2023 Haut Bailly
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Tasting notes
For the team at Haut-Bailly, the 2023 vintage was one that tested their identity – a series of trial that they compared to Homer’s Odyssey. The resulting wine is powerful and rich, with plummy, rich fruit and a firm structure that provides grip. There’s elegance and refinement here, with waves of silky red fruit, and then the raw tannins kick in – a juxtaposition with the supple nose. Aged in 50% new oak, with 14.2% alcohol and 3.7pH. Blend: 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
From healthy yields and a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc aged 16 months in 50% new French oak, the 2023 Château Haut-Bailly is an ultra-classy Haut-Bailly with its layered, round, seamless elegance. Ripe black cherries, currants, leafy tobacco, spring flowers, and graphite all emerge from this beauty, and it's medium to full-bodied, round, and remarkably complete and flawlessly balanced on the palate. It has fine tannins, integrated acidity, and a great finish. Gorgeous all the way, it will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and cruise over the following three decades. Drink 2030-2059.
The 2023 Haut-Bailly is a dark, brooding wine. Plum, blackberry, new leather, gravel and incense begin to emerge with a great deal of coaxing. As always, Haut-Bailly is a wine of elegance and restraint. This really fleshes out beautifully in the back end, but it remains rather imposing, especially in its tannin profile.
The 2023 Haut-Bailly has a very defined bouquet that is typical Haut-Bailly, with black plum, incense, hints of licorice and light marine scents that are very well defined. The oak is also very well integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with finely sculpted tannins. Very well balanced with a sense of linearity and strictness, but there is also plenty of black fruit packed into this Haut-Bailly, with a sapid finish that beckons you back for another sip. Excellent.
About the producer
Quality at this château, now one of Pessac-Léognan’s leading wine estates, has risen exponentially under the reign of Véronique Sanders, with the property known for crafting wines of elegance and poise.