2016 Chateau Haut Bailly - Grand Cru Classe Pessac-Leognan

Decanter.com – 97 pts – EM: *Refined, elegant, brilliant. Spring rain and a dry, sunny summer and autumn meant perfectly ripe grapes, a growing season CEO Véronique Sanders dubbed Le Bonheur (‘a delight’). This sumptuous, smooth red has just about everything: concentration, power, richness, floral and tobacco leaf scents, dark berry and cassis flavours, a plush texture, and long, polished tannins.Haut-Bailly is cru classé for red only.* - 06/2023

Falstaff Magazin - 97pts - PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, dezente Randaufhellung, reduktiver Cassisduft, Halbbitterschokolade, dunkelbeerig. Blaubeere. Und schließlich feuchter Kalk. Gute Frische. Am Gaumen druckvoll mit feinen Mitteln, scheint etwas weicher als in anderen Jahren, aber im Gaumenverlauf greift das Tannin dann doch fest an, bleibt dabei aber feinkörnig bei mineralischer Prägung, milde Säure, sehr große strukturelle Länge. Kaum Adstringenz trotz des kraftvollen Tanningehalts. Hat bei aller Fülle doch sehr viel Nuancen und Differenzierung, bleibt in der Frucht feingliedrig, im Säurefaden bei aller Reife der Säure vital, alles ohne Härte, aber mit Festigkeit.* - 05/2017

Vinum Magazin – 19/20pts: *Sehr zurückhaltend, aber bereits von grosser Komplexität; dixhter Ansatz, gemächlich Entwichlug über einem tragenden, hochklassigen Tanningerüst, will nicht enden, verbindet Eleganz, Balance, Rasse und Kraft auf geradezu ideale Art. Grosser Wein.* - 06/2019

Weinwisser - 19/20pts - GL: *53 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 40 % Merlot, 3 % Cabernet Franc, 4 % Petit Verdot, 47 hl/ha. Tiefes Granat. Was für ein Parfüm nach Heidelbeeren und duftigen Veilchen! Dahinter Brombeermark und Cassisdrops. Am kräftigen Gaumen mit seidigen Tanninen, dahinter kommt ein engmaschiger Körper hervor, der sehr konzentriert und dank der Säure und Eleganz immer länger wird. Im Finale wiederum viel schwarzbeerige Frucht, Balance ist hier das Geheimnis! Ob er den grandiosen 2010er überflügeln kann, wird sich zeigen. Eine sichtlich stolze Véronique Sanders ist davon 100%ig überzeugt. Auch der Slogan des 2016er Jahrgangs «Le goût du bonheur » passt perfekt zu diesem grandiosen Haut-Bailly.*

JancisRobinson.com – 18/20pts – JL: *Deep, dark colour. Ripe and rich with plenty of extract. Cassis, blueberry and spice notes. The palate is intense but suave and fresh (2019 much the same), the tannins sitting firmly behind. Long finish. Clearly has a big structure but the fruit and freshness carry it. Long ageing potential.* - 07/2020

JamesSuckling.com - (98-99)pts - JS: *This young wine shows such pinpoint precision with a full body, dense fruit and gorgeous intensity. Muscular yet toned and beautiful. It really builds on the finish. Very fine-grained. So long and beautiful. Sophisticated power. Oyster shell and iodine undertones. Traditional style yet with a modern interpretation. Savory.* - 04/2017
~~~
JamesSuckling.com – 98 pts – JS: *Wonderful aromas of tobacco, sweet fruit and licorice follow through to a full body with ultra-fine tannins that caress every inch of your palate. Love the length and subtlety to this young wine. Gorgeous. Drink after 2024.* - 12/2019

Vinous.com - (94-97+)pts - AG: *The 2016 Haut-Bailly is a huge, powerful wine that explodes in all directions. Black cherry, smoke, tobacco, licorice, menthol, incense and gravel are all pushed forward, but it is the wine's volume and pure intensity that stand out most. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2016 is likely to be a slow-maturing wine, but even today the phenomenal finish is a marvel. The 2016 is a great Haut-Bailly in the making. It will reward several decades of cellaring.* - 04/2017
~~~
Vinous.com – 97+ pts - AG: *A big, vertical wine, the 2016 Haut-Bailly explodes onto the palate with tremendous depth and intensity. Readers should be in no rush to drink the 2016, as it won't be close to ready to drink for at least a decade, and I say that as an eternal optimist. Black cherry, smoke, tobacco, cedar, gravel and incense add to the wine's decidedly somber personality.* Januar 2019

Vinous.com – 97 pts – NM: *The 2016 Haut-Bailly was mightily impressive when tasted from barrel. Now, matured in 50% new oak and bottled at the end of April 2018 (they prefer to bottle before spring here), it has a very well defined bouquet of black fruit, graphite, crushed stone and light rose petal aromas that gain intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with quite grippy tannin. This Haut-Bailly feels pure and classic in style, offering well-judged acidity and a sophisticated, quite tensile finish that lingers long in the mouth. I suspect this might close down in a year or two and deserves perhaps 8 to 10 years in bottle to show what it can really do. The best Haut-Bailly in the modern era? For certain.* - 01/2019