Chateau Haut-Bailly (Futures Pre-Sale) 2012
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wilfred
Wong -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2012 Haut Bailly is brilliant and does nothing to damper my belief that this vintage is underrated in the market. Offering up a classic bouquet of tobacco leaf, cigar wrapper, blackcurrants, lead pencil, and graphite, this beauty is full-bodied, has terrific concentration, integrated acidity and plenty of fine tannins. While it starts out up front and seemingly ready to go, it tightens up with time in the glass and is going to benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and drink nicely for two decades. It’s a sensational wine you won’t regret having in your cellar.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
One of the finest producers in Pessac-Léognan, Château Haut-Bailly has produced one of the most remarkable wines of the vintage. Though it seems almost too international in style, the wine retains its trueness to the area. It's generosity of berries and firm palate presence puts it in a special class. Drinks nicely now with a ribeye of beef. (Tasted: January 30, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Haut Bailly is a brilliant wine for the vintage. It has a very intense bouquet with scents of blackberry, bilberry, cedar and a touch of pencil lead. This is very well defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin, certainly one of the most structured Pessac-Léognan wines that I have encountered, yet it is struck through with wonderful balance and focus. It tightens up a little on the finish, a 2012 built for long-term drinking pleasure, and as such, I would afford it five or six more years in bottle if wishing to experience this in full flight. Tasted March 2017.
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Wine Enthusiast
Dark in structure, with a sense of austerity and dark tannins, this is a wine that will need time to develop. There’s a hint of tobacco and ripe plum on the palate, and the aftertaste promises juiciness.
Barrel Sample 93-95 Points -
James Suckling
A beautiful red with plums and chocolate and hints of licorice. Full body, with super polished tannins. Ripe fruit with forest undergrowth, dark fruits and sweet tobacco. Goes on for minutes.
Barrel Sample: 93-94 Points -
Wine Spectator
Well-stuffed, with thick and muscular brambly structure that easily supports the core of macerated black currant, fig and boysenberry fruit flavors. A tarry edge coats the finish. More backward than most of its peers at this early stage, but all the elements are in place. Best from 2018 through 2027.
The vineyard of Haut-Bailly as we know it today began to take shape when the Goyanèche and then the Daitze family acquired and unified the best vine growing plots in the 1530s. The estate remained in the Daitze Family until 1630 when it was purchased by Firmin Le Bailly and Nicolas de Leuvarde, wealthy Parisian bankers and lovers of Graves wines.
Following substantial investments, the property continued to be passed down the Bailly family line until 1736, when Irishman Thomas Barton took the helm. His strong business network allowed him to spread word about the quality of Chateau Haut-Bailly at a time when French ‘claret' was beginning its rise to stardom in England and Ireland.
Throughout the 18th century powerful, well-connected and ambitious owners drove Haut-Bailly to new heights, including Christophe Lafaurie de Monbadon and his son Laurent who went on to become Mayor of Bordeaux in 1805.
In 1872, Alcide Bellot des Minières acquired the estate and constructed the imposing, stone chateau building that remains to this day. He pioneered a precise, science-driven approach to viticulture, becoming a figure of legend widely known as the 'King of Vintners'. Thanks to Alcide's incredible drive, Haut-Bailly experienced a remarkable golden age, commanding the same prices as the First Growths: Lafite, Latour, Margaux and Haut-Brion.
The purchase of Haut-Bailly in 1955 by Daniel Sanders, a Belgian negociant, opened up a new era. Daniel and his son, Jean, recomposed the vineyard, renovated the winery and took pains to select only grapes from the best vines for their grand vin. They succeeded in giving the wines a unique style and reputation, and Haut-Bailly recovered its image as a great wine on the international marketplace.
In July 1998 Chateau Haut-Bailly was purchased by American Robert G. Wilmers, chairman and CEO of the M&T Bank based in Buffalo, New York. A lifelong lover of Bordeaux Grands Crus, Bob was behind every strategic decision, ensuring that Haut-Bailly followed a path of progression and continuity whilst remaining ever-respectful of its heritage.
After Mr. Wilmers purchased the property, he first asked Jean Sanders to stay on board, and then Véronique Sanders, fourth generation, to serve as general manager, overseeing a far-reaching investment programme to modernise the vineyards, cellars, offices, and chateau itself.
For Bob and his wife Elisabeth, Haut-Bailly went well beyond a financial investment: it was a joint passion. Following the sad passing of Bob in December 2017, his family has taken over and will continue in his footsteps. Together with the management team, they are committed to continuing Bob’s work in the same spirit and energy as in the past twenty years. The many recently initiated and future projects will be pursued.
With the 2021 vintage, Chateau Haut-Bailly debuted a contemporary, custom-built winery which was completed at the end of 2020. The building allows them to carry out precision work in optimal conditions thanks to the space, natural light and technical innovation which are at the heart of the project.