2022 Haut Batailley

The 2022 Haut-Batailley has an intense bouquet with blackberry, boysenberry and light aniseed scents. Like others here, it is a little bullish at first, though it gains clarity in the glass. The palate is very smooth on the entry, with plenty of black fruit laced with graphite, and just a slight herbaceous element towards the finish that should be integrated with time. This is going to be a beauty. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.

The 2022 Haut-Batailley exhibits rich aromas of cherry preserve, jammy berries and creamy new oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ripe and extracted palate that's chunky and muscular, concluding with a vanillin-inflected finish.

The Grand Vin, the 2022 Château Haut-Batailley is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with 30% Merlot that spent 16 months in 70% new barrels. Ripe black fruits, smoky tobacco, chocolate, and liquid violet notes all give way to a dense, full-bodied, concentrated, structured wine that's going to need bottle age. Do your best to hide these in the back of the cellar for a solid 7-8 years if you can, and it’s going to have 30+ years of overall longevity. It’s a stunning Pauillac, but not for the instant gratification crowd.