CHÂTEAU HAUT BAILLY

The 2009 Haut-Bailly has a more opulent bouquet than its peers with gorgeous pure red cherry, kirsch and blackcurrant notes laced with sage and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent ripe fruit, voluminous compared to its Pessac peers but lacking a little cohesion and precision on the finish. Two bottles opened as there was consternation about the showing of both. Perhaps bottle age will benefit this wine? Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting. Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2019)

As it opens in the glass, this is absolutely gorgeous. You can see why this was the period where people stopped and said, 'hang on, what's going on at Haut Bailly?' It's silky and a touch subdued, clearly a serious wine, with seductive, fleshy cassis, bilberry, hedgerow and bramble fruits alongside notes of leather, pencil lead and crushed stones, perfectly balanced by tantalisingly reticent tannins and acidity. It's got to be one of the greatest Haut-Baillys on record, with its wonderful expression and great persistency. Drinking range: 2019 - 2042 Rating: 100 Jane Anson, Decanter (Feb 2019)

Medium ruby-red. Very ripe but subdued aromas of dark berries, black cherry, minerals, woodsmoke, mocha and smoky underbrush. Silky on entry, then utterly smooth and seamless in the middle, with outstanding concentration and lift to the berry, tobacco and hot rock flavors. Finishes with utterly noble tannins and outstanding, slowly building length and lingering perfume. This outstanding Haut-Bailly saturates every square millimeter of the palate without leaving any undue impression of weight. I was reminded of the time I was served three classy old Pessac-Leognan wines blind. I guessed that I was tasting Haut-Brion, but the bottles turned out to be Haut-Bailly 1961, 1945 and 1928. Rating: 94 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Jul 2012)

This is the most alcoholic wine there has even been at Haut-Bailly apparently (they should talk to producers on the Right Bank), but it is still a very harmonious wine, using its Cabernet Sauvignon for backbone as well as elegance. Cedar wood and cassis notes are underpinned by fine tannins and palate-cleansing acidity. One of the best wines in the appellation. 10+ years. Rating: 94 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2010)

Deep ruby. Highly perfumed nose is brimming with blackcurrant, blackberry and violet; shows an almost fruit cocktail quality. Then smooth, dense and lush, with noteworthy intensity to its fresh black fruit flavors complicated by stony minerality and exotic herbs. A wonderfully seamless and concentrated wine with superb balance, very smooth tannins and an extremely long aftertaste. Though very ripe, this betrays no sign of overextraction or the exaggerated flavors shown by many other wines in this vintage. Likely to be one of the great vintages for Haut-Bailly. Rating: 92-95 Ian d'Agata, www.vinousmedia.com (May 2010)

The greatest Haut-Bailly ever made? One can’t speak enough of the job Veronique Sanders has done in 2009, allied with the owner, the American banker Robert Wilmers, who has given her carte blanche authority. Tiny yields have resulted in the most concentrated Haut-Bailly I have ever tasted. Eclipsing even the 2005, the 2009 (a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc) possesses 13.9% natural alcohol. Dense purple to the rim, it exhibits a precise, nuanced nose of mulberries, black cherries, black currants, graphite, and a singular floral component. A wine of profound intensity and full-bodied power, yet stunningly elegant, and never heavy or massive, it builds incrementally on the palate, and the finish lasts over 45 seconds. Remarkably, there is not a hard edge to be found in this beauty. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were harvested between October 7 and 14, which explains their phenolic maturity. The wine’s extraordinary freshness, elegance, and precision are nearly surreal. This tour de force should age brilliantly for 40+ years. Rating: 96-98+ Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Apr 2010)

Tasted at the chateau, the sample taken 16th March from a pre-blend of the Merlot and three lots of Cabernet (probably no pressed wine this year) and a second sample at a negociant. A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc with 55% new barrels. A very deep garnet/black colour. This has a very refined nose of blackcurrant, raspberry, wild hedgerow, a nice minerality all with very good delineation but very tightly wound at the moment: this really does demand coaxing from the glass. With further aeration, that minerality is really coming through nicely (much more so than at the chateau!) The palate is full-bodied with a soft entry, grippy tannins, structure on the entry, dense black ripe fruit with an underlying stoniness. It is the follow through, like a wave crashing onto the back palate that really marks this wine out, with very fine persistency and minerality towards the finish. Silky and slightly creamy in texture towards the finish. Superb. Rating: 92-94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2010)

Tasted twice, at the UGC tasting and at the chateau. Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 37% and Cabernet Franc 3%, all fermented at 26°C, cooler than usual, a response to the massive presence of tannins in this vintage. 55% new barrels, alcohol well controlled at 13.4%. A very dark and concentrated hue here. The nose has a warm style of fruit, with a macerated cherry and red-black forest fruit character, although it has perfume too, with some floral elements peeping through the dark exuberance. The palate kicks off in a very ripe and soft style, although richly imbued with tannins, which have a velvety, fur-coat-feel to them. Rich, creamed, honeyed fruit, fresh, the tannins prodigious but very much in harmony with the wine. Fresher on the palate than I expected from the nose though, with quite vigorous acidity balancing out the warm piles of substance. Elegant despite all that texture underneath. Perfumed finish. And it is incredibly long. This is monumental, especially so for Haut-Bailly. Could be a great wine given cellar time. Rating: 18-19+ Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2010)

Rather pale. Lifted and gentle and a little muted and tart but certainly appetising. Just the merest hint of green? 2017-2026 Rating: 16 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2010)

Dense purple red, quite rich cassis fruit with fragrant wild roses concentration, great clarity, depth and precision over succulently ripe vineyard fruit, still quite reserved, a wine of undeniable beauty and class. Drink 2015-30. Rating: *****18.5 www.decanter.com (Apr 2010)

Lovely sweet berry and plum aromas, with hints of sandalwood and cedar. Full-bodied, with milk chocolate, berry and vanilla bean character. Thick and dense tannins, but balanced and very pretty. Sneaks up on you. Really powerful in tannins. This could be better than the fab 2005. Rating: 95-98 James Suckling, The Wine Spectator (Mar 2010)