CHÂTEAU HAUT BATAILLEY
2012 5ème Cru Classé Pauillac
71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29 % Merlot. 'Tender tannins' says Francois-Xavier, and it is true. Lots of volume and very jolly and likeable, perhaps lacking that last bit of drive. Velvety and long. Really pretty gorgeous and great value. Rating: 90 L&S (Jan 2019)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2012 Haut-Batailley has a perfumed and floral bouquet, showing much more Pauillac typicity than Duhart-Milon, quite fresh and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, fine acidity, good grip and quite ferrous. Perhaps there is a touch of austerity on the finish, but it is drinking well now. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting. Drinking range: 2023 - 2037 Rating: 91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Sept 2022)
Long owned by Xavier Borie, this Pauillac estate sits next to Batailley and is just south of Borie’s other famous château, Grand-Puy-Lacoste. The 2012, dramatically better from bottle than barrel, is bigger boned, richer and more flamboyant than this wine normally tends to be. The color is a healthy purple, and the wine offers plenty of cassis and licorice as well as a touch of incense. The oak from barrel-aging 18 months is largely obscured. Medium to full-bodied and impressively endowed, it comes off like a hypothetic blend of a St.-Julien and Pauillac, but this is a classic 2012 that is full, rich and impressive, with beautifully sweet tannins. Drink it over the next 20 years Drinking range: 2015 - 2035 Rating: 92 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (May 2015)
The fruit is very concentrated with black cherry very much dominating. The tannins are firm but feel ripe the mid palate packed with rich black fruits but towards the back it is lighter with lovely spicy bramble. 2020-35 Rating: 90-93 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Dec 2013)
The Haut-Batailley 2012 is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% Merlot picked between 3rd and 16th October at 38hl/ha. It has an understated bouquet – a graphite seam interwoven through delicate black, slightly earthy fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a vibrant entry. There is crisp acidity here, a citric freshness that informs the classic, graphite-tinged finish that achieves fine symmetry. This should be approachable, but should likewise mature well over 15-20 years. Rating: 89-91 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2013)
François-Xavier Borie’s value-for-money Pauillac expresses the best aspects of the vintage with considerable aplomb. It’s very much a Cabernet Sauvignon-driven red, with leafy cassis aromas, backed up by serious, grainy tannins, some spice and plenty of freshness and bite. Elegant and focused. Drink: 2020-30 Rating: 93 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2013)
Fine expression of Cabernet-Merlot fruit, smooth, charming and classy. Drink: 2016 - 2026 Rating: 17 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2013)
Rating: 18 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Apr 2013)
A taut, herb-tinged style, with savory and rosemary wafting through the plum and red currant fruit. Lean but lengthy, this delivers an iron twinge. Rating: 87-90 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2013)
Château Haut Batailley
Pauillac Cinquième cru 1855 For most of its history Château Haut Batailley, as the name suggests, was part of Château Batailley. The name "Batailley" appears to be derived from a battle that occured on the sight in 1453 during the Hundred Years War. During the early 19th Century, Batailley was owned by Daniel Guestier who did much to raise the reputation of the estate such that it was rated a 5th Growth in the 1855 classification. Batailley was purchased in 1932 by Marcel and François Borie who divided the estate between themselves in 1942, with Marcel taking the half that retained the Batailley name and François developing Haut Batailley. In 2017 Château Haut Batailley was purchased by the Cazes family, owners of Château Lynch Bages. The two Batailleys are in the south of Pauillac, a little way inland from the Pichons. The 22ha of Haut Batailley is planted to 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Haut Batailley has a good reliable reputation, offering very decent "drinking" claret at competitive prices.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.