2013 Haut Bailly

The 2013 Château Haut-Bailly is enjoyable, with a pretty, medium-bodied, leaner style as well as attractive aromatics of mulberries, currants, sandalwood, and leafy herbs. Coming from a cooler, rainy year, it has good ripeness and a balanced, enjoyable, easygoing style. It's fully mature yet should keep for another decade. The blend of the 2013 is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, all of which was harvested the first two weeks in October.

The 2013 Haut-Bailly offers light aromas of black fruit, sous-bois and tobacco. Nothing green here, but it does lack presence and depth. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannins, fleshy and smooth, but shallow for this Pessac-Léognan with a rather monotonous finish. Nothing bad in the scheme of things, but to be brutally honest, it is rather forgettable. Tasted at the Haut-Bailly vertical at the château.

64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Lighter hue. Simple, plummy, red-fruit nose with a hint of oak spice. Palate juicy but lightweight, the mid-palate slightly hollow. Supple but drying on the finish. A valiant effort but shows the limits of the vintage. (JL)