Château
Haut-Bailly vertical
A vertical tasting, 1986-2010, of this highly regarded Graves
(Bordeaux) property, with proprietor Véronique Sanders
Haut-Bailly is
one of Bordeaux’ best wines, even if it keeps a somewhat lower
profile than some of its more famous peers. Indeed, from 1870–1914
Haut-Bailly achieved the same price as the first growths. This was a
remarkable chance to taste a range of different vintages side by
side with Véronique Sanders (pictured above).
The property was
purchased by her great grandfather, a Belgian wine merchant called
Daniel Sanders, in 1955. At this stage, there were only 10 hectares
of vines on the estate – a waste of an outstanding terroir. So
Daniel replanted the vineyards, and eventually these were returned
to their original size of 32 hectares.
In 1998, Haut-Bailly
left the ownership of the Sanders family, and was purchased by
Robert Wilmers. He retained the services of Véronique’s
grandfather, Jean, and the Sanders family are thus still involved
with Haut-Bailly.
‘Haut-Bailly
respects the customer with its stable pricing,’ says Véronique.
‘We don’t do speculative or ambitious pricing.’ They are also
trying not to join the stampede to Asia and the USA. ‘We are not
going to put all our eggs in one basket and target the USA or
China,’ she says. ‘We are faithful to our traditional
markets.’
The second label
was first made in 1967 by Véronique’s grandfather, and since 1987
there has been a third label. Now, approximately 50% of production
from the property is Grand Vin, 30% is second and 20% is third wine,
although this will depend on the vintage.
‘Every year we
start working in the vineyard thinking that we are going to make a
Grand Vin,’ says Veronique. ‘There are no parcels dedicated to
second wine. Our second wine is a true second wine.’
I asked about the
samples for primeur each year, and how these were decided on. ‘We
decide about the blend in January and then blend in April,’ says Véronique.
‘We have 6 different coopers. For primeur, we blend from different
barrels.’
And have the way
the wines are made changed at all of late? ‘2008, 2009 and 2010
are some of the most precise wines that we have made,’ she says.
The style in the latter two does seem to be a bit different, perhaps
a reflection of these vintage conditions.
But there has been no conscious change of style. ‘Over the
last 10 years we have wanted to keep our soul but gain in density
and intensity,’ says Véronique, pointing out that in the past,
the great vintages were more-or-less an accident, whereas now they
understand a lot more about what makes a great wine.
‘A great
terroir can do 45/50 hectolitres/hectare,’ she says. ‘When we do
just 36, as in 2010, it is a disaster for us.’
THE
WINES
Château Haut-Bailly
1986 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
This is unusual in that it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aromatic,
complex and mineral with some evolution on the nose. The palate is
mellow, spicy and a bit earthy with nice tannic grip. A very stylish
mature wine. 94/100
Château Haut-Bailly
1989 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Slightly lifted nose of sweet cherry and berry fruits. Smooth,
ripe, pure and open with elegant berry fruits on the palate, and
silky tannins. Quite mature, but drinking perfectly now. Sweet,
supple and smooth. 93/100
Château Haut-Bailly
1990 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Beautifully aromatic, sweet dark black cherry and blackberry
fruit. Nice elegance. Quite sweet but also with nice density and
some earthy notes. Silky, smooth and elegant with lovely maturity
and some subtle undergrowth characters. 95/100
Château Haut-Bailly
1995 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Sweetly fruited and elegant, with lovely broad textured cherry
and berry fruit. Quite dense and structured with notes of earth, tar
and spice emerging from under the fruit. Grippy structure and a
drying finish. 93/100
Château Haut-Bailly
1998 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Nicely elegant with some gravel and chalk notes. Quite silky in
texture with stylish blackberry and black cherry fruit. Very nice
tannins. Drinking beautifully now but still has some distance to go.
95/100
Château Haut-Bailly
2000 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. Sweet, slightly gravelly
nose with lovely aromatics . Smooth, pure and quite elegant with
cherry and blackberry fruit. The palate is fresh, elegant and well
balanced with subtle hints of gravel and earth. Fresh, pure
cherryish fruit. Nice structure here. 94/100
Château Haut-Bailly
2001 Graves Cru Classé,
Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot. Nice fresh, slightly lifted
blackcurrant and blackberry fruit nose. The palate is fresh and
structured; assured, with lovely depth and nice gravelly notes. Good
concentration, with some firmness. Classic Graves. 94/100
Château Haut-Bailly
2002 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
‘We’re quite proud of our 2002,’ says Véronique. ‘It
has a ripeness that wasn’t easy to achieve that year.’ Firm,
grippy and angular with black cherry and plum fruit, and hints of
roast coffee. Some gravelly structure. Fresh and not without
elegance, the structure suggesting it has a good future ahead of it.
92/100
Château Haut-Bailly
2003 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Veronique describes this as her Californian vintage. Sweet,
aromatic, ripe berry fruits nose is fruity and quite seductive. The
palate is supple, soft-textured and ripe with some chalky tannic
structure. Ripe but still elegant. An outlier. 90/100
Château Haut-Bailly
2004 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Lovely rich, ripe, sweet, elegant cherry and berry fruits. Firm
but fine-grained tannic structure. Silky and seductive yet classic
Graves with real finesse. A lovely wine, showing power and elegance,
that needs more time. 95/100
Château Haut-Bailly
2005 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
This was a hot vintage harvested only in the mornings, because
of the high temperatures. It was the first time this had been done,
and the harvest took 11 days in all. Taut, mineral blackcurrant and
blackberry fruit nose has some sternness to it. The palate is firmly
structured with high acidity and firm tannins. Blackcurrant and
berry fruits dominate this dense wine, and the firm structure is
currently locking everything down. Not for drinking young. 93/100
(but with the potential for a higher score in a decade)
Château Haut-Bailly
2006 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Sweet, elegant and aromatic blackcurrant and black cherry fruit.
Inviting and quite open. The palate shows some lushness and
sweetness: it’s ripe and approachable with lovely fruit and a nice
mineral dimension, as well as good structure. Classic and nicely
balanced. 94/100
Château Haut-Bailly
2007 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Sweet blackberry fruit nose with some gravel and roast coffee
notes. The palate has nice fresh green notes as well as ripe
blackcurrant and blackberry fruit. Fresh and appealing with some
structure. I actually really like the subtle greenness. 92/100
Château Haut-Bailly
2008 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Ripe, aromatic cherry and berry fruit on the nose with some
subtle roasted oak. The palate is taut and fresh with new oak
showing. Quite ripe and supple with firm structure and good acidity.
Classic style, but in need of time to
integrate the components. 93/100
Château Haut-Bailly
2009 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
Sweet, almost lush black cherry and blackberry fruit nose. Very
pure and sweet and aromatic, and fruit-driven. The palate is ripe,
lush and generous with an open character. Dominated by smooth, ripe,
primary black fruits at the moment. Deceptively simple. 93/100
Château Haut-Bailly
2010 Graves Cru Classé, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
This was a cask sample. Lovely sweet, aromatic, intense berry
and blackcurrant fruit nose. Seductive and intense. The palate is
sweet, concentrated and intense with amazingly vivid, lush ripe
blackberry and black cherry fruit, backed up by oak spice. Forward,
seductive and powerful. 93–96/100
See
also:
Chateau
Pontet Canet vertical tasting
1961
horizontal tasting, Bordeaux
2000
in Bordeaux
Wines
tasted 10/11
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