Château Haut-Bailly 2001

The deep ruby/purple-tinged 2001 Haut-Bailly reveals sweet, pure, elegant aromas of currants, toast, and cigar smoke. With wonderful sweetness, fine tannins, a delicate, nuanced personality, and a long, persistent finish, this well-made, impressive Pessac-Leognan will provide plenty of pleasure over the next 12-14 years.

Shows enticing aromas of blackberries and cherries that follow through to a medium-bodied palate, with fine tannins and a medium finish. Subtle and refined. Best after 2007. 5,830 cases made.

One of the classic Haut-Baillys that for many years overshadowed the 2000. Even though things are now starting to even out, with the 2000 coming into its own, this is still giving it a run for its money. Full of personality and juicy, deep cassis and blackberry notes, pulses of minerality and uplift, and just the most effortlessly drawn out finish. A delicious Haut-Bailly, with Cabernet Sauvignon dominant in the sleek muscles of the structure, the definition of elegant Pessac. Harvest September 24 to October 11.

Some might prefer this to the excellent 2000. It’s just as dense and rich but perhaps doesn’t have the same intensity and complexity as the 2000. But a clearly outstanding wine. Full body with plenty of dark fruits, chocolate and hints of earth. Drink or hold.

Red-ruby. Nose dominated by nutty oak. Supple, sexy and rather full-blown for a young Haut-Bailly, with expressive flavors of currant, tobacco, licorice and spicy, nutty oak. A fairly dense, lush wine whose tannins are rather pronounced today. Ultimately less long than the 2002, though. Sanders describes this wine as "denser than the '99 and more classic than our 2000."

One of the few vintages produced with no Cabernet Franc, using 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot. This mediuml bodied wine is filled with smoke, cloves, earth, cassis and spice. The wine finished with a crème de cassis, spice and olive sensation. This is already starting to drink very well. Do not expect it to make old bones. I’d finish mine within the next 10-12 years before the fruit begins to fade.

The 2001 Château Haut-Bailly showed well, with a bright, fresher, more medium-bodied style. It has lots of textbook Haut-Bailly tobacco and cigar notes as well as sweet red and black fruit, fine tannins, a soft, supple mouthfeel, and outstanding length. It's fully mature.

Dark, deep garnet-ruby. Expansive, warm bouquet with a hint of dried bananas, plum, precious woods, and a wonderful underlying terroir sweetness. On the palate, very elegant and refined, with fine, silky tannins, beautifully balanced, perfumed blackcurrant, and well-integrated oak notes returning in the long finish. Right to the end, it delivers exactly what the nose promises: delicate, elegant, yet very aromatic.

02: Production only 60,000 bottles, 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot: dark, deep garnet-ruby colour. Expansive, warm bouquet with a hint of dried bananas, plums, precious woods and a wonderful terroir sweetness running through it. On the palate, a paragon of elegance and finesse with fine, silky tannins, beautifully balanced; perfumed cassis and again integrated oak notes in the long finish, lingering to the very end just as the nose promises; delicate, elegant, yet very aromatic. (18/20). 16: At a dinner at Le Pape. It is ageing very slowly! 16: The colour is not particularly dark—compared with other 2001s. The bouquet feels classic and comforting and needs quite a bit of time to get going; a fine, inky terroir spice, black-berry components, but everything still on the discreet side. On the palate it comes across as reassuring and serious again. In any case, it should be decanted for a very long time. (18/20). 16: The colour is not particularly dark—compared with other 2001s. The bouquet feels classic and comforting and needs quite a bit of time to get going; a fine, inky terroir spice, black-berry components, but everything still on the discreet side. On the palate it comes across as reassuring and serious again. In any case, it should be decanted for a very long time. (18/20). 21: Lightening red wine colour, with a ruby but clearly brightening sheen at the rim. At first an idiosyncratic nose: demi-glace, vegetal notes, red dried plums, first autumn ivy notes. On the palate, more muscle, almost meaty; the tannins show subtly austere contours; unfortunately the finish offers many firm tannins and not entirely ripe raw material. In its youth I liked it a bit better. But it never really convinced me. Reaching for the decanter doesn’t help either! At least with this bottle. (17/20)

Velvety, fragrant, fresh, powerful bouquet with notes of cherries, herbs, tobacco and cedar. Balanced, full and refined on the palate, with intense, dark aromatics, fine tannins, a finely built structure and a long, fresh finish. 18/20 drink through 2034.

Cabernet dominant in character, with a dark fruit emphasis, elegantly fading but still savoury and elegant, a wine where subtle nuances layer up and reveal a pillow of fine tannins, tobacco, cigar box, violet, peony and pulses of minerality that keep the palate bouyant. A wonderful vintage that has reigned over the 2000 for the first two decades but I would now suggest looking to the 2000 over the coming years. Harvest September 24 to October 11. Second year of Veronique Sanders as CEO, Denis Dubourdieu consultant. 50% new oak.

A wonderfully complex nose, a full, harmonious body, with a texture offering the estate’s famous velvety feel, yet built on straight, firm tannins. A complex, distinguished wine, very promising, and far greater than 2002.

It asserts its class, with an expression of ripe Cabernets. The palate still shows plenty of energy and freshness. Hardly evolved, it is dense, yet with a delicate flesh, silky tannins and plenty of length.

An intoxicating nose of ripe, generous flowers, peonies, and a vibrant, mouthwatering freshness, creating the most delicious harmony. A soft, full-bodied texture on the palate, with plenty of acidity that carries the wine through the finish and will support it for years to come.

The 2001 shows freshness with hints of camphor and eucalyptus before giving way to aromas of black berries, aniseed, liquorice and garrigue. The wine is elegant and refined, slightly creamy, supported by velvety tannins, while the acidic structure ensures freshness and an aromatic persistence on the finish. A 2001 in great shape, reminding us just how many outstanding successes this vintage delivered.

Deep, intense colour with slight maturity. Fruity nose, a little restrained. The palate is full of charm—aromatic and delicious—with plenty of flavour and a fine, lingering finish, showing a delicate, subtle texture. Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc.