CHÂTEAU HAUT BATAILLEY
2018 5ème Cru Classé Pauillac
The first full vintage of this wine under the ownership of the Cazes family (Lynch Bages). This is a dramatic Haut Batailley. It showed quite closed on the nose but there is massive depth of fruit and serious tannic structure on the palate. We were impressed by the sheer density on show here but it's not one for the faint hearted and it's definitely for the long haul. Drinking range: 2028 - 2045L&S (Apr 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.
Juicy, fresh and nicely compact, with sleek iron along the edges of a core of steeped plum and cassis fruit flavors. Subtle tugs of savory, tobacco and cedar through the finish, with a last, lingering perfumed whiff of dark tea. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drinking range: 2024 - 2038 Rating: 94 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Jan 2021)
The grand vin 2018 Château Haut-Batailley is a beauty and is comprised of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot brought up in 60% new French oak. It's an attractive, elegantly styled wine that has lots of juicy Merlot notes of black cherries, graphite, scorched earth, and spice. Rich, medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, and with terrific purity on the palate, this brilliant Pauillac is going to be approachable in just a few years and will evolve gracefully. This wine hit 14.3% alcohol with 3.61 pH and an IPT of 81. My money is on it being one of the best to date from this estate. Rating: 93-95 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2019)
Blended of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot aging in 60% new barriques, the 2018 Haut Batailley is very deep purple-black in color and takes some coaxing to reveal profound notes of dark chocolate, crème de cassis, blueberry pie and anise with waves of raspberry pie, lavender and Indian spices. Full, very tightly would and jam-packed with layers of crunchy black and blue fruits, it has a firm line of ripe, grainy tannins and compelling freshness, finishing long with a mineral hint coming through. Rating: 92-94 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2019)
Dark and pure on the nose just a touch stony/smoky to add finesse to the fruit. Oak is quite evident on the palate but there's fruit to fill it out. Less aromatic than the second wine (new name: Verso) but there's still a restraint and subtlety in a powerful vintage. Long on the finish yet the persistence is gentle. Fine-grained tannin texture. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 17 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2019)
I can’t remember a Haut-Batailley this tannic, yet the tannins are savory and very ripe with beauty and purity. Full-bodied, chewy tannins and a long and intense finish. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2019)
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 on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at 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 £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
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). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.