Chateau Haut-Bailly 2010

Deep plum/purple, Haut-Bailly’s 2010 required some coaxing to appreciate its subtle notes of barbecue smoke, lead pencil shavings and crème 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. 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.

Chewy and brambly, but integrated, this carries a very hefty core of espresso, ganache, mulled plum and blackberry fruit. The purity starts to shine through on the finish, which drips with cassis and is threaded with a long warm paving stone note. Tight and backward today, this extremely well-built wine will need substantial cellaring. Best from 2018 through 2035.

As ever when tasting the two together, the striking thing is the difference in character rather than quality between 2009 and 2010. This is tighter, more structured in its concentration, broader-shouldered, yet still intensely impressive and full of pleasure. Neither is ready to drink yet, but this feels like it will last longer, and feels extremely Haut-Bailly in spirit, with an elegant yet complex personality, and a grip that doesn’t make a big deal of its power but refuses to let go. Blackberry, bilberry, dark chocolate and pencil. Harvest from September 22 to October 14.

Great aromas of crushed blackberries with flowers and stones that follow through to a full body, with super silky tannins and a long, long finish. It fills your mouth with beautiful fruit and velvety tannins yet shows tension and form. This lasts for minutes on the palate. Structured and superb. Don't touch until 2020.

Véronique Sanders: had to leave out some of the Merlot even though it was beautiful because the alcohol level might have thrown the overall balance of the wine. Very dark fruit with peppery spice on the nose. Inviting in its restraint. Again really dark on the palate, with very fine, dry tannins. All tightly closed and hidden for now, but really pure and long. (JH)

Stunning in every sense of the word. From start to finish, this is a complete tasting experience. The wine opens with a complex array of scents: tobacco leaf, cherries, currants, cigar box, smoke, cedar, plums, and forest floor. Full-bodied, concentrated, and still holding on to its fresh-faced youth, there is a beautiful sense of purity and symmetry on the palate that carries all the way through to the finish. Drink from 2025-2055.

Every bit as good yet in a dramatically different style, the 2010 Château Haut-Bailly has a more chiseled, focused, inward style to go with the essence of Haut-Bailly-like aromatics of sweet red and black fruit, smoked tobacco, graphite, and crushed stone, with just a hint of background minty herbs. It's full-bodied, perfectly balanced, has flawless tannins, and a rare mix of power, elegance, and purity. It blossoms with air, and while certainly mature, it has another 2-3 decades of overall longevity ahead of it.

Dense purple with black and violet highlights. Noble, floral-scented bouquet, marked by ripe, almost creamy Cabernet, with violets and cassis and a superb tobacco/terroir spice. Complex palate, extremely dense yet already pleasantly fleshy, with tobacco and truffle in the background. A profound Haut-Bailly with character and enormous potential guaranteed for 50 years.

Dense purple with black and violet highlights. Noble bouquet of ripe, almost creamy Cabernet on the nose, showing violets and cassis, a floral perfume at the core, and a great tobacco-terroir spice. Complex palate, extremely dense yet already pleasantly textured, again showing tobacco and even truffle in the background. A very deep, characterful Haut-Bailly with enormous potential for a guaranteed 50 years. With the handicap that nothing really happens in the first 10 years! Tasted three times in total. (19/20). 12: Dark garnet, saturated in the middle, ruby rim. Royal bouquet, the nose already radiates incredible complexity: truffle, dark-berry contours, tar, pumpernickel bread, licorice; one can’t get enough of smelling this young, very promising, perfectly shaped Bordeaux nose. On the palate, regal astringency, comprehensive aromatics, again in the dark-berry spectrum, an elevated, long finish. Here you feel transported to the great, old times of this estate. Almost 100 years ago, Haut-Bailly cost exactly the same as Haut Brion. And that’s where this absolutely brilliant 2010 is heading as well. In quality – not in price! It was clearly the best wine in the crowded hall. (19/20). 21: Deep garnet-purple. The core aromatics seem so primary that you might almost take it for a barrel sample. Peppery attack, freshly picked blue and black berries, licorice, dark noble woods. Shows lots of power in the heady nose aromas. On the palate it takes off, displaying massive astringency with demanding tannins that bind with the acidity and muscle. Thus – at a high level – it still feels quite ascetic. Even on the finish, it conveys immense aging potential in its favor. Which, logically, pushes its drinking window much further out. I would try it again only in ten years and estimate its prime between 2030 and 2060. (19/20)

Deep, concentrated, complex, dark bouquet: black berries, prunes, currants, smoke, dark tobacco. Concentrated, powerful, well-balanced palate with dense, dark, multifaceted aromatics, plenty of fine tannins, a concentrated, muscular structure, and a very long, dense, powerful finish with many lingering flavors. 19/20 2024 - 2050

Coiled and reserved at first, it opens with smoky cigar box notes, and vivid, beautifully sleek blackcurrant, bilberry, and blueberry fruit. Taut, structured tannins even at 14 years old, with pencil lead and olive paste studding the palate from start to finish. Plenty of estate signature in its finessed spirit, coupled with the concentration and swagger of the 2010 vintage. Harvest from September 22 to October 14. Denis Dubourdieu consultant, Gabriel Vialard winemaker. 60% new oak for ageing.

A model of complexity and refinement, with fruit that is pure and precise, along with clear minerality and a savory, harmonious structure—everything in perfect measure, with persistent aromas and superb tension. Remarkable balance.

A precise, limpid nose offering gentle, reassuring notes. The palate is harmonious and concentrated, with quivering aromas, held in by a fine tannic structure.

The 2010 vintage is the result of favorable weather conditions throughout the growing season. A cold, dry winter facilitated pruning work. Summer, marked by abundant sunshine and generous temperatures, brought on early water stress, which encouraged the vine to stop growing and produced small-berried grapes—a guarantee of quality and concentration. The alternation with cool nights benefited fruit protection and the synthesis of anthocyanins and aromas. Harvest began on September 22 with the young Merlot vines. The Cabernets were then picked from October 5 to 14. Although phenolic concentration is higher than in 2009, balance was preserved thanks to a controlled-temperature fermentation (around 26 °C) favoring gentle extraction. An intense, multifaceted bouquet reveals notes of licorice, graphite, redcurrant, and black berries. A light earthy touch and roasted nuances. Like the bouquet, the attack is intense and inviting! Superb aromatic expression right from the first sip, with an imposing tannic structure. The frame is lively and racy, which bodes well in the face of powerful, fine-grained tannins that form a beautiful backbone together with the acidity. An imposing, exceptional wine that deserves a bit more cellaring, yet already clearly displays its greatness! Certainly one of the greatest Haut-Bailly to date.

The nose is elegant, racy, and offers power (with finesse), richness/a slightly straightforward edge (yet elegant), and depth. It reveals notes of fleshy boysenberry, crushed blackcurrant, and, more subtly, violet, alongside touches of crushed blue fruits, crushed blueberry, as well as fine hints of nutmeg and sweet spices, a very discreet hint of fig, and an imperceptible, almost balsamic touch. The palate is fruity, nicely framed, and offers juiciness, minerality, a certain freshness, lovely tension, and a fine zesty backbone. On the palate, the wine expresses notes of fleshy/fresh blackberry and, more slightly, dried blackcurrant, combined with touches of juicy/fresh blueberry, fresh raspberry, as well as hints of violet and lilac, very fine nuances of mushroom/porcini, cardamom, and an imperceptible hint of coffee (in the background). Good length. The tannins are structuring and well-handled. A fine bitterness on the finish. A very lovely wine!

Served decanted. Black color. Intense nose with fresh and ripe fruit, evolving subtly and deeply in the glass. Initial smoky touch like in Pessac. The palate is immediately ample, offering a generous body and deep flavors, evoking black fruits. Remarkable texture. Both lively and velvety on the finish. Great finale with a refined tannic framework. A great success.

The younger sibling of the legendary 2009 fully deserves its share of recognition. Also born of a year with generous sunshine and temperatures, 2010—every bit as intense as it is refined—remains eminently elegant. Its dense, velvety texture, firmly anchored in dark fruit, expands with a touch of licorice, a hint of spice, and pepper. The finish stretches out on that signature mentholated freshness. A great vintage, with many years still ahead of it.

A powerful and complex wine from an estate performing on its top form. Solid tannins, layers of wood and dark fruits combine to give a wine that offers both richness and a dense structure. This Haut-Bailly should age impressively and for many years.