Farr Vintners Logo

Haut Bailly 2021

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

This Pessac-Léognan property of 30 hectares is managed by Véronique Sanders. The vineyard is planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 34% Merlot. The second wine here recently changed name to Haut Bailly II instead of La Parde de Haut Bailly. A new, state of the art winery has recently been completed.

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Haut-Bailly

Label

Tasting Notes

A classic in the making, the 2021 Haut-Bailly wafts from the glass with aromas of dark berries and wild plums mingled with sweet spices, loamy soil, raw cocoa and violets. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and concentrated, with bright acids, ultra-refined tannins and a long, penetrating finish, it's a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, only 22% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. With yields of a mere 19 hectoliters per hectare, it's impressively intensely flavored despite its quintessentially elegant, classically proportioned profile. In many respects, it may represent the Cabernet-driven modern-day alter ego of the superb Merlot-dominant 1998 Haut-Bailly.

94/95+
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (260), April 2022

The 2021 Haut-Bailly is built around 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, the blend employing less Merlot and more Petit Verdot this year since the latter was not affected by frost. It was picked between September 27 and October 11 and matured in 50% new oak with 10% vin de presse. Allowed to open in the glass, it unfurls to reveal blackberry, briar, touches of crushed stone and cedar. The taut, fresh palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit and fine acidity. This is back to the older style of Haut-Bailly in some ways; less opulent, in keeping with the style of the vintage, and delivering good weight on the finish, even if there is not the persistent aftertaste of previous vintages. The great virtue of this Haut-Bailly is the sapidity that marks the conclusion. The kind of Pessac-Léognan that needs to be decanted then poured at the dinner table.

93/95
Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2022

The 2021 Haut-Bailly, a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, reveals a complex, brooding bouquet with aromas of blackcurrant, spices, plums, spring flowers and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, it’s a lively, rather muscular wine with a fleshy, dense core of fruit, tangy acids and powdery tannins. Despite its firm character, I like its overall balance. It should age gracefully over the next 10 years. Drink 2023-2040.

94
Yohan Castaing, RobertParker.com, February 2024

Lots of graphite and crushed-stone character with redcurrants and pine needles. Medium body with silky and layered tannins. Pretty balance and elegance. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 22% merlot, 10% petit verdot and 3% cabernet franc.

95/96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2022

The 2021 Haut-Bailly is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc, harvested from 27 September to 11 October, and aging in 50% new oak. Deep garnet-purple colored, it is a little closed and broody to begin, opening out to offer notes of plum preserves, warm cassis, and black raspberries, plus suggestions of fertile loam, tapenade, tar, and smoked meats. Medium-bodied, the palate has wonderful tension and energy with plenty of black fruit layers and a fine-grained texture, culminating in a long, lifted finish. This was the first vintage in the new winery, and 50% of the crop went into the grand vin.

92/94+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2022

Impresses from the first moment with its enveloping nose, and purity of flavour. Plenty of estate signature, with finely grained tannins and creamy black fruit that is concentrated with density through the mid palate but not opulent, delivering cocoa bean, slate, cassis and gunsmoke personality and poise. One of the few where I can really see the comparison to 1996, or perhaps 2000, with firm tannins that are subdued but with clear ageing potential. An excellent Haut-Bailly, with a small 19hl/h yield, meaning that in this first year with the new cellar they used just 20 of the smallest size vats (out of 50 in total). Harvest September 27 to October 11. Axel Marhal consultant.

95
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, April 2022

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc. 10% press wine. Cask sample.
Elegant and flowing with mineral, dark fruit and smoky notes. Plenty of freshness, the fruit juicy and gourmand. Grainy tannins and a saline finish. Less grand scale than recent years but harmony and balance prevail. (JL) 13%
Drink 2027 – 2038

16.5+
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com, May 2022
Read more tasting notes...

Not tasted En Primeur.

Thomas Parker MW, Farr Vintners, April 2022
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.