Haut Bailly 2018

Pessac-Leognan, Grand Cru Classé

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Tasting Notes
Complex and expressive nose, offering red and dark fruit, spices and pepper with wood and mushroom undertones. Fresh mussel shell and a hint of ink, too. Full-bodied with a fine texture and great balance between the acidity and the controlled, tannic structure. Very long finish. Goes on and on. Tiny production, 21 hectoliters per hectare. Try after 2025. Score: 99 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Maturity: 2025+ 03 February 2022
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. Score: 97 - 98 James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 11 April 2019
After one bottle broke in transit, Véronique Sanders dispatched a replacement toute de suite. The 2018 Haut-Bailly retains its almost sumptuous bouquet of black cherries, boysenberry and huge bunches of freshly picked violets. The medium-bodied palate presents layers of black fruit laced with white pepper and iodine. This Haut-Bailly is very supple, the tannins very fine, and during its barrel aging, it has gained decidedly more grip on the finish. Whereas on day one it exhibits hedonism, returning on day two, it coheres marvelously and attains far more complexity and sense of grandeur on the finish. A sophisticated Haut-Bailly that should not be underestimated. Score: 95 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025 - 2055 21 August 2021
The 2018 Haut-Bailly was picked from 17 September and 9 October. It has a very pure bouquet with perfumed black cherry and raspberry fruit laced with violet and iris petals. This is very impressive: very focused and demonstrating exquisite delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that mask the structure underneath. It is velvety in texture with a complex truffle and iodine tinged finish that according to Véronique Sanders has a softness that has manifested in recent months after en primeur. This is a very promising Haut-Bailly, one from the top drawer. Score: 94 - 96 Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2055 01 November 2019
The Grand Vin 2018 Château Haut-Bailly checks in as 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It spent 18 months in 60% new French oak. This is a beautiful, classic expression of this terroir, and its dense purple hue is followed by gorgeous black cherry and cassis fruits interwoven with ample tobacco leaf, cedary herbs, earth, truffle, and floral nuances. While 2018 was a hot, dry year (at the end of the season anyway), this shows a mix of cooler-climate, vibrant aromatics paired with a rich, concentrated, fresh style on the palate. It has plenty of tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. A beautiful, elegant 2018, it's going to need 5-7 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades. Score: 98 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2028 - 2058 19 July 2021
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. Score: 97 - 100 Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 01 May 2019
The 2018 Haut-Bailly is blended of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc, and it has 14.4% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little coaxing to unlock a powerhouse of black fruit preserves, offering notes of blackberry pie, crème de cassis and black cherry compote, giving way to nuances of Chinese five spice, camphor, chocolate box and licorice with a touch of crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with plush textured, rich black fruits, supported by a lively backbone and finishing long and spicy. It is decadently tempting to drink now, but give it 5 years in bottle to begin to see its full glory, while it should continue to transform for a further 20 years or more in cellar. Score: 96 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2026 - 2046 15 July 2021
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. Score: 96 - 98 Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 23 April 2019
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. The IPT is 86, more than the 84 measured in the 2010, but you don't feel it in the same way here. 5% Cabernet Franc completes the blend, co-fermented with Petit Verdot because they like the balance that it gives. 21hl/ha yield. Score: 98 Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2027-2042 16 April 2019
The 2018 Haut-Bailly speaks with real authority and class. Deeply spiced notes lead into a core of red/purplish berry fruit, lavender, licorice, new leather, menthol and tobacco. Vivid and dramatic in bearing, the 2018 possesses striking resonance from start to finish. There is plenty of tannin as well, but it is pretty much buried by the sheer luxuriousness of the fruit, while the mid-palate and saline-infused finish show terrific freshness as well as purity. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Score: 94 - 97 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 01 April 2019

Tasting Notes

Complex and expressive nose, offering red and dark fruit, spices and pepper with wood and mushroom undertones. Fresh mussel shell and a hint of ink, too. Full-bodied with a fine texture and great balance between the acidity and the controlled, tannic structure. Very long finish. Goes on and on. Tiny production, 21 hectoliters per hectare. Try after 2025.

Score: 99

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com Maturity: 2025+ 03 February 2022

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.

Score: 97 - 98

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com 11 April 2019

After one bottle broke in transit, Véronique Sanders dispatched a replacement toute de suite. The 2018 Haut-Bailly retains its almost sumptuous bouquet of black cherries, boysenberry and huge bunches of freshly picked violets. The medium-bodied palate presents layers of black fruit laced with white pepper and iodine. This Haut-Bailly is very supple, the tannins very fine, and during its barrel aging, it has gained decidedly more grip on the finish. Whereas on day one it exhibits hedonism, returning on day two, it coheres marvelously and attains far more complexity and sense of grandeur on the finish. A sophisticated Haut-Bailly that should not be underestimated.

Score: 95

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2025 - 2055 21 August 2021

The 2018 Haut-Bailly was picked from 17 September and 9 October. It has a very pure bouquet with perfumed black cherry and raspberry fruit laced with violet and iris petals. This is very impressive: very focused and demonstrating exquisite delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that mask the structure underneath. It is velvety in texture with a complex truffle and iodine tinged finish that according to Véronique Sanders has a softness that has manifested in recent months after en primeur. This is a very promising Haut-Bailly, one from the top drawer.

Score: 94 - 96

Neal Martin, Vinous.com Maturity: 2024-2055 01 November 2019

The Grand Vin 2018 Château Haut-Bailly checks in as 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It spent 18 months in 60% new French oak. This is a beautiful, classic expression of this terroir, and its dense purple hue is followed by gorgeous black cherry and cassis fruits interwoven with ample tobacco leaf, cedary herbs, earth, truffle, and floral nuances. While 2018 was a hot, dry year (at the end of the season anyway), this shows a mix of cooler-climate, vibrant aromatics paired with a rich, concentrated, fresh style on the palate. It has plenty of tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. A beautiful, elegant 2018, it's going to need 5-7 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades.

Score: 98

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com Maturity: 2028 - 2058 19 July 2021

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.

Score: 97 - 100

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com 01 May 2019

The 2018 Haut-Bailly is blended of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc, and it has 14.4% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little coaxing to unlock a powerhouse of black fruit preserves, offering notes of blackberry pie, crème de cassis and black cherry compote, giving way to nuances of Chinese five spice, camphor, chocolate box and licorice with a touch of crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with plush textured, rich black fruits, supported by a lively backbone and finishing long and spicy. It is decadently tempting to drink now, but give it 5 years in bottle to begin to see its full glory, while it should continue to transform for a further 20 years or more in cellar.

Score: 96

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2026 - 2046 15 July 2021

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.

Score: 96 - 98

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 23 April 2019

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. The IPT is 86, more than the 84 measured in the 2010, but you don't feel it in the same way here. 5% Cabernet Franc completes the blend, co-fermented with Petit Verdot because they like the balance that it gives. 21hl/ha yield.

Score: 98

Jane Anson, Decanter.com Maturity: 2027-2042 16 April 2019

The 2018 Haut-Bailly speaks with real authority and class. Deeply spiced notes lead into a core of red/purplish berry fruit, lavender, licorice, new leather, menthol and tobacco. Vivid and dramatic in bearing, the 2018 possesses striking resonance from start to finish. There is plenty of tannin as well, but it is pretty much buried by the sheer luxuriousness of the fruit, while the mid-palate and saline-infused finish show terrific freshness as well as purity. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot.

Score: 94 - 97

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com 01 April 2019

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