Chateau Batailley 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac 2019

Inky in colour, this is wine that you want to share with Pauillac lovers. So much cassis, bilberry, espresso, cocoa bean, fennel and aniseed. Big tannins but approachable, with slate, crayon and smoked earth adding contrast and texture to the frame. This is really one to look out for. Tasted twice.

Heady and seductive on the nose with touches of graphite, blackcurrant and cherry fruit. This is lovely, you get a sense of understated power, smooth and layered on the palate with wood spice, liquorice, menthol and gravel/wet stone notes and a core of ripe black fruit. Tannins are supportive - supple and softly gripping giving this a structured frame and drive the flavour from start to finish. Still very much taught and knitted together, just beginning to show what it's made of. One to buy

The 2019 Batailley has an intense bouquet of blackberry, graphite and light tobacco scents, the latter less pronounced than out of barrel. This feels supremely well-defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins and pure black fruit laced with cracked black pepper and graphite, leading to a complex and quite prolonged finish. One of the best Batailleys, maybe the best, in recent years, and a strong follow-up to their splendid 2018. Highly recommended and still one of the best values in Pauillac.

The 2019 Batailley is performing well from bottle, delivering aromas of rich cassis fruit mingled with notions of licorice and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, broad and fleshy, with a generous core of fruit, lively acids and plenty of ripe, powdery tannin, this is a chunky, flavorful Pauillac that will develop well in bottle.

The 2019 Batailley has come together beautifully with élevage. There is plenty of power and intensity, but also a greater degree of finesse than in the past. Black cherry, licorice, leather, smoke and spice lend a good deal of gravitas. I would give the 2019 a few years to come together.

The 2019 Château Batailley is a darker, black-fruited, tobacco, and lead pencil-driven Pauillac that's medium-bodied, has a focused, lively mouthfeel, ripe yet firmer tannins, and integrated acidity. I like its overall balance, and it's certainly a classic Pauillac that will reward 4-6 years of cellaring and have two decades of prime drinking.