Chateau Haut Bailly
Owned by American Robert G Wilmmers, Haut Bailly has been regularly named as a 'sleeper' or 'best value' by Robert Parker, and was namechecked by (now retired) Petrus winemaker Jean Claude Berrouet as one of his favourite Bordeaux wines, for its delicacy and finesse. But even so, there was an audible intake of breath when Parker gave the 2008 vintage a 95-97, far higher than he had ever scored the property before (in fact he upped his score for the 2006 vintage at the same time, from 91-93 up to a 94, so he had must have had an ephiphany about this wine). Not only was this clearly pretty great rating in its own right, but it was the same as was given to Haut Brion.
For me, Chateau Haut Bailly, has long been one of the most exciting estates in Pessac Leognan, and I am very happy to see Parker has been converted (if a little wistful, as let's hope the prices don't now rise beyond my reach). The vineyard sits on a high ridge in Leognan at 48 metres above sea level, right next door to Carbonnieux and La Louviere, with 30 hectares (74 acres) of planted vines on one piece of land.
Haut-Bailly still has 15% of its old vines dating from the pre-phylloxera period – a mixture of Cabernet Franc, Carmenère, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Sauvignon., and if you walk out to the vines just behind the property, you can see a few rows with all the varieties jumbled together, but each variety carefully marked with different colour strips so the harvesters don't make any mistakes. The remainder of the estate is planted with 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc, at 10,000 vines per hectare. For many years, Professor Emile Peynaud was the consultant oenologist at the chateau, then in 1990 Professor Pascal Ribereau-Gayon, and in 1998 Professor Denis Dubordieu. Since 2004, Jean Delmas has joined him.
The property was bought in 1998 by Mr Wilmers, a Harvest-educated banker and Chairman of M&T Bank (18th largest bank in America, and apparantly unaffected by the financial crisis), who spent part of his childhood and career in Belgium. He is married to a French woman, Elisabeth, and together they have completely restored the beautiful 18th century chateau building and updated and enlarge the winery. In 1998, they also launched one of the wine world's first websites built in Flash!
The day to day running of the estate is carried out by Veronique Sanders (whose family have been associated with Haut Bailly for four generations; she is the grand-daughter of the Sanders family that Wilmers bought the chateau from). She has a masters in economics from the Sorbonne, and is president of the Association of Cru Classes of the Graves until 2009, when Jean Philippe Delmas took over (ironically, as it now turns out, at Haut Brion).
Besides wonderful wine, it has recently opened a small wine-centred boutique at the property, with books on wine tasting, the Bordeaux classification system, ampelography, plus a range of food, wine accessories and other gift ideas. I particularly like the tiny wine pockets that Caroline Perromat picked up recently in Napa that you can use for transporting bottles of wine in your suitcase. If the bottle breaks, it won't ruin your clothes - so now you really have no excuse for not bringing a bottle of Haut Bailly back with you from a trip to Bordeaux.
Wines
Chateau Haut Bailly - the first wine
La Parde de Haut Bailly - created in 1967, one of the earliest second wines to be created in Bordeaux., aged for approx 12 months in barrel.
Rose de Haut Bailly. 100% cabernet sauvignon, made by the saignee method from bleeding off wine after a short macersation in stainless steel tanks.
Annual production across all wines 160,000 bottles.
Chateau Haut Bailly, 33850 Leognan. Tel: 05 56 64 75 11.
Tasting Notes
2008 - Nice light touch on the colour, rich and ruby but not sulky. There is some red fruit on this nose, and certainly one of the more interesting wines in the line-up. Some subtle notes of mint and savoury herbs. A little lightweight at first glance, but it has a subtle elegance. Nice damson fruit on the nose, and a good colour that is deep and polyphenol rich without being over-extracted. 92. (tasted blind at UGC during the en primeurs)
Ten Year Vertical of Haut Bailly - tasted at the estate in October 2008
2007 - A barrel sample. Still very much primary fruit, bright purple, evident tannins and good weight. 70% cabernet sauvignon, 26% merlot, 4% cabernet franc. 50% new oak. 89-90.
2006 - Tannins are evident but no drying edge, rather it nicely gives density to the firm plum fruit. This is very good, the oak comes through on the palate giving a sweetness, but never loses the elegance of the overall palate. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 35% merlot. 60% new oak. 92-93.
2005 - Silky, with no let-up on the power at and point. Very dense, dripping in fruit but with a soft, satiny finish. Some lovely reach dark chocolate also, with black cherries dipped in vanilla. Clearly a long-ageing potential ahead of this one, it is barely stirring into life. Wonderfully clean flavours, delicious. 58% cabernet sauvignon, 36% merlot, 6% cabernet franc. 63% new oak. 95
2004 - Very consistent colour with the other vintages, good polyphenol extraction evident, although the nose is slightly less elegant, and the tannins a little more chalky here than in the other vintages on show. But overall, the tannic maturity and structure is still striking - there is no hint of green, and the fruit is still crunchy and bright. The investment in the property undertaken by the Wilmers really started to pay off from this vintage onwards. 50% cabernet sauvignon, 45% merlot, 5% cabernet franc. 60% new oak. 90.
2003 - Tertiary aromas on the nose, and far more advanced than the other wines here, but I'm surprised by how much I like it. The chocolate has really come into play, and the fruits are much softer than the other years. The wine still has a backbone even if this unusually hot year. The barrel cellar and winery were restored in this year, with smaller cement and stainless steel vats ranging from 50 to 90 hectolitres installed to ensure plot-by-plot vinification. 56% cabernet sauvignon, 38% merlot, 6% cabernet franc. 55% new oak. 91.
2002 - Very elegant and stately, but rather more dowager empress than I would normally associate with Haut Bailly. Nose is quite restrained, and the texture is rather heavier than many vintages, but it still has good power and length. 62% cabernet sauvignon, 35% merlot, 3% cabernet franc. 89-90.
2001 - Very elegant tertiary aromas coming through. Some spiciness and lovely burnt coffee. The fruit is starting to dip down, but the mid-palate manages still to carry you through from beginning to end. Effortlessly elegant. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 35% merlot, 50% new oak. 93.
2000 - A wnderful rich plum colour, and what a beautifully successful wine. This is one you can melt into, utterly solf and sikly tannins, but fleshed out with excellent pdamson fruits, mixed with chocolate, coffee and toffee. Definitely a wine that you want to take home with you. 50% cabernet sauvigon, 50% merlot, 50% new oak. 95.
1999 - Colour here has taken on more brick/tile red and on the nose the tertiary aromas of undergrowth and bracken, the whole shebang. Flesh is just starting to peel off the bones, but the backbone is still there. A very good wine, but one to drink now. In both 99 and 99, a large geological study of the vineyards was carried out by Denis Dubourdieu ensuring that the right grapes were planted in the right places. 58% cabernet sauvignon, 36% merlot, 6% cabernet franc, 50% new oak. 88.
1998 - Holding up better than the 1999, this just feels like it is getting into its stride. Lovely gentle purples and soft reds on the colour, warm autumn fruits and a taste that glides you gently along. Still wonderful purity of fruit and expression. 59% cabernet sauvignon, 41% merlot, 62% new oak. 91.