Château Haut Bailly, Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan, 2020
Harvested between the 9th and 25th of September from a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2020 rendition of Haut Bailley opens with a glorious bouquet of potpourri, cedar, leafy cassis and stones. The palate is broad, powerful and intense: black fruits, minerals, cloves; this has beautiful texture to the fruit and superb tannins that grip the mouth with a calm authority, weaving a wonderful kaleidoscopic array of dark berries and minerals on the detailed, long finish. There’s a real sense of exuberance to the fruit without any excess or flamboyance. Classical yet expressive – this is a wonderful interpretation of Haut Bailly. Control and generosity in equal measure.
critic reviews
The 2020 Haut-Bailly has a much better bouquet than the de Fieuzal. It is notably fresher, with black fruit, cedar and tobacco aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins—a well-knit and harmonious Pessac with a precise, understated finish. This outstanding 2020 shows its class. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
Deep plum colour, intense and reserved, this is poised and mouthwatering, with carved tannins. As it opens, the precise blackcurrant fruits soften to a sumptuous texture, while fennel and sage herbs wind through the palate, with oyster shell salinity and uplift on the finish. You could almost drink with a good carafe now, and yet there is a huge potential for ageing. A stunning wine. Harvest September 9 to 25. Axel Marchal and Valerie Lavigne consultants, Gabriel Vialard winemaker.
The 2020 Haut-Bailly opens in the glass with attractive aromas of cassis, sweet berries, loamy soil, violets and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's a concentrated, rather broad-shouldered wine built around a chassis of firm, powdery tannin that asserts itself on the finish. Haut-Bailly once rivaled Haut-Brion for the title of Pessac's most elegant wine, and I would love to see the team here ease off extraction, but this remains a strong effort that will reward patience.
A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Haut-Bailly is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a bit of swirling to coax out notions of black cherry compote, blackcurrant pastilles, and blackberry preserves, giving way to fragrant wafts of violets, dark chocolate, cardamom, and sassafras, with a touch of Indian spices. The medium to full-bodied palate is an exercise in poise, delivering tightly wrapped black fruit, exotic spice and floral layers, with a super-plush texture and seamless acidity, finishing very long with loads of mineral sparks and tons of energy.