2021 Chateau Haut Bailly - Grand Cru Classe Pessac-Leognan

Decanter.com – 95 pts – GH: *Seductive blackcurrant and juniper with purple floral touches on the nose. Smooth texture with high acidity giving sharp strawberry fruit balanced by both savoury and mineral touches - slate, crushed stone, smoke, violets and dark chocolate - very much in the style of the vintage with no harshness or overt opulence but instead gives a pure sense of classicism, restraint and refinement. Elegant and well structured with a long determined finish - this will continue to deliver pleasure for a long time. 10% press wine. No chaptalisation. 30% grand vin. 3.9pH. 3% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. Yield 19hl/ha. First year in the new cellar.* - 04/2022

Falstaff Magazin – 94 pts – PM: *Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Ockerrandaufhellung. Zarte Minze, reife Pflaumen und Kirschen, kandierte Orangenzesten, einladendes Bukett. Saftig, rotbeerig und frisch, wirkt leichtfüßig und balanciert, bereits gut zugänglich, ein junger, finessenreicher Speisenbegleiter, besitzt Elan und bietet Trinkfreude. Nach wie vor sehr schicker Stil. (lagern, trinken + 25).* - 01/2023

Vinum Magazin – 19/20 pts: *Sehr zurückhaltende, aber edle, ungemein reintönige Aromatik; unglaublicher Fruchtausdruck schon im Ansatz, entwickelt gemächlich Dichte, Rasse und Fülle dank erstklassigem Tannin, grosse Länge; unglaublicher Wein, der lange reifen kann, aber auch schon recht jung Freude bereiten wird.*

WeinWisser – 19/20 pts - TB: *Der ausgezeichnete Haut-Bailly 2021 konnte seine Bewertung nach der Abfüllung bei drei Proben mit der gleichen Bewertung bestätigen! Dunkle, satte Nase mit viel Frucht und ausgezeichneter Tiefenstaffelung. Im Mund verfügt er über eine weite, groß gefasste Struktur, ewig lang und differenziert. Ein großer Haut- Bailly mit enormer Rasse und Balance. Seine sehr hohe Konzentration kommt dann erst im langen Nachhall vollends zum Vorschein, davor wirkt er von mittlerer Fülle ausgestattet. Dieses grandiose Finale strahlt ewig lang und intensiv in den Rachen hinab. Wow, welch großer Pessac-Léognan mit dezenten 13.0 Vol.-% Alkohol.* - 02/2024

Vinous.com – 96 pts – AG: *The 2021 Haut-Bailly is incredibly poised, even if it is clearly a wine of reserve in this vintage. Its vertical build speaks of pure sophistication. Time in the glass brings out hints of dried herbs, menthol, licorice, pine, blackberry and underbrush. Most of the blend is Cabernet, so the flavor profile and overall structural feel is quite savory. I can't wait to see how the 2021 ages. It may very well surprise down the road.* - 12/2023

Vinous.com – 93 pts – NM: *The 2021 Haut-Bailly harked back to the older style when I tasted it out of barrel during en primeur. Now bottled since the end of March, it has developed a very composed and harmonious bouquet with blackberry, briar, cedar and melted tar scents that gradually gain intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, again quite saline with hints of black olive and Japanese nori tincturing the black fruit. It segues into a classically styled finish, with a welcome touch of black pepper on the aftertaste. Give this three of four years in bottle, and it should drink well for 20+ years.* - 11/2023

Thewinecellarinsider.com – 95 pts – JL: *Dark garnet in color, the wine is equally dark aromatically with its nuances of smoky black cherries, blackberries, cocoa, cigar box, flowers and black plums. On the palate, the wine is focused on its chewy, black cherries, chalk, spicy black raspberries, cocoa and spice. Texturally, the wine offers an exotic, sensuous, elegant quality that I really like. It separates Haut Bailly from all the other wines I tasted. The wine is probably always going to be a bit reticent in character, so, allow it a few years in the cellar, and some time in the decanter as well. The wine blends 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot ,and 3% Cabernet Franc, representing the highest percentage of Petit Verdot in the history of the estate. 2021 is the first vintage produced in their new, state-of-the-art cellars. Drink from 2026-2055.* - 03/2024