Chateau Haut-Bailly Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan 2010

Deep plum/purple, Haut-Bailly’s 2010 required some coaxing to appreciate its subtle notes of barbecue smoke, lead pencil shavings and creme de cassis as well as its touches of pomegranate and forest floor. The oak is pushed far into the background and the tannins are extremely silky, but the intensity of the wine is profound and the finish lingers for close to 55 seconds. This wine is ripe yet delicate, powerful yet stylish, and essentially resembles a remarkable fashion design from a house of haute couture. This wine needs a good 7-8 years of bottle age and should keep for 40-50+ years. This quintessential example of pure finesse, elegance, harmony and delicacy is combined into a wine that lingers intensely with near-perfect poise and character. Haut-Bailly’s ethereal character is virtually unmatched in Bordeaux. Normally, winemaker Veronique Sanders fashions a blend that approximates 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. That was the exact blend of her 2009, and I doubt the 2010 deviates significantly from that.
98

An opulently styled effort, the blue/purple-hued 2010 offers a sweet kiss of graphite, charcoal, black cherries, black currants and compelling forest floor-like notes. A seamless integration of acidity, tannin, alcohol and oak is found in this full-bodied yet delicate, precise 2010. There is plenty of tannin but it is well-hidden behind the extravagant quantity of fruit. Give it 5-7 years and drink it over the following 35-40 years.
95-97

Great depth of slightly earthy fruit, a lifted fragrance over great vineyard concentration, more backward than usual with a superb future, a magnified Haut-Bailly wine.

The 2010 Haut Bailly has consistently been a fantastic wine, and at seven years of age I have no reason to alter that view. It has a mixture of red and black fruit on the nose, wet stone, black olive and a light marine influence. It is still backward compared to other vintages, but it has not relinquished one iota of its intensity. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. This is a voluminous Haut Bailly, one that is beginning to stretch its muscles, with a gentle grip in the mouth with a wonderful saline finish. There is huge potential locked into this wine, but patience is needed. Tasted March 2017.