2019 Château Haut-Bailly

Extremely aromatic, with incredible wet-earth, bark, stone and graphite notes on the nose, then changing to violets, blackberries and blackcurrants. Full-bodied, yet so linear and fine, with titanium tannins that go on so long. Builds and builds then just rolls around the palate through the endless finish. Real Bordeaux here. 56% cabernet sauvignon, 36% merlot, 4% cabernet franc, and 4% petit verdot. Exceptional. Better after 2029. (2022)

A beautiful, elegant, and quintessential expression of this terroir, the deep ruby/purple-hued 2019 Château Haut-Bailly offers up a tight yet promising bouquet of ripe blackcurrants, darker cherries, iron, tobacco leaf, scorched earth, and cedar pencil. Possessing incredible minerality, medium to full body, ripe tannins, and a classy, aristocratic, regal style, it opens up nicely with air and will benefit from 5-7 years of bottle age and have a lengthy prime drinking plateau of 20-30 years. It's another pure class release from this great estate, which is run by the talented Véronique Sanders. (2022)

The 2019 Haut-Bailly is made from 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps with cassis, black raspberries, and kirsch, followed by nuances of pencil shavings, violets, Sichuan pepper, cedar chest, and crushed rocks. Full-bodied and firm, with exquisitely fine-grained tannins and alluring tension, the palate shimmers with energy, finishing with epic length and with loads of floral and mineral sparks. This is truly a stunning wine. (2022)