2005 Haut Batailley
Buying options
Tasting notes
Offers a beautiful nose of crushed blackberry and cherry, with hints of flowers. Full-bodied, with a lovely balance of silky, caressing tannins and ripe fruit. Very long and minerally, with mint and eucalyptus character. A wonderful wine from this estate. Best after 2014. 7,915 cases made. James Suckling, Wine Spectator 2008.
Critic scores
Average Score
Wine Spectator
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Proprietor Xavier Borie has turned out a beautiful silky-textured Pauillac revealing classic creme de cassis, licorice, and tar-like characteristics interwoven with cedar and roasted herb notes. Medium-bodied and elegant, it is more St.-Julien-like in personality than Pauillac. But who’s complaining? This 2005 will provide lovely drinking in its youth, yet age well for 15 or more years. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025. Robert Parker, Wine Advocate # 176.
Tasted at a vertical tasting at the chateau. The 2005 Haut Batailley obviously has a more intense bouquet than the 2004 with blackberry, wild hedgerow and cold gravel scents. It is still quite tight, but there is very fine precision here. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, ripe earthy black fruit. It is actually more approachable than I was expecting for a 2005 having loosened its tie in recent years. There is great depth here and fine mineralite, completing what is a classy and sophisticated Pauillac that should repay further bottle age. Chapeau! Tasted July 2016. Jun 2017, www.robertparker.com
About the producer
The Cazes family – owners of Lynch-Bages and Ormes de Pez – purchased Haut-Batailley in 2017. They’ve embarked on a significant replanting programme, and exciting things are likely to come from this address with its new backing.