Château Haut-Batailley 2021

A typical and aromatic 2021 Pauillac red wine

The estate

A Fifth Grand Cru Classe in the Official Classification of 1855, Château Haut-Batailley is a benchmark of quality in the Pauillac appellation. Its name is derived from the word “battle”, in memory of the battles that allegedly took place on the estate at the end of the Hundred Years’ War, in the 15th century.

Since 2017, Château Haut-Batailley has been run by the Cazes family, who continue the work initiated by the Borie family since 1930. Today, they continue to produce fine wines from this essential Médoc estate, on the Left Bank of Bordeaux. The wines showcase a great style and a high quality.

The vineyard

The terroir of Château Haut-Batailley covers some forty hectares, including 22 hectares of vineyards that are 35 years old on average, in the south of the Pauillac appellation, on the fringe of Saint-Julien. Supporting and maintaining the estate’s biodiversity is one of the important issues tackled by the Cazes family and is notably translated by the implementation of agro-forestry plantations. In 2022, 910 trees and shrubs of 14 different varieties were planted in the heart of the vineyard.

The vintage

A Rock and Roll vintage in the words of Jean-Charles Cazes, 2021, like the previous years, started out as an early vintage only to be delayed in its vegetative cycle. Following sunny years and favourable climatic conditions, the contrast is all the more striking... rain during flowering, cool temperatures... fortunately, favourable weather set in at the end of September and enabled the low yields to reach a perfect level of ripeness and concentration.

Harvesting began on September 27th with the Merlot grapes and continued until October 7th with the Cabernet Sauvignon variety.

Vinification and ageing

A drastic selection was made for this vintage in order to keep the best part of the grapes. Firstly the grapes are sorted in the vineyard, a second sorting before destemming and a third one after destemming, which guarantees an optimal quality level. After 3 weeks of vatting, punctuated by pumping over and racking, the wines underwent malolactic fermentation before being placed in barrels (70% of which are new) for a period of 16 months.

The blend

Château Haut-Batailley 2021 comprises a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) and Merlot (30%).

Château Haut-Batailley 2021: Characteristics and tasting tips

The tasting

When tasted, the beautiful aromatic freshness and the ripe tannic structure of this well-balanced 2021 vintage emerges. Its high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon gives it the typical elegant character of fine Pauillac wines: precision on the palate, floral aromas of violets, black fruit... the wine lingers pleasantly and with great finesse, leading to a salty, mouthwatering finish.