Complex and expressive nose, offering red and dark fruit, spices and pepper with wood and mushroom undertones. Fresh mussel shell and a hint of ink, too. Full-bodied with a fine texture and great balance between the acidity and the controlled, tannic structure. Very long finish. Goes on and on. Tiny production, 21 hectoliters per hectare. Try after 2025.

I seriously considered putting one more point on the 2018 Château Haut-Bailly, and for all practical purposes, it's as good as it gets. Based on 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, it has a majestic, full-bodied, multi-dimensional profile as well as a blockbuster bouquet of currants, chocolate-covered cherries, iron, tapenade, and smoked tobacco. It has a sunny, exuberant, uber-sexy style, yet it's not over the top, and it has perfect ripeness (not overripe or underripe), beautiful tannins, and flawless overall balance. It's approachable today yet should hit maturity in another 4-5 years and have a broad 30-40 years of prime drinking window. Nov 2023

The nose is off the charts with its cornucopia of black and red fruits, smoke, wet earth, spice box and Cuban cigar profile. On the palate the wine offers almost unequaled depth of flavor, concentration, richness, silky tannins and wave after wave of perfectly ripe, fresh, pure black and red fruits. The seamless finish seems almost endless as it builds and expands. Haut Bailly is not a flashy wine. It often shows much better with cellaring. Give this at least 10 years before pulling a cork. The wine was made from 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc. 2018 was produced from some of the lowest yields in the history of the estate at 21 hectoliters per hectare, cutting the production in half. If this is your style of wine, you might want to grab a few bottles. Tasted March 2021

First vintage under Chris Wilmers, succeeding his father Bob. A brilliant Haut-Bailly, living up to its En Primeur promise, packed with ripe rippling black and red berry fruit and a wonderful velvety texture. Still extremely young, more closed than it was during En Primeur but packed with layers of brilliance, saline quality on the finish, with a tight slate grip slowing everything down. 5% Cabernet Franc completes the blend, co-fermented with Petit Verdot. A yield of 21hl/ha. Drinking Window: 2028 - 2045
Tasted by: Jane Anson (at Haut-Bailly, 03 Jul 2020)
Part of Top Pessac-Léognan & Graves 2018 wines: Re-tasted in bottle

The 2018 Haut-Bailly soars out of the glass, showing magnificent poise that only grows with time. Sweet, perfumed aromatics, silky tannins and mid-weight structure add to its considerable allure. Ripe red berry fruit, spice, blood orange, licorice, cedar, tobacco and menthol are all woven together in an effortless, classy Haut-Bailly that delivers the goods. I suppose the 2018 doesn't quite have the explosive energy of the very best years, but it more than makes up for that with its sensual, seductive personality. March 2021

The 2018 Haut-Bailly is blended of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc, and it has 14.4% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little coaxing to unlock a powerhouse of black fruit preserves, offering notes of blackberry pie, crème de cassis and black cherry compote, giving way to nuances of Chinese five spice, camphor, chocolate box and licorice with a touch of crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is jam-packed with plush textured, rich black fruits, supported by a lively backbone and finishing long and spicy. It is decadently tempting to drink now, but give it 5 years in bottle to begin to see its full glory, while it should continue to transform for a further 20 years or more in cellar. LPB March 2021

The 2018 Haut-Bailly replicated its showing in my in-bottle tastings. Wonderful violet and iris aromas burst from the glass with ample black fruit. The palate is beautifully balanced, silky smooth with a sumptuous, quite precocious finish. It just envelops the senses and leaves them gagging for more...but best wait a few years. Tasted at the Haut-Bailly vertical at the château. April 2022

Packed with steeped plum, blackberry and cassis flavors, this also sports licorice root, applewood and tar notes. Dense and shows a chewy edge, but it's seriously long, energetic and vibrant, so just cellar to let it unfurl. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2023 through 2038. JM March 2021

Dark, rich and hedonistic - exotic spiced fruit. Huge tannins which hold masses of dense, rich, ripe fruit. There is a freshness to the fruit quality and a ripeness to the tannin which gives a great sense of balance. The finish is fresh and long, and the tannins cling, continuing to release pretty fruit and mineral characters. - April 2019

Black core. Intense black fruit, less open than Haut-Bailly II, as you might expect, but just as intense in fruit. Deep, more chewy than velvety but the layers of tannin are very fine, there are just a lot of them. A more savoury quality on the palate than in the Haut-Bailly II. Packed with fruit but all coiled up on itself. Big but nothing sticks out. Clean, dry, dark-chocolate finish. Very ripe Cabernet cassis but with the freshness of the Merlot (they always pick the Cabernet late and the Merlot early). Juicy at the core. Big, harmonious and smooth. Embryonically elegant in its power and concentration. - Julia Harding, jancisrobinson.com, April 2019