Château Haut-Batailley 2021

Red-fruited, cherries, cassis, tea, smoky notes. Fresh and light-footed, fine tannins, lively, balanced, good length, red-fruited aftertaste. Very delicate, built for medium-term maturity.

Shows damson plum and black cherry fruit laced with a mouthwatering sanguine thread, while touches of fresh humus, dark tobacco and cast iron peek in on the finish. A touch trim, but has good energy and typicity. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2026 through 2035.

Open and violet-scented bramble fruits, some smoked cherries and milk chocolate. Smooth and supple, this has generosity of fruit, acidity and velvety tannins. Round and just so delicious, really very moreish, all in balance with the texture that is both fine as well as plump, giving this total mouth-coating feel with a delicacy but also depth of flavour. Extremely approachable even at this stage with so much life and energy but well controlled too. I love this! The creamy, chalky edges are so appealing, it's by no means a showstopper but for balance, harmony and a lovely fresh and soft and gentle Claret it's delicious. That mint, liquorice ending is great too. Has persistence and length. Eric Boissenot consultant. 3.74pH.

Juicy and fruity with currant and fresh tobacco aromas and flavors. Some pencil lead. Medium body. Fine tannins and a creamy texture. Lovely finish. Better after 2025.

Bottled at the end of May, the 2021 Haut-Batailley has a well-defined bouquet with briny, seaweed-infused black fruit, certainly showing more concentration and cohesion than the Verso at present. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. Fresh and focused, touches of cassis infuse the black fruit with impressive grip, classic in style with a sapid, black-olive-tinged finish. Very fine.

The nose opens with tobacco, leafy herbs, espresso, licorice, smoke, chocolate, and black cherries. The palate is medium-bodied, chewy, fresh, and savory, with a touch of herbs and olives that accompanies the red plums at mid-palate and through the finish. The wine blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. Drink from 2026–2045.

Much more Cabernet Sauvignon-based, the 2021 Château Haut-Batailley is straight and focused, with textbook Pauillac graphite, lead pencil, and tobacco notes as well as beautiful fruit, medium body, ripe yet certainly present tannins, and a great finish. It shows the elegant, seamless style of the vintage and brings enough concentration and structure to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and shine over the following 15+.

Some angularity to the tannins; this goes longer on extraction than the 2020 Verso, as you would expect, but it comes up against the vintage character. Earth, raspberry leaf and smoked earth, plenty of savoury Cabernet, crayon and pencil lead, savoury and fragrant. 70% new oak. 40ha of vines from this vintage, after extra planting of the vineyard. Cool climate character. 70% new oak for ageing. Julien Galland technical director, 35hl/ha yield.

A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, the 2021 Haut-Batailley has a deep garnet-purple color. It comes bounding out with cheerful notes of fresh blackberries and black raspberries, leading to hints of pencil shavings, violets, and crushed rocks. The light to medium-bodied palate has compelling energy and tension, with lightly chewy tannins and finishes on a fruity note.

VINTAGE 2021

A fragrant bouquet with a core of dark fruits and penetrating notes of sweet blackcurrant shining through. On the palate, the wine is silky-smooth, featherlight, yet carries a fruit intensity that takes it a long way. This wine encapsulates everything good about the wines of this vintage, with a savory, saline touch on an irresistible finish.

The bouquet of Haut-Batailley reveals floral and smoky nuances, including notes of soot. On the palate, the wine shows suave yet slightly angular tannins. Its power certainly gives it good aging potential; this will allow the tannins time to eventually soften!

Deep, purple, intense colour. Aromatic nose with slightly vibrant fruit. The palate is immediately juicy, developing into a flavoursome wine with good presence, without the tannins standing out. Lovely, subtle and pleasant length, full of flavour.

A beautiful expression of the Pauillac style, full-bodied, with a bouquet combining toasted bread, rice powder, lilac and yellow fruits, followed by a palate very dense in tannins—high-strung and taut—where the range runs from gingerbread to rooty bitterness. The élevage will bring suppleness; time is on its side.

Intense ruby-garnet colour with purple reflections, subtle brightening at the rim. Delicate notes of cassis and liquorice, fresh orange zest, a floral touch. Taut, with notes of red berries, lively acidity, fine tannins, mineral and saline, subtle fruit sweetness on the aftertaste, slightly drying on the finish.

The wine's freshness is impressive both in the aroma and flavors. It is rich while also refined and structured. Tannins and blackberry abound in equal quantities. Drink from 2028.

Offering up aromas of cassis, minty blackberries, lilac and pencil shavings, the 2021 Haut-Batailley is medium to full-bodied, supple and polished, with a succulent core of fruit and delicately chalky tannins. For many years, significant parts of this property were left unplanted, but as of 2022, all 41 hectares are now under vine; so, there'll be more of this Pauillac—with its new, more modern style—to go around.