Château Batailley, 5ème Cru Classé, Pauillac, 2025
Frederic Casteja's Batailley has come roaring back to form in 2025. Produced from 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, this is a crowd-pleasing Pauillac if ever we saw one. Fine aromas of griotte and blackcurrant, cut flowers and seaweed. This is pure, succulent and juicy replete with cherry and blackberry fruit and touches of liquorice. Engaging and generous, framed by lots of ripe tannin and a refreshing seam of acidity. An excellent Batailley, which will likely be one of the best value buys of the vintage.
critic reviews
The 2025 Batailley was picked between September 4 and 18 at around 26 hl/ha and is raised in 58% new oak barrels. It has a backward nose at first, opening with blackberry and crushed stone aromas, with a welcome whiff of the Gironde estuary underlying the fruit. Fine delineation and unashamedly classic in style. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy/chalky tannins, good density, fresh and saline, with a cohesive and you could say, "old school" finish. Very fine, very Bordeaux, very Batailley!
Balanced and textural, restrained power with slow and steady unrolling. Floral nuances, crayon and graphite, crushed rocks, delicious, and full of appellation typicity. 58% new oak, Axel Marchal and Valerie Lavigne consultant winemakers.