Chateau Haut Batailley 2023

JAMES SUCKLING: "This shows structure and focus, with creamy, powdery tannins and a very pretty, silky texture. Medium to full body with a solid line of tannins running through the wine. Blackberries and currants with a hint of crushed stone. Better than 2022?"

DECANTER: "Fragrant raspberries and blackcurrants on the nose with floral touches too. Vivid purple in the glass. Some herbal notes, liquorice and menthol/eucalyptus. Nicely structured, good bounce and flesh but cool and sleek too. I like the weight, enough tannins, well integrated, but gives structure and power. It’s not heavy, really has a clear vein of freshness that is so appealing. Lots of cool blueberry, mint, graphite and liquorice on the finish. Almost chewy, but clean and direct. Finessed but with power and depth. Really very good."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2023 Château Haut-Batailley brings a much more focused, serious style while still staying in the elegant, vibrant style of the vintage. Based on 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot resting in 65% new oak, this deep purple-hued effort has classic Cabernet darker, almost blue fruits, graphite, tobacco, and chalky earth-like nuances as well as medium to full-bodied richness and depth on the palate. It's balanced and has beautiful tannins, as well as outstanding length. Tasted twice."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feinfruchtiges Bukett, reife Kirschen, ein Hauch von Gewürznelken, einladendes Bukett. Saftig, dunkelbeerig, tragende, präsente Tannine, gute Komplexität und Frische, mineralisch im Abgang, zart blättriger Nachhall, wird von Reife profitieren."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Chocolate, mint, flowers, currants, and blackberries form the nose. The palate pops with black cherries, blackberries, vivacity, round textures, and a chewy, lively, red currant-filled finish. The wine was made from blending 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot. This is the first time Petit Verdot has been included in the blend. 13.2% ABV, 3.69. Drink from 2028-2052."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2023 Haut-Batailley is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot that increasingly resembles its stablemate Lynch Bages in style. Offering up aromas of dark berries, plums, pencil shavings and creamy new oak, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with plenty of generously extracted, youthfully chewy tannin and a long, lusty finish."

WEINWISSER: "71 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 25 % Merlot, 4 % Petit Verdot. Filigranes rotbeeriges Bouquet, Sandelholz, erkalteter Hagebuttentee und Preiselbeermus. Am straff ausgerichteten Gaumen mit engmaschigem Tanninkorsett, bleibt dicht, nervige Rasse und muskulöser Körper. Im konzentrierten Finale rote Johannisbeere, Heidekraut und mehlige Adstringenz. Ein puristischer Pauillac, der seine Nähe zu St. Julien nicht verleugnet."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Lovely purity of fruit. A certain opulence but fresh and defined. Tannins suave and long but present. Persistence on the finish. Well crafted. Drink 2030 – 2045"

VINUM: "Tabak, dunkle Frucht, mineralische Untertöne; straffer Gaumen, knackige Frucht, markantes, pudriges Tannin, saliner Abgang; darf reifen."