Magnum Château Haut Bailly - Pessac-Léognan 2005

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

par Robert Parker le 30/06/2015

The 2005 Haut-Bailly, is dense purple with loads of graphite, earth, spice, blackberry and blueberry fruit, beautiful balance, medium to full body, and stunning purity, texture and length. Still incredibly young at age 10, this wine is set for 30 or more years of longevity. This is a great, great Haut-Bailly that will one day probably rival 2009 and 2010. (96+)

Jancis Robinson

17,5 / 20

par Jancis Robinson le 09/02/2015

Dark crimson. Savoury nose and beautifully balanced with nothing out of line. Restrained and not quite unfurled but utterly convincing. Everything is tucked in there. Classic 2005 – very solid and chewy – but with great fruit buried there too. 

Wine Advocate

98 / 100

par Robert Parker le 07/11/2014

The 2005 is really the first true great wine Robert Wilmers and Véronique Sanders crafted after Wilmers' acquisition of the property. A stunningly young wine with notes of subtle barbecue smoke, blackcurrant, lead pencil shavings and very intense flavors, at the same time, the wine is still medium-bodied, elegant, focused and complex. This wine is still an infant, but with extraordinary potential for 50 or more years of evolution.

La Revue du Vin de France

18 / 20

le 20/10/2014

Superbe couleur, dense et profonde, sans évolution. Nez très charmeur avec une touche légèrement fumée et une pointe de poivron, sans qu'elle soit un défaut. Très joli jus, plein et dense avec une matière moelleuse, séductrice en finale. On aime son côté un peu baroque, boisé, séducteur à la finale longue et très parfumée (épices douces, toast). Dégusté après une heure de décantation.

Wine Advocate

95 / 100

par Neal Martin le 23/07/2009

Lovely limpid purple/garnet core. The nose is still very intense and focused, lovely definition, it hardly seems to have moved on over the last year. Blackberry, leather, cedar, hint of cigar box coming through. The palate is full-bodied though it seems to have lost some of its puppy fat since last year with very fine, silky tannins, lovely poise and focus. Lovely purity and tension, so much unbridled vivacity. Blackberry, touches of blueberry and red cherry although still backward on the finish. This just oozes class. Drink 2015-2035. Tasted March 2009.

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

par Neal Martin le 18/06/2009

Tasted single blind at Southwold. Not quite as an impressive showing as at the château last year but still a great wine. It has a very ripe, opulent nose of baked black cherries, strawberry, a touch of raisin and fig, but complementary rather than dominant. The palate has layers of ripe oaky fruit, modern in style, difficult to get past the oak at the moment, a wine that may close down for a few years. Chewy black fruits on the finish. Drink 2012-2035. Tasted January 2009. 93+

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

92 / 100

par Stephen Tanzer le 30/06/2008

Good bright medium ruby. Deep aromas of plum, currant, tobacco, mocha and menthol. Superripe and rich but with superb ripe acidity and firm tannins currently keeping the fruit and mineral elements under wraps. Just this side of severe today: here's a 2005 that appears already to have shut down in the bottle. Best today on the back end, where the wine really spreads out horizontally to saturate the palate. I'd give it a good 12 years of aging; it should be very long-lived. Classy, sharply chiseled Haut-Bailly with noteworthy elegance. 92(+?)

Wine Advocate

95 / 100

par Robert Parker le 07/05/2008

Haut-Bailly’s American proprietor, Robert Wilmers, backed up by the brilliant Veronique Sanders, continues to go from strength to strength. A fabulous example of this estate, the 2005 is an ethereal, delicate, finesse-styled offering with intensity as well as richness. It has all the concentration one could want, but it comes across as gorgeously elegant and sublime because of its combination of delicacy, power, and depth. Beautiful raspberry, black cherry, currant, graphite, and scorched earth notes are subtle, but provocative. In the mouth, there is good acidity, medium body, ripe tannin, and terrific length. This is a beauty of haute couture from Pessac-Leognan. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2035.

Wine Spectator

95 / 100

par James Suckling le 22/02/2008

Jancis Robinson

16.50 / 20

par Jancis Robinson le 21/11/2007

Solid, quiet explosive. Lots of ripeness and yet rigour too. Fresh and frank, should eventually be a real pleasure to drink. Just perhaps slightly too much acidity?

Wine Advocate

93-95 / 100

par Robert Parker le 04/05/2007

Kudos to Veronique Sanders, the former proprietor’s granddaughter, and the new American ownership led by Robert Wilmers, for fashioning the finest Haut-Bailly in nearly half a century. While this will never be one of the densest clarets, the 2005 possesses exceptional concentration along with beautiful smoky graphite, raspberry, and black cherry characteristics in its stunning aromatics, a medium-bodied, gloriously concentrated palate profile, good acidity, and sweet tannin. Gorgeous elegance and finesse along with significant concentration and intensity suggest this beauty will be at its finest between 2013-2030+.

Wine Advocate

93-95 / 100

par Robert Parker le 27/04/2006

This is the finest Haut-Bailly I have ever tasted, although I suppose the 1900 or 1928 may have possessed similar qualities at the same age. Quintessentially elegant and rich, with surreal lightness and delicacy, it displays an inky/ruby color and beautiful aromas of sweet raspberries, black currants, flowers, graphite, and minerals. Medium-bodied and stunningly concentrated with moderately high but sweet tannin, this modern day legend represents a new reference point for this estate (now American-owned). Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030.

Wine Spectator

92-94 / 100

par James Suckling le 30/03/2006

Gorgeous blackberry and chocolate aromas with hints of spice. Focused and refined nose. Full-bodied, with ultrafine tannins and a long, long finish. Lovely fruit. This is up there with the 2000. —J.S.