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Haut Bailly 2010 300cl

Grand Cru Classé | Graves, Pessac-Léognan | Bordeaux | France
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Critics scores
98 By Robert Parker
98 By James Suckling
19 By Rene Gabriel
95 By Wine Spectator
Deep plum/purple, Haut-Bailly’s 2010 required some coaxing to appreciate its subtle notes of barbecue smoke, lead pencil shavings and creme de cassis as well as its touches of pomegranate and forest floor. The oak is pushed far into the background and the tannins are extremely silky, but the intensity of the wine is profound and the finish lingers for close to 55 seconds. This wine is ripe yet delicate, powerful yet stylish, and essentially resembles a remarkable fashion design from a house of haute couture. This wine needs a good 7-8 years of bottle age and should keep for 40-50+ years. <br/><br/>This quintessential example of pure finesse, elegance, harmony and delicacy is combined into a wine that lingers intensely with near-perfect poise and character. Haut-Bailly’s ethereal character is virtually unmatched in Bordeaux. Normally, general manager/winemaker Veronique Sanders fashions a blend that approximates 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. That was the exact blend of her 2009, and I doubt the 2010 deviates significantly from that. <br/>
Producer
Château Haut Bailly
A true Graves Cru Classé, Château Haut-Bailly is known for their consistently well-crafted reds, which are elegant, approachable and refined. Located in the Pessac-Léognan appellation, the château can trace its roots as far back as 1461. The influential Sanders family acquired the estate in 1955, before passing the ownership to Robert G. Wilmers. As an American banker, Wilmers bought the Château in 1998, however, the Sanders family is still represented by Véronique Sanders, who joined the Haut-Bailly team as the estate’s General Manager. Compared to its neighboring properties, the 30-hectare Léognan vineyard exclusively produces red wines, quite unusual for the Left Bank as many estates are also famous for their whites. Haut-Bailly has an important percentage of very old vines planted in the late 19th century by Alcide Bellot des Minières, the owner at the time. These unique 4-hectares, with six different grape varieties, form a precious collection of rare genetic material with an average age of 100 years old. Today, the château ranks amongst the best, their Grand Vin is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and is labeled as Haut-Bailly. The terroir wine offers a profound concentration of fruit that shows the house’s signature silkiness and smoothness.