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Chateau Haut-Bailly

2014
Blend
66% Cabernet Sauvignon
34% Merlot
Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Appellation
Pessac-Leognan
UPC
0 15643 47231 2
Red Wine
Verified Stock
1757-14
Product Ratings
Jeb Dunnuck 94pt

The 2014 Chateau Haut Bailly is a beauty and shows the best of the vintage in its charming, forward, complex bouquet of black cherries, kirsch, dried flowers, and black raspberries, with just a hint of building earthy minerality and tobacco. Pure silk on the palate, with medium to full body, ripe, present tannins, and a great mid-palate, it's a rock star 2014 to enjoy over the coming two decades or so.

by Jeb Dunnuck, 2018
James Suckling 95pt

A very well-made, modern wine with ripe cherry and cassis notes but rather discrete oak. The bright fruit and lively acidity balance the moderately dry tannins very well, and the finish is long and quite complex. Compacted. Needs time to open. Beautiful.

by James Suckling, 2017
Wine Advocate 94pt

The 2014 Haut Bailly has a charming, quite intense bouquet with layers of blackberry, raspberry coulis, black olive and melted tar scents that soar from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, well-judged acidity, harmonious and focused with superb density and precision towards the finish. This is a classy number and alongside Domaine de Chevalier, it is one of the standouts from the appellation in this vintage.

by Wine Advocate, 2017
Wine Enthusiast 95pt

Initial tight acidity in this crisp wine gives way to smooth rich black fruits. This already has a fine balance with its ripe juiciness and delicious red-berry flavors. It is going to develop into a very fine wine.

by Wine Enthusiast, 2017
Wine Spectator 94pt

This shows admirable density for the vintage, with a strong loamy echo amid the core of dark currant, fig and plum compote flavors. Loads of tobacco and tar details join in on the finish, while the fruit easily keeps pace. Rock-solid.

by Wine Spectator, 2017

MISC

2014 vintage was the stage for a long performance featuring hope, concern, and a miracle!
It began early and finished late: totaling 114 days between flowering and harvest. Winter was wet and mild. The vines awoke to the new growing season in mid-March and developed quickly thanks to a beautiful month of April. This early start gave rise to high hopes for a great vintage. The abrupt arrival of cool weather in late May slightly dampened early expectations, and slowed the early vintage... Flowering took place under good conditions for the Cabernets, but Merlots were affected by coulure and millerandage. Growth continued, but at a slower rhythm in July and August. The vineyard team worked hard to keep the vines clean and healthy, allowing them to channel their vigor into the fruit. The berries grew in size, but ripened very slowly… leaving us to worry. Fortunately, after the vegetative growth halted at the end of August, a new moon brought longlasting anti-cyclone and true summer weather in September. This was nothing short of miraculous, and saved the vintage! The weather was sunny and dry, with warm days (28-30 Celsius) and cool nights – ideal for locking in fresh aromas. The month of September was the warmest since 1921 and 1961. The grapes decreased in size, became more concentrated, and still had a full month to ripen. The harvest began, in no great rush, on the morning of the 24th of September. The grands Merlots, the organic plots, and the wonderful gravelly hilltop, home to our old vines were picked starting on the 30th. Perfect weather – dry and radiant – meant that the harvest could take place over a twenty-two day period (with 12 days of picking). Grapes in each plot were harvested at peak ripeness. They had good anthocyanin content with promising levels of tannin. The wines feature beautiful aromas as well as a velvety texture and fresh fruit typical of the summer of 2014 and the long ripening period that followed. 2014: a vibrant vintage of great style.