Ratings & Tasting Notes:

99 points James Suckling
Review Date: 03/2021
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.

98 points Decanter
Review Date: 07/2020
First vintage under Chris Wilmers, succeeding his father Bob. A brilliant Haut-Bailly, living up to its En Primeur promise, packed with ripe rippling black and red berry fruit and a wonderful velvety texture. Still extremely young, more closed than it was during En Primeur but packed with layers of brilliance, saline quality on the finish, with a tight slate grip slowing everything down. 5% Cabernet Franc completes the blend, co-fermented with Petit Verdot. A yield of 21hl/ha. (JA)

98 points Jeb Dunnuck
Review Date: 03/2021
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.

97 points Vinous
Review Date: 03/2021
The 2018 Haut-Bailly soars out of the glass, showing magnificent poise that only grows with time. Sweet, perfumed aromatics, silky tannins and mid-weight structure add to its considerable allure. Ripe red berry fruit, spice, blood orange, licorice, cedar, tobacco and menthol are all woven together in an effortless, classy Haut-Bailly that delivers the goods. I suppose the 2018 doesn’t quite have the explosive energy of the very best years, but it more than makes up for that with its sensual, seductive personality. (AG)

96 points Wine Advocate
Review Date: 03/2021
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. (LPB)

Cult Wines International Notes:

Château Haut-Bailly, a distinguished Grand Cru Classé de Graves estate, is located in the Pessac-Léognan appellation of Bordeaux. Unlike many of its peers, the château has a reputation for producing a wine of extraordinary elegance and finesse rather than overt power. The estate’s vineyard is composed of a unique soil of dark sand mixed with gravel over a deep subsoil of fossilized shell-rich limestone, which imparts a distinct mineral character to the wine.

The wine is typically a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with smaller additions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. This blend is meticulously crafted to express the subtlety and complexity of the terroir. The Cabernet Sauvignon provides a refined structure, while the Merlot adds a supple, smooth texture and a core of plush fruit.

In the glass, Château Haut-Bailly is known for its graceful, fragrant bouquet of red cherry, raspberry, and blackcurrant, often accompanied by complex notes of tobacco, cedar, and a signature graphite or smoky minerality. On the palate, the wine is silky and beautifully balanced, with fine-grained tannins that provide a long and seamless finish.

Château Haut-Bailly is a wine that epitomizes classicism and is treasured by connoisseurs for its understated charm and tremendous aging potential. Its ability to age gracefully and develop a profound complexity over decades makes it a benchmark for the Pessac-Léognan appellation.

Bottle Size:

750 mL

Storage History:

Always stored on its side in a climate-controlled cellar.

Condition:

Please note: The bottle shown is the exact bottle being sold.

Outstanding condition.