Winemaker Notes
Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon 30% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Haut-Batailley shows an estate in evolution. Aromatic and medium in body, the 2021 is not quite as bombastic as some previous editions, which is a positive. Savory, earthy and expressive, the 2021 also feels a bit closed at this stage. This is a super-classy and refined Pauillac. –Antonio Galloni
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Wine Enthusiast
The wine's freshness is impressive both in the aroma and flavors. It is rich while also refined and structured. Tannins and blackberry abound in equal quantities.
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Decanter
Open and violet-scented bramble fruits, some smoked cherries and milk chocolate. Smooth and supple, this has generosity of fruit, acidity and velvety tannins. Round and just so delicious, really very moreish, all in balance with the texture that is both fine as well as plump, giving this total mouth-coating feel with a delicacy but also depth of flavour. Extremely approachable even at this stage with so much life and energy but well controlled too. I love this! The creamy, chalky edges are so appealing, it's by no means a showstopper but for balance, harmony and a lovely fresh and soft and gentle Claret it's delicious. That mint, liquorice ending is great too. Has persistence and length.
Barrel Sample: 93 -
James Suckling
Juicy and fruity with currants and fresh tobacco aromas and flavors. Some lead pencil. Medium body. Fine tannins and a creamy texture. Lovely finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Much more Cabernet Sauvignon-based, the 2021 Château Haut-Batailley is straight and focused, with textbook Pauillac graphite, lead pencil, and tobacco notes as well as beautiful fruit, medium body, ripe yet certainly present tannins, and a great finish. It shows the elegant, seamless style of the vintage and brings enough concentration and structure to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and shine over the following 15+.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Offering up aromas of cassis, minty blackberries, lilac and pencil shavings, the 2021 Haut-Batailley is medium to full-bodied, supple and polished, with a succulent core of fruit and delicately chalky tannins. For many years, significant parts of this property were left unplanted, but as of 2022, all 41 hectares are now under vine; so, there'll be more of this Pauillac—with its new, more modern style—to go around.
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Wine Spectator
Shows damson plum and black cherry fruit laced with a mouthwatering sanguine thread, while touches of fresh humus, dark tobacco and cast iron peek in on the finish. A touch trim, but has good energy and typicity.
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.
The leader on the Left Bank in number of first growth classified producers within its boundaries, Pauillac has more than any of the other appellations, at three of the five. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild border St. Estephe on its northern end and Chateau Latour is at Pauillac’s southern end, bordering St. Julien.
While the first growths are certainly some of the better producers of the Left Bank, today they often compete with some of the “lower ranked” producers (second, third, fourth, fifth growth) in quality and value. The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification that goes back to 1855. The finest chateaux in that year were judged on the basis of reputation and trading price; changes in rank since then have been miniscule at best. Today producers such as Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste, Chateau Lynch-Bages, among others (all fifth growth) offer some of the most outstanding wines in all of Bordeaux.
Defining characteristics of fine wines from Pauillac (i.e. Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blends) include inky and juicy blackcurrant, cedar or cigar box and plush or chalky tannins.
Layers of gravel in the Pauillac region are key to its wines’ character and quality. The layers offer excellent drainage in the relatively flat topography of the region allowing water to run off into “jalles” or streams, which subsequently flow off into the Gironde.