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Chateau Haut-Bailly

2015
Country
France
Region
Bordeaux
Appellation
Pessac-Leognan
UPC
0 15643 50762 5
Red Wine
Verified Stock
1757-15
Product Ratings
Jeb Dunnuck 98+pt

The 2015 Haut Bailly checks in as a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot that comes from the gravelly soils of the Graves region, just southeast of Bordeaux. It's an incredibly beautiful, classy 2015 that offers a sexy bouquet of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf, and exotic spices. Deep, full-bodied, and voluptuously textured, with ultra-fine tannin and building richness that never takes away from its incredible elegance and purity, it's another heavenly 2015 that's going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and just sing for 2-3 decades.

by Jeb Dunnuck, 2018
James Suckling 98pt

This is an incredible young red with precision and focus that is second to almost none. Full body with a ultra-fine tannin drive that is seamless as it is endless. It ends with such power.

by James Suckling, 2018
Wine Advocate 97+pt

Composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Haut-Bailly offers up a tantalizingly savory nose of smoked meats, chargrill, tapenade, unsmoked cigars and black truffles with a core of black currants, black cherries and wild blueberries plus wafts of iron ore and bouquet garni. Medium to full-bodied, very firm and yet wonderfully plush with a powerful core of fruit—this vintage is truly an iron fist in a velvet glove. The finish goes on and on with persistent earthy/minerally notes and savory/sweet fruit. Although it is tempting and indeed delicious right now, the wine still possesses many restrained layers and should handsomely reward the patient.

by Wine Advocate, 2018
Wine Spectator 95pt

Fresh and pure, with cassis and cherry preserve notes streaming through, guided gently by singed vanilla, tobacco and dried star anise details. Roasted apple wood accents drape the finish for now, but the fruit should soak that up easily with cellaring. Shows some sneaky depth here, only obscured by the freshness. Better to wait this one out.

by Wine Spectator, 2018

Vintage

2015 was the hottest year on record worldwide and ensured peace and serenity to all winegrowers. The two main characteristics of the 2015 vintage are:
1. Ideal weather: sufficient water reserves, a warm spring conducive to good bud break then flowering, and a warm, dry, summer which halted vegetative growth and enhanced ripening.
2. A beautiful, manicured vineyard until late autumn: ripe dark grapes contrasted with the vibrant green of the healthy leafage… an aesthetic appeal promising a tasting pleasure.

Wine

Yields were much higher for the Merlots than for the Cabernets. The Merlot wines are structured, fruity, deeply-coloured and concentrated. The Cabernets display richness and class, with the unctuosity that characterises the best vintages.
The outstanding weather in 2015 resulted in rich, fruity wines with great balance and excellent structure.
Made from very ripe fruit, they have a perfect harmony and a remarkable underlying softness. Powerful Cabernets dominate the blend. Rich, fleshy and dense, they harmonise with the well-structured Merlots.
The Petits Verdots are dark and spicy, and bring a touch of complexity to the wine.

Weather

2015 was a year of early phenological maturity despite late budbreak that occurred around April 15th. Replenished over the winter – and the two previous years – the water table enabled the vines to cope with drought conditions. As Emile Peynaud said: The lesser vintages pave the way for the great ones... Spring was wonderful and the budbreak, quick and even, was the first factor in the vintage's overall regularity. The weather was warm and dry, with ideal conditions during the crucial phases of flowering, fruit set, and bunch closure. June and July were marked by intense heat and the total absence of rain. Drought set in and caused moderate water stress that called a halt to vegetative growth. This early water stress reminds Denis Dubourdieu of the 2005 vintage. The vines proved their ability to resist.
Providential showers in late July brought on quick veraison (colour change), focused over 15 days only.
Two assets from the start in this vintage: a quick, even flowering in June and an equally quick, even veraison in late July-early August. The vines were splendid and healthy looking from August until the end of the harvest with a magnificent leaf canopy and well-distributed bunches of deeply-coloured grapes. It indicated a great vintage. The weather in August was cooler than usual and helped preserve the aromatic potential of the grapes. Analyses of maturity showed high sugar levels – midway between 2009 and 2010. The grapes were perfectly ripe and healthy. The harvest looked fantastic. 2015 was now promising to be an outstanding vintage. Climatic conditions from spring onward were virtually perfect and the vines were in excellent shape.

Harvest

The head start in spring was maintained throughout the growing season. The harvest took place from September 15th to October 8th in a serene atmosphere thanks to ideal weather. The château's faithful team of experienced pickers included only 4 new members.
Ripeness and quality of the grapes made sorting almost unnecessary in the vineyard as well as in the cellar.
The Merlot grapes came in at 14 Degrees potential alcohol – a sign of good maturity - and most of the Cabernets at 13.5 degrees. A newly planted plot of Petit Verdot produced superb grapes. The harvest was spread over 4 weeks: picking took place on 9 days and 6 half days. The consistency of the quality in every plot is the hallmark of a truly fine vintage.