Chateau Haut Bailly 2022

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2022 Château Haut-Bailly is going to be one of the legendary vintages at this château, and it should be a no-brainer purchase for readers. Based on 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, it has an incredible perfume of cassis, ripe black cherries, crushed stone, smoke tobacco, and wood smoke. Earning more than a few expletives in my notes, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and ultra-fine, silky tannins. Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen, this is an incredible wine in the making!"

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Initially, you find a display of flowers before moving on to all of its cigar wrapper, spice, blackberry, currant, black cherry, smoke, and hints of forest leaf in the perfume. Deeply concentrated, vibrant, and refined, the palate is packed with multiple-layers of perfectly, ripe, red fruits, a fabulous sense of purity, silky, soft, polished tannins, and ample lift in the finish, providing the backdrop to age, and evolve for decades. The wine blends 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Petit Verdot. 14.5% ABV, pH 3.92. Picking took place September 7 - September 27. The yields were only 30 hectoliters per hectare. This is in serious contention as the best vintage ever produced at Haut Bailly. Drink from 2027-2060."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Incredible complexity of aromas here with ripe currants and blackberries, but also dried flowers like violets and roses. Then there’s forest flower character such as bark, mushroom and sandalwood. Black truffles. Full-bodied with tight and chewy tannins that are polished and pure, with a solid and tight finish. It builds on your palate and frames the wine beautifully. 56% cabernet sauvignon, 37% merlot, 5% petit verdot and 2% cabernet franc."

WEINWISSER: "56 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 37 % Merlot, 5 % Petit Verdot, 2 % Cabernet Franc, 30 hl/ha. Dicht verwobenes Bouquet, sublime Art, feingliedrig, rotbeerige Konturen, verführerisches Irisparfüm, schwarze Pfefferkörner, dunkle Mineralik und Lakritze. Am sublimen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, kakaoartigem Tanningerüst, balancierter Rasse, salzigem Extrakt und perfekt geformtem Körper. Im konzentrierten, langanhaltenden Finale schwarzbeerige Konturen, Koriander, Eisenkraut und erhabene Adstringenz. Ein pures Finessenpaket mit hohem Lagerpotenzial. WOW – das ist der beste Wein aus Léognan. 2030 – 2055."

VINUM: "Immense aromatische Komplexität; ungewohnt wuchtiger Auftakt, gemächliche Entwicklung über erstklassigem, perfekt eingebundenem Tannin, grosse, fruchtige Länge, präsentes, aber perfekt abgefangenes Feuer; besonderer Haut-Bailly von geradezu biblischen Dimensionen., der unbedingt reifen muss."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Ockerrandaufhellung. Zart nach kandierten Veilchen, Lakritze, dunkle Kirschfrucht, ein Hauch von Mandarinenzesten, ein Hauch von Kräuterwürze und Edelholz. Kraftvoll, elegant, reife Kirschen, feine Extraktsüße, ein Hauch von Schokolade, ausgewogen und lange anhaftend, sicheres Reifepotenzial."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: „A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Haut-Bailly is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a fair bit of swirling to bring out fragrant notes of kirsch, warm cassis, black raspberries, and underbrush, followed by hints of star anise, peonies, graphite, and wood smoke. The full-bodied palate is densely laden with ripe, expressive black fruit and earthy accents, framed by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and minerally. pH 3.92."

DECANTER: "Fragranced nose, purple fruits, blackcurrants, juniper, liquorice, crushed stones, salt, violets, roses, dark chocolate and cherries - perfumed, alive and expressive. Smooth, but generous with crunchy fruit and salty touches that come in and coat the super fine tannins with a powdery sensation that really fills the mouth. Nice terroir aspects, smooth, well textured and elegantly weighted. Gives dark fruit, subtle savoury tones with dark chocolate and herbal aspects giving nuance. Excellent length and freshness, it's graceful but almost a bit light in terms of fruit density and plushness - although the tannins are exceptional, really so sleek and silky with definition and detail. Feels well worked, gentle, confident and shiny. It's missing a touch more excitement and juicy liveliness but it’s extremely finessed and you can't fault the attention to detail of the tannins and the moreish quality they give. Great potential. 3.92pH. 2% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. A yield of 30hl/ha. Consultants Christophe Olivier and Axel Marchal."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2022 Haut-Bailly offers up aromas of dark berries complemented by accents of iris, lilac, rose petals, graphite and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, dense, it's layered and textural, with a deep core of fruit, powdery tannins and a penetrating, saline finish. Vinified along traditional lines, it is a structured wine that will take some time to hit its stride, but at this early stage it appears suppler and more seamless than its 2020 and 2019 predecessors. A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc from grapes picked from September 7 to 27, it's maturing half in new barriques and half in one- or two-year-old barrels."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Refined bouquet with cassis, mineral and liquorice notes to the fore. Velvety texture, the plentiful tannins rounded and smooth. Rich and moelleux on the mid palate. Crunchy tannins on the finish that lend a little freshness. Warm. A mix of gourmandise and power."