Haut Bailly - Pessac-Léognan 2018

Jeb DUNNUCK

99

byJeb Dunnuckthe10/19/2023

I seriously considered putting one more point on the 2018 Château Haut-Bailly, and for all practical purposes, it's as good as it gets. Based on 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, it has a majestic, full-bodied, multi-dimensional profile as well as a blockbuster bouquet of currants, chocolate-covered cherries, iron, tapenade, and smoked tobacco. It has a sunny, exuberant, uber-sexy style, yet it's not over the top, and it has perfect ripeness (not overripe or underripe), beautiful tannins, and flawless overall balance. It's approachable today yet should hit maturity in another 4-5 years and have a broad 30-40 years of prime drinking window.

Vinous

97

byAntonio Gallonithe3/31/2021

The 2018 Haut-Bailly soars out of the glass, showing magnificent poise that only grows with time. Sweet, perfumed aromatics, silky tannins and mid-weight structure add to its considerable allure. Ripe red berry fruit, spice, blood orange, licorice, cedar, tobacco and menthol are all woven together in an effortless, classy Haut-Bailly that delivers the goods. I suppose the 2018 doesn't quite have the explosive energy of the very best years, but it more than makes up for that with its sensual, seductive personality.

Wine Advocate

96

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe3/31/2021

The 2018 Haut-Bailly is blended of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc, and it has 14.4% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little coaxing to unlock a powerhouse of black fruit preserves, offering notes of blackberry pie, crème de cassis and black cherry compote, giving way to nuances of Chinese five spice, camphor, chocolate box and licorice with a touch of crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with plush textured, rich black fruits, supported by a lively backbone and finishing long and spicy. It is decadently tempting to drink now, but give it 5 years in bottle to begin to see its full glory, while it should continue to transform for a further 20 years or more in cellar.

Jeb DUNNUCK

98

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/16/2021

The Grand Vin 2018 Château Haut-Bailly checks in as 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the balance Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. It spent 18 months in 60% new French oak. This is a beautiful, classic expression of this terroir, and its dense purple hue is followed by gorgeous black cherry and cassis fruits interwoven with ample tobacco leaf, cedary herbs, earth, truffle, and floral nuances. While 2018 was a hot, dry year (at the end of the season anyway), this shows a mix of cooler-climate, vibrant aromatics paired with a rich, concentrated, fresh style on the palate. It has plenty of tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. A beautiful, elegant 2018, it's going to need 5-7 years of bottle age and keep for 3-4 decades.

The Wine Cellar Insider

98

byJeff Levethe3/16/2021

The nose is off the charts with its cornucopia of black and red fruits, smoke, wet earth, spice box and Cuban cigar profile. On the palate the wine offers almost unequaled depth of flavor, concentration, richness, silky tannins and wave after wave of perfectly ripe, fresh, pure black and red fruits. The seamless finish seems almost endless as it builds and expands. Haut Bailly is not a flashy wine. It often shows much better with cellaring. Give this at least 10 years before pulling a cork. The wine was made from 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. 2018 was produced from some of the lowest yields in the history of the estate at 21 hectoliters per hectare, cutting the production in half. If this is your style of wine, you might want to grab a few bottles.

Vinous

95

byNeal Martinthe3/12/2021

After one bottle broke in transit, Véronique Sanders dispatched a replacement toute de suite. The 2018 Haut-Bailly retains its almost sumptuous bouquet of black cherries, boysenberry and huge bunches of freshly picked violets. The medium-bodied palate presents layers of black fruit laced with white pepper and iodine. This Haut-Bailly is very supple, the tannins very fine, and during its barrel aging, it has gained decidedly more grip on the finish. Whereas on day one it exhibits hedonism, returning on day two, it coheres marvelously and attains far more complexity and sense of grandeur on the finish. A sophisticated Haut-Bailly that should not be underestimated.

Wine Spectator

95

byJames Molesworththe1/26/2021

Packed with steeped plum, blackberry and cassis flavors, this also sports licorice root, applewood and tar notes. Dense and shows a chewy edge, but it's seriously long, energetic and vibrant, so just cellar to let it unfurl. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2023 through 2038. 5,000 cases made. — JM

Jamessuckling.com

99

byJames Sucklingthe1/12/2021

Complex and expressive nose, offering red and dark fruit, spices and pepper with wood and mushroom undertones. Fresh mussel shell and a hint of ink, too. Full-bodied with a fine texture and great balance between the acidity and the controlled, tannic structure. Very long finish. Goes on and on. Tiny production, 21 hectoliters per hectare. Try after 2025.

Decanter.com

98

byJane Ansonthe7/30/2020

First vintage under Chris Wilmers, succeeding his father Bob. A brilliant Haut-Bailly, living up to its En Primeur promise, packed with ripe rippling black and red berry fruit and a wonderful velvety texture. Still extremely young, more closed than it was during En Primeur but packed with layers of brilliance, saline quality on the finish, with a tight slate grip slowing everything down. 5% Cabernet Franc completes the blend, co-fermented with Petit Verdot. A yield of 21hl/ha.

Drinking Window 2028 - 2045

Vinous

94-96

byNeal Martinthe11/15/2019

The 2018 Haut-Bailly was picked from 17 September and 9 October. It has a very pure bouquet with perfumed black cherry and raspberry fruit laced with violet and iris petals. This is very impressive: very focused and demonstrating exquisite delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that mask the structure underneath. It is velvety in texture with a complex truffle and iodine tinged finish that according to Véronique Sanders has a softness that has manifested in recent months after en primeur. This is a very promising Haut-Bailly, one from the top drawer.

WeinWisser

19

byTjark Witzgallthe5/7/2019

Undurchsichtiges Purpur mit schwarzer Mitte. Verführerische Nase nach Backpflaumen und Schattenmorellensaft. Im zweiten Ansatz duftige Veilchen und Cassis(likör). Am kräftigen Gaumen mit engmaschigem Tanningerüst, cremiger Textur gepaart mit unglaublicher Eleganz und Rasse, die Tannine sind superfein, auf den Punkt gelesen. Im gebündel- ten Finale schwarzbeerige Frucht, Eisenkraut, Mokka, endet mit einer edlen Bitternote – ein À point-Pessac und die Nr. 1 in Léognan! Dieser PLV- Wert ist weiterhin auf Erfolgskurs und
bei passendem Preis eine Top- Empfehlung. (19+ points)

Vinous

94-97

byAntonio Gallonithe5/1/2019

The 2018 Haut-Bailly speaks with real authority and class. Deeply spiced notes lead into a core of red/purplish berry fruit, lavender, licorice, new leather, menthol and tobacco. Vivid and dramatic in bearing, the 2018 possesses striking resonance from start to finish. There is plenty of tannin as well, but it is pretty much buried by the sheer luxuriousness of the fruit, while the mid-palate and saline-infused finish show terrific freshness as well as purity. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot.

Jeb DUNNUCK

97-100

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/1/2019

A wine that's going to flirt with perfection, the 2018 Château Haut-Bailly is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and 5% Each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, brought up in 60% new French oak. Hitting 14.5% alcohol, its deep purple color is followed by a fabulous bouquet of pure crème de cassis, crushed violets, white flowers, graphite, and damp earth. An incredibly powerful, opulent wine, it nevertheless has sensational purity as well as the freshness and elegance that's the hallmark of this terrific estate. It will drink well in just a few years yet keep for 20-25 years or more.

Vinifera

96

byJacques Perrinthe5/1/2019

Robe profonde. C'est une synthèse magnifique entre une puissance vineuse et une finesse préservée. Le tanin est millimétrique, finement découpé, il le trame à la perfection. Grande finale. On n'a aucune sensation de lourdeur et pourtant, à la propriété, ce vin bat tous les records et séduit par sa grâce et sa beauté particulières. 

The Wine Cellar Insider

96-98

byJeff Levethe4/23/2019

With a gorgeous, deep ruby hue, the wine pops from the glass with floral, tobacco and a mélange of fresh fruits. The wine is full bodied, concentrated, powerful and refined but what's more important here is the elegance in the mouth, the sweetness in the fruit and the balanced levels of acidity, giving you simultaneous weight, lift, length and purity in a classic, restrained style. The wine was made from 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc, reaching 14.4% alcohol with a pH of 3.87. The Grand Vin was produced from 50% of the harvest, which took place from September 17 to October 9. 2018 was produced from some of the lowest yields in the history of the estate at 21 hectoliters per hectare.

Wine Advocate

96-98

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe4/23/2019

The 2018 Haut-Bailly is blended of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Grapes were harvested September 17 to October 9, and the wine has 14.4% alcohol. Deep purple-black in color, it opens slowly with profound notions of Black Forest cake, crème de cassis, roasted nuts and black olives, unfurling to reveal notions of menthol, crushed rocks, molten licorice and chargrilled meat plus a hint of lilacs. Full-bodied, rich and densely laden with layer upon layer of vibrant black fruits and mineral nuances, it has a solid backbone of firm, velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long with compelling restraint and exciting energy.

Wine Enthusiast

95-97

byRoger Vossthe4/17/2019

This wine initially seems easy and just packed with fruit. As you delve behind the black fruits, the tannins come into play. The considerable structure shows concentration with a dense side that has power and a lighter side that has fresh fruit. The wine should age impressively.

Jamessuckling.com

97-98

byJames Sucklingthe4/12/2019

Incredible depth of fruit to this with a center palate that shows superb character and texture. I love the hazelnut and coffee-bean undertones to the beautiful fruit, which shows great finesse. Full-bodied yet compact and tight, giving a sense of agility and flight to the wine. Extremely tight and polished tannins.

Jean-Marc QUARIN

96

byJean-Marc Quarinthe4/8/2019

Yvesbeck.wine

98-100

byYves Beckthe4/1/2019

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc
Rendement de 21hl/ha, donc faible. Les vendanges se sont déroulées du 17 septembre au 9 octobre. Pourpre violacé. Bouquet intense marqué par des notes florales. Notes d’iris, de violettes, de griottes et de baies noires. A l’aération le bouquet exprime également des notes de fèves de cacao et gagne en complexité. La mise en bouche est ample et crémeuse. Haut-Bailly sait parfaitement allier la race, le charme, la puissance et la densité. Les tannins sont puissants et se révèlent en crescendo le long du palais pour atteindre leur maximum en fin de bouche. Ils ont un grain fin et sont de pair avec la structure qui est racée et qui confère de la fougue à l’ensemble du palais. Une très grande réussite. 2025-2053

Decanter.com

98

byJane Ansonthe4/1/2019

This is a serious 2018, structured, layered and full of Haut-Bailly signature. The texture is striking, with the silkiness emphasised by a pH of 3.87 and a relatively high alcohol that is effortlessly integrated into the body of the wine. The complexity builds slowly through the palate but the persisting feeling is of menthol, a lifting off and peeling back of the intensity, revealing the fresher more nuanced notes underneath. There's a lot of the 2015 character here, in terms of its enjoyable structure and generous fruit, but it's more like 2016 in its serious finish, and there's no question that this will age well.
The IPT is 86, more than the 84 measured in the 2010, but you don't feel it in the same way here. 5% Cabernet Franc completes the blend, co-fermented with Petit Verdot because they like the balance that it gives. 21hl/ha yield.
Drinking Window 2027 - 2042