Château Haut Bailly, Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan, 2023

Name: Château Haut Bailly, Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan
Brand: Château Haut Bailly
Price: 540 GBP

Available Vintages

all 2006 2009 2010 2016 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

justerini & brooks tasting note

The third vintage to be made in the smart new winery, and one really feels the benefits. The new facility gives the team much more control over vinifications, which results in greater precision in the wine. This is noticeable aromatically, through better delineation of flavours on the mid-palate and even more civilised tannins. Not that there was anything wrong with the old Haut Bailly, but this has just elevated the whole package and secures its position as one of the elite wines in Pessac Leognan. Beautiful aromas of pencil shavings, violets and creme de mûre. There's a wonderful purity and freshness to the fruit - crisp and clear and very clear eyed, mixed with a pleasing mineral character. The tannins are long and penetrating, laced with pure hedgerow fruits and attractive saline notes. A pretty and serious Haut Bailly produced from 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot.

critic reviews

96-98/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

A blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2023 Haut-Bailly has a pH of 3.75. It is deep garnet-purple in color and it waltzes out with showy scents of boysenberry preserves, stewed plums, and fruit cake, followed by underlying suggestions of Indian spices, menthol, graphite, and lavender, with a hint of cardamom. The full-bodied palate is rich and seductively plush, with layers of black fruits and exotic spices, plus mint and floral sparks, finishing long and fragrant. It is so graceful and opulent!

DRINKING WINDOW 2029 - 2050

date of review 05/2024

97/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Inky plum colour, this is just so effortless, incredible savoury and moreish, salted cracker and cocoa bean, fine plentiful tannins, with plenty of hidden depths. Feels like a wine that you know you will be thrilled to be drinking in years to come. High floral aromatics unwind as you sit with the glass, showing purity of rose bud and liquorice, chalky tannins that are supple with finesse and grain. 50% new oak. Harvest September 11 to 29.

DRINKING WINDOW 2031 - 2048

date of review 05/2024

96-98/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2023 Haut-Bailly was picked from September 11 to 29 at 40.5hL/ha. It is being raised in 50% new oak for a planned 14 months, plus another three in vats. Véronique Sanders told me that there is 6% vin de presse in the blend this year. This has a beguiling bouquet that instantly switches on a metaphorical neon sign that announces you are in the presence of a very serious wine. Extremely pure and delineated, the nose presents aromas of blackberry mixed with wild strawberry, cedar and light sous-bois. It's much more classical in style compared to the 2022. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins that frame the blackberry, raspberry, cedar and graphite-infused fruit. It boasts more grip and persistency on the finish than its peers, with a residual subtle pinch of black pepper. This ranks as one of the standout wines in Pessac-Léognan, perhaps in Bordeaux itself. Outstanding.

DRINKING WINDOW 2030 - 2065

date of review 04/2024

94-96/100Yohan Castaing,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

A blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon (harvested from the 20th to the 29th of September), 34% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2023 Haut-Bailly offers up aromas of mulberries, cassis, dark wild berries, pencil lead, licorice and spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, concentrated and rich palate that is both layered and seamless, its deep mid-palate animated by lively acids, concluding with long, mineral, penetrating finish. Although it displays a darker, more brooding profile character than in previous years, it remains highly representative of its terroir and will benefit from some patience. It's being matured in 50% new oak.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2045

date of review 04/2024