and damp earth. An incredibly powerful, opulent wine, it nevertheless has sensational purity as well as the freshness and elegance that's the hallmark of this terrific estate. It will drink well in just a few years yet keep for 20-25 years or more. Barrel Sample: 97-100.
James Suckling
Incredible depth of fruit to this with a center palate that shows superb character and texture. I love the hazelnut and coffee-bean undertones to the beautiful fruit, which shows great finesse. Full-bodied yet compact and tight, giving a sense of agility and flight to the wine. Extremely tight and polished tannins.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Haut-Bailly is blended of 55 Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 Merlot, 5 Petit Verdot and 5 Cabernet Franc. Grapes were harvested September 17 to October 9, and the wine has 14.4 alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it opens slowly with profound notions of Black Forest cake, crème de cassis, roasted nuts and black olives, unfurling to reveal notions of menthol, crushed rocks, molten licorice and chargrilled meat plus a hint of lilacs. Full-bodied, rich and densely laden with layer upon layer of vibrant black fruits and mineral nuances, it has a solid backbone of firm, velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long with compelling restraint and exciting energy.
Decanter
This is a serious 2018, structured, layered and full of Haut-Bailly signature. The texture is striking, with the silkiness emphasised by a pH of 3.87 and a relatively high alcohol that is effortlessly integrated into the body of the wine. The complexity builds slowly through the palate but the persisting feeling is of menthol, a lifting off and peeling back of the intensity, revealing the fresher more nuanced notes underneath. There's a lot of the 2015 character here, in terms of its enjoyable structure and generous fruit, but it's more like 2016 in its serious finish, and there's no question that this will age well.
Wine Enthusiast
This wine initially seems easy and just packed with fruit. As you delve behind the black fruits, the tannins come into play. The considerable structure shows concentration with a dense side that has power and a lighter side that has fresh fruit. The wine should age impressively.