2020 chateau haut-batailley 5eme cru classe, pauillac
Marketplace price
Bottle size (ML)
Loading...
Why We're Buying
If grace and finesse are the trademarks of Pauillac, then the characteristics only belong to a few châteaux. Château Haut Batailley is one of them. The wine estate creates quintessential Bordeaux red blends with a femininity that's uncommon in the region.
Critics Scores
James Suckling
This is really minerally and stony with lots of chewy tannins. Medium-to full-bodied with a clean, fresh finish. Very classic Pauillac. Salty at the end with bitter citrus. Barrel Sample: 94-95
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 62 Cabernet Sauvignon and 38 Merlot aging in French oak barriques, 60 new, the 2020 Haut-Batailley weighs in with 13.6 alcohol, a pH of 3.85 and an IPT of 81. Deep purple-black in color, it opens with seducing, beautifully pure notes of blackcurrant jelly, juicy blackberries and warm plums, plus hints of chocolate mint, lilacs and forest floor with a touch of ground cloves. The refreshing, medium-bodied palate gives a great burst of crunchy black berries, framed by finely grained tannins, finishing with a minty lift. Barrel Sample: 92-94
Jeb Dunnuck
Also made in a more medium-bodied, elegant style, the Grand Vin 2020 Château Haut-Batailley offers a beautiful perfume of both black cherry and darker berry fruits as well as classic Pauillac cedar, chocolate, and leafy herb-like aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, and seamless on the palate, they’ve done a wonderful job with the tannins, the purity of fruit is spot-on, and this will certainly be an impressive Pauillac, with 20-25 years of prime drinking ahead of it.
Vinous
The 2020 Haut-Batailley was opened for a good hour before I commenced penning my note. This will be matured for 14 months in 60 new oak. It gently unfolds in the glass to reveal blackberry, faint sea spray scents (a whiff of the old Gironde estuary) and just a touch of crushed stone. This is well defined though not powerful. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins on the entry that frame the bright blackberry and raspberry fruit. This Pauillac conveys superb energy, especially toward the Japanese nori-infused finish, awakening and revivifying the senses. It is a classically sculpted and very harmonious Haut-Batailley that will give 25–30 years of drinking pleasure, but should be cellared for 5–6 years.
Decanter
Clear salinity and the fennel aniseed touch that I get in Verso de Haut-Batailley also. Gorgeous texture here, this has real balance and a sense of careful walking through the palate, a juice and a tension, with a saline kick. An enjoyably sleek wine, not as powerful as the Lynch Bages, and not intended to be either. Some chocolate notes as it opens, but this has an elegance to it that almost makes it more of a St-Julien, certainly not the powerhouse Pauillac that you get in Lynch Bages.