CHATEAU HAUT BAILLY 2011- Pessac Leognan Grand Cru Classe - France - Red Wine

         
Country : France
Region : Bordeaux - Pessac-Leognan
Type : Red
Year : 2011
Volume : 75 cl

WINEMAKERS NOTES : 2011 is a great tribute to the Haut-Bailly terroir, expressed fully through the characteristics of this vintage. It is a classic nose of soft fresh fruits supported by a strong fine until tannic structure. This is a wine of real precision stamped with the seal of Haut-Bailly. It is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 2% Cabernet franc. 

JAMES SUCKLING (95) : Wow. Wonderfully aromatic nose of currants, blackberries and lilacs. Full body but refined and beautiful. The quality of the tannins is exception. So fine. Lovely austerity and tension on the finish. Better in 2016.  (2/2015)

ROBERT PARKER'S (94):  The saturated ruby/purple-hued 2011 Haut-Bailly exhibits a glorious, subtle, noble set of aromatics consisting of red and black currants, sweet cherries, graphite, truffles and a faint hint of wood spice. The wine hits the palate with the profound elegance and purity that have become so much a characteristic under Wilmers and Sanders. Still youthful, with good acidity and freshness, this brilliant, medium-bodied 2011 needs another 4-5 years of bottle age, and should evolve effortlessly for 20-25 years. 94+ (RP)  (4/2014).

ABOUT THE WINERY Château Haut-Bailly is a Graves Cru Classé estate that has really hit form in the last 5-7 years. Haut-Bailly was bought by the Sanders family in 1955 and was run by Jean Sanders until 1998 when Robert G. Wilmers, an American banker, purchased it. It is located in the commune of Léognan, which is usually more associated with white wine production. Haut-Bailly has 28 hectares of vineyards which are very well sited on high, gravelly ground just east of Léognan village.

ABOUT THE WINE : The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (25%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). It is matured in small oak barriques (50% new) for 15 months and is bottled unfined and unfiltered. Ch. Haut-Bailly makes  small quantities of a rosé from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, preferring to use the single varietal to maintain freshness in the blend. The wine is fermented 1/3 in new oak barrels and 2/3 in stainless steel at 16°C. Haut-Bailly is renowned for its smoothness and silkiness but, since the mid 1990s, the wines have better depth of fruit as well as more grip, concentration and body. They are now amongst the top echelons of Pessac-Léognan wines.

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