Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
As it opens in the glass, this is absolutely gorgeous. You can see why this was the period where people stopped and said, 'hang on, what's going on at Haut Bailly?' It's silky and a touch subdued, clearly a serious wine, with seductive, fleshy cassis, bilberry, hedgerow and bramble fruits alongside notes of leather, pencil lead and crushed stones, perfectly balanced by tantalisingly reticent tannins and acidity. It's got to be one of the greatest Haut-Baillys on record, with its wonderful expression and great persistency.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Deep ruby/purple-colored, with loads of red currants, smoked meats, dried flowers, Asian spices and hints of truffle-like aromatics, the 2009 Haut Bailly is full-bodied, ethereally textured, super elegant, and possesses a purity of fruit that’s off the charts. In addition to a wealth of fruit, this absolutely perfect wine glides across the palate and carries incredible intensity and richness without any sensation of weight or heaviness. It's already impossible to resist, yet will keep for another two to three decades. This is the epitome of elegance and finesse in Bordeaux!
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A dense ruby/purple-tinged color offers up notes of forest floor, subtle wood smoke, mulberries, black cherries, cassis and a hint of lead pencil shavings. There is even a floral component lurking in the intricate aromatic profile. The wine is medium to full-bodied with wonderful intensity that builds incrementally and has a long, silky, luscious finish. There is plenty of tannin, but it is largely concealed by the wine’s beautiful fruit and ethereal complexity. Given its virtually perfect balance, this brilliant Haut-Bailly should age effortlessly for 3-4 decades.
Rating: 98+ -
James Suckling
Aromas of blackberries, wet earth and mushrooms, follow through to a full body, with a solid core of fruit. Velvety and delicious, yet wonderfully structured. Muscular wine.
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Wine Enthusiast
Smooth and opulent, this immediately appeals with its generous fruit and texture that feels like velvet. The structure sits under the seductive surface, with a chocolate wood flavor, fruit tannins and density. Age for over 10 years at least.
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Wine Spectator
Offers a rich, very dense feel, but stays racy thanks to a strong graphite frame around the core of roasted fig, plum sauce and maduro tobacco. Muscular but defined on the finish, with a long tarry edge in reserve. This shows serious depth and is more backward than most of its peers. Should really stretch out nicely in the cellar. Best from 2017 through 2035.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.