1986 Haut Bailly

Tasted at the chateau, the 1986 Haut Bailly is a vintage that I have not tasted for five years. It has an attractive nose that is clearly fully mature, but still healthy, well defined and quite generous with small red cherries, mulberry and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied, structured yet fresh with good grip in the mouth. There is tangible salinity, especially on the finish that you could argue cuts away short. This might be because there was no Merlot in the blend and was in fact, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. It's not bad at all, although it does not approach the best vintages from the chateau. Tasted July 2016. Dec 2016, www.robertparker.com

Neal Martin    Score: 88/100