| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pauillac |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Batailley
From the famous château estate of the Castéja family, the 2012 Batailley is a very strong effort. This is a big-time sleeper of the vintage. A dense purple wine with loads of crème de cassis, blueberry notes, background forest floor and cedar, this is a strong effort from Batailley and may well usher in a new era for this fifth-growth chateau that is capable of producing great wine. The tannins are sweet and the wine has an opulence and richness that is rare for a Médoc in 2012. Drink it over the next 25 years. Drink: 2015 - 2040.
Tasted en primeur at the château. The Grand Vin is a blend 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet in colour, the Batailley has decent fruit concentration on the nose with blackcurrant, small red cherries and a pleasant graphite scent. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy ripe tannins. There is certainly a sweet core of fruit, quite smooth and perhaps a little more modern in style compared to recent vintages, but that is no bad thing and there is very fine weight and volume towards the harmonious finish that really comes together over 10 minutes in the glass. Tasted April 2013.
Blackish purple. Unusually savoury - meat-extract notes. Interesting! Then sweet and voluptuous on the palate. Very different structure to the St-Juliens. Big and bold and makes a splash. I might have guessed a Pichon if they participated in the UGC blind tasting… Just cuts off a little suddenly on the finish.
Bright purple in colour, this has an intense nose of blueberry fruit, violets, sweet vanilla and undertones of smoked meat. The palate is wonderfully juicy, with oodles of blue and black fruit bursting through the mid-palate. Sweet vanilla and roasted coffee bean support the fruit, with the tannins fine and integrated, making for a wine that can be approached now but will equally age well. The finish is one of pure cassis and light smoke; supple, round and moreish.
A serious yet surprisingly precocious and supple-textured Pauillac, the dense ruby/purple-colored, medium to full-bodied 2012 Batailley exhibits sweet, nicely textured tannins along with plenty of black fruit, forest floor, underbrush and cedar characteristics. Ripe, fruity and exceptionally well-made, it will benefit from several years of cellaring, and can be drunk over the following 15 years
