Haut Bailly - Pessac-Léognan 2020

The Wine Cellar Insider

98 / 100

par Jeff Leve le 22/03/2023

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. 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, evolve for decades. Drink from 2027-2060.

Vinous

97 / 100

par Antonio Galloni le 24/02/2023

The 2020 Haut-Bailly has developed into an elegant, richly-textured wine with all its elements in balance. Classy and polished to the core, the 2020 is a Haut-Bailly that favors finesse over power. It's a wine of extreme precision and persistence more than anything else. Red-toned fruit, dried flowers, spice and blood orange are some of the many notes that open over time. The 2020 spent 15 months in barrel, with 50% new oak.

Vinous

96 / 100

par Neal Martin le 15/02/2023

The 2020 Haut-Bailly showed extremely well when I tasted it at my home during lockdown. Now in bottle since spring 2022, it upholds a wonderful bouquet with multi-layered black fruit laced with briary, flint, blood orange and light peony scents. That orange element becomes a touch more pronounced with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, fine backbone, brimming with energy and remaining harmonious from start to finish. This is a long-term prospect, an achievement considering that this was supposed to be vinified in their new winery, but due to Covid delays ended up being vinified in their old facility (though barrel maturation was able to be done in the new cellar.)

La Revue du Vin de France

96-98 / 100

le 07/06/2021

2020 est le premier millésime élevé dans le nouveau chai au toit végétalisé, s’intégrant avec grâce au sommet de la croupe de Haut-Bailly. Long, serein, très pur, le vin de ce millésime se situe dans la veine du magnifique 2019. Avec un naturel supérieur, il laisse parler le fruit, tout un éventail de baies rouges et noires, une touche de poivre et de mine de crayon. Il n’affirme jamais sa puissance, les tanins sont imperceptibles jusqu’en milieu de bouche mais conduisent la finale très loin. Du grand art.

Le Figaro

96-98 / 100

le 02/06/2021

Un grand vin dont le nez est déjà impressionnant de maturité, avec de voluptueuses notes de prunes et de fruits noirs comme la nuit. Une bouche de crème de cassis, précise, portée par une texture fine, et le parfait équilibre entre la rondeur du merlot et le caractère bien trempé du cabernet sauvignon, avec des tannins plein d'élégance. Un «grand» grand vin.

Vinous

95-97 / 100

par Antonio Galloni le 01/06/2021

Deep, rich and explosive, the 2020 Haut-Bailly is magnificent from the very first taste. Dark fruit, chocolate, licorice and spice give the 2020 a level of unctuousness that is absolutely thrilling. Readers should be patient, as the 2020 is going to need time to come around. Yields are down 25% from 2019, and that richness comes through loud and clear.

Tastingbook.com

98 / 100

par Markus Del Monego le 28/05/2021

A great wine with excellent tension, very deep, intense purple colour with violet hue and black core. Very noble nose, well concentrated with a wonderfully perfumed character. Blackcurrants and elderberries, floral hints mallow blossoms, hints of liquorice, subtle oak, very complex with impressing elegance. On the palate juicy fruit, strawberries, blackberries. Powerful structured with massive ripe tannins, appetizing freshness, combining the power of 2016 and 2018 with the freshness of 2019. 
Expressive fruit, elegant spiciness and fine oak in the background. A truly impressing wine. 

Jeb DUNNUCK

96-98 / 100

par Jeb Dunnuck le 28/05/2021

A legendary Haut-Bailly in the making, the 2020 sports a dense purple color to go with powerful notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, scorched earth, and graphite. Reminding me of the 2010, it takes plenty of air to show at its best yet is full-bodied, has a seamless texture, massive of ultra-fine tannins, and a blockbuster of a finish. It's one of the most structured, powerful Haut-Bailly I've ever tasted, yet it still has the classic elegance, nuance, and length of this terrific terroir. It will need 5-7 years (or more) of bottle age but will have 50 years of overall longevity. The 2020 is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and 3% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Vinous

95-97 / 100

par Neal Martin le 27/05/2021

The 2020 Haut-Bailly was picked September 9–25 in what the estate has called the "year of reinvention." Having left my sample to open for 30 minutes and then assessed it over the following three hours, I found that it has a mercurial nose of gorgeous blackberry, briar, white pepper, incense and hints of blood orange. It gains intensity and becomes more floral with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with supple but firm tannins that provide backbone. There is plenty of black fruit laced with white pepper and clove. Perhaps less rich on the finish compared to the last two vintages – a virtue as far as I am concerned, as it allows more terroir to show through. This is an impressive Haut-Bailly to coincide with their new winery, which I hope to visit very soon.

Decanter.com

96 / 100

par Jane Anson le 25/05/2021

Rich in texture and colour, this has clear layers and complexity, a wine that you want to take your time with, slow down and enjoy. One that will take its time to age also. This has a precision and a clarity to the aromatics, and a gentle buzz of minerality that gives a physical reaction in the mouth. Less exuberant than the 2018 or 2019, making this a vintage that suits the style of Haut-Bailly. A slight austerity to the tannins on the finish gives a blueberry redcurrant edge. 3% Petit Verdot completes the blend (now around eight years old), usually co-fermented with the Cabernet Sauvignon (sometimes with Cabernet Franc). IPT similar to 2016, 2010, 2005, but with a softness that comes from extremely ripe tannins. Strong potential for upscoring when it bottle.

The Wine Cellar Insider

97-99 / 100

par Jeff Leve le 21/05/2021

Deeply colored, the wine explodes with fresh flowers, tobacco leaf, cigar box, currants, blackberry, Allspice, licorice, savory herbs and smoke aromas. On the palate, the wine is intense, balanced, silky and refined. The fruits express purity, harmony, length and complexity, finishing with layers of currants, blackberry, herbs, pepper and plums that hold your focus for at least 50 seconds. Give this at least 10-12 years of age. It will evolve and provide sensuous tasting for at least 25 or more years after that. The wine blends 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc., 14.3% ABV, pH 3.9. The harvest took place September 9 to September 25. The Grand Vin was produced from 60% of the harvest. 2020 was the first vintage produced in their new cellars. 97-99

Wine Advocate

96-98 / 100

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 20/05/2021

A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Haut-Bailly was harvested from the 9th to 25th of September. It has an alcohol of 14.3%. Deep purple-black in color, it prances out of the glass with naturally beautiful notions of fresh black cherries, violets, mulberries and boysenberries, giving way to hints of redcurrant jelly, star anise, tilled soil and menthol. The medium to full-bodied palate is delicately crafted with velvety/grainy tannins and fantastic freshness framing the perfumed red and black berry layers, finishing on a lingering fragrant-earth note.

Jamessuckling.com

99-100 / 100

par James Suckling le 12/05/2021

This has incredible power and drive with blackberry, black olive and graphite. It’s full-bodied, yet dynamic and agile, with so much polished and muscular tannin. Yet, it remains in harmony and balance. So much character. The head of the chateau calls it diabolical beauty. 25% less production than the 2019. 52% cabernet sauvignon, 42% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot.

Anthocyanes

97-99 / 100

par Yohan Castaing le 11/05/2021

Pur, éclatant et frais, le bouquet du Château Haut-Bailly 2020 offre des notes de fruits noirs, de myrtille, de menthol et une touche de Zan. Des notes de graphite et d'iris apparaissent à l'aération. Bouche dense, bien en place, assez massive pour la propriété avec des tanins élégants, de l'épure et une allonge superbe. Ce millésime sied à merveille à Haut-Bailly même s'il présente un côté un peu terrien et légèrement ferme. Les élevages amélioreront l'ensemble.

Bernard Burtschy

96-97 / 100

par Bernard Burtschy le 10/05/2021

Falstaff

96-98 / 100

le 10/05/2021

Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feine schwarze Beerenfrucht, angenehme Edelholzwürze, Nuancen von Brombeeren, Pflaumen, ein Hauch von Vanille, facettenreiches Bukett. Komplex, saftig, reife Herz- kirschen, seidig wirkende, perfekt eingebundene Tannine, zeigt eine nahtlose Textur, sehr gute Länge und Harmonie, saliner Nachhall, großes Zukunftspotenzial.

My Bettane + Desseauve

96 / 100

par Bettane & Desseauve le 07/05/2021