critic reviews
The 2025 Haut-Batailley was picked between September 8 and 18, matured in 55% new oak. This has a more intense, bolder nose than the Verso, graphite-infused black fruit that is Pauillac through and through. Razor-sharp. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, but there is gentle and insistent grip. Sapid, an Haut Batailley that evokes images of the Gironde Estuary, this is a marvellous contribution to the vintage, perhaps the best under Jean-Charles Cazes.
Good concentration, muscular but sappy texture, waves of liquorice, black chocolate, slow unrolling and depth, impressive. In this vintage, Haut-Batailley is less St Julien in Pauillac, and more squarely showcases the full character of the appellation. 3.7pH. 55% new oak. Harvest September 8 to 18.
Matured in 55% new barrels, the 2025 Haut-Batailley wafts from the glass with aromas of dark wild berries, spices, flowers and licorice, complemented by elegant notes of violet. Medium- to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it’s built around a fleshy core of fruit framed by velvety tannins, concluding with a long, spicy and taut finish. A very fine wine in the making, it expresses a classical Médoc profile, notably with a fresh, subtly mentholated note on the finish. It's a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot.