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Chateau Batailley

Batailley is the larger sibling of neighbouring Haut-Batailley, the two estates having split in 1942. Thus much of this estate's history is as for Haut-Batailley, from its possible Medieval origins through to the early 20th century, before the division, when it was under the control of two brothers by the name of François and Marcel Borie. Thus, much of this profile mirrors exactly that written in my profile of Haut-Batailley.

The name of the original Batailley estate suggests a military origin, a battle perhaps, and indeed this may be so. The vineyards of modern Bordeaux were, in many cases, the scenes of Anglo-French conflicts of varying degrees of ferocity during the course of the wars which are known, collectively, as the Hundred Years' War. The location of Batailley, a few miles to the west of Latour, itself the location of one such siege, was reputedly the site of just such a skirmish near the end of the war. An alternative explanation concerns a local vigneron named Batailley, who was credited with planting the vineyards here, although the case for this is less robust. It is also a less bloodthirsty tale, and thus obviously of less interest; I prefer the suggestion of battle myself. Whatever the explanation, by the end of the 18th century there is a vineyard here named Batailley, one which was to give rise to the Batailley and Haut-Batailley that exist today.

At this time the vineyard was in the ownership of the Saint-Martin family, three siblings of whom two were of the cloth, one a nun and one a priest. Two of the three, the two sisters Marianne and Marthe, sold their portion of the estate to Jean Guillaume Pécholier in 1791. The estate was now in two parts, although this is not the origin of the split that gave birth to Haut-Batailley. From Pécholier it passed to his son, Amiral de Bédout, and following his death in 1816 the estate was sold by auction; it was purchased, not quite in its entirety, by Daniel Guestier of Barton & Guestier. He acquired most of the estate immediately, purchasing further shares and land, including plots adjacent to Lynch-Bages and Grand-Puy-Lacoste, later on. He was responsible for considerable investment in the property, renovating the chateau and improving the winemaking facilities. When he died in 1847 Batailley had garnered a good, although certainly not exalted, reputation, and the scene was set for the estate creeping in as a cinquième cru in the 1855 Classification of the Médoc.

The estate was inherited by Guestier's three children, divided rather unevenly with two daughters taking a quarter each and the son, Pierre-François, taking half. This state of affairs continued onto the next generation, each of the offspring of the two daughters taking on their quarter share respectively, but by 1866 the family decided to sell the estate, all involved relinquishing their respective shares, and it was acquired by a Parisian banker named Constant Halphen. By this time the estate had expanded considerably, from the 39 hectares exploited by Guestier to a very respectable 55 hectares, and its reputation was largely maintained under Halphen, when the vineyards were tended by the brothers François and Marcel Borie. Upon Halphen's death in 1932, the Borie brothers purchased the estate and continued to make the wine for another decade, before in 1942 it was divided into the two properties we know today as Batailley and Haut-Batailley. This was not the result of some convoluted family struggle, rather it was to stave off future difficulties with the inheritance of the estate. François, who that year had purchased Ducru-Beaucaillou, kept the smaller part of the vineyard which, when augmented by some vines purchased from Duhart-Milon in 1951, became Haut-Batailley. The larger part, which came to Marcel, and which included the chateau, naturally kept the vineyard's original name of Batailley. It is at this point, then, that the two properties go their own ways. At Batailley, Marcel continued to run the estate until he died in 1961, bequeathing the estate to his daughter Denise, and her husband Emile Castéja. The estate augmented the Castéja family's vineyard holdings quite nicely, a portfolio which now includes Beau-Site in St-Estèphe, Trottevieille in St-Emilion and nearby Lynch-Moussas in Pauillac. Today it is Philippe Castéja, Emile's son, who runs the show.

The vineyards of Batailley today comprise about 60 hectares, largely to the west of the D206 which runs southwest out of Pauillac, with a typical terroir of gravel, over sandstone and clay, with vines planted at a density of 8000 vines/ha, averaging over 30 years of age. The vineyards are very much dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, as one might expect, this variety accounting for 70% of the plantings, the remainder being 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The harvest is manual, then the fruit is destemmed, before temperature-controlled fermentation in the usual stainless steel. The malolactic occurs part in steel vat, part in oak, but all the wine is aged in oak for up to sixteen months, with the oak being 60% new each vintage. Once finished the wine is fined using egg white, and then bottled without fining or filtration. The grand vin, and indeed the only wine as there is no second label here, is Chateau Batailley (typically 22000 cases per annum).

But what of the wines? I have tasted a few vintages, too few to pass judgement on the worth of the estate as a whole, but certainly I may comment on those wines I have assessed. Batailley has a reputation as a drinker's claret, a no-fuss bottle, the purchase of which will not break the bank. Cousin (or should that be sibling) Haut-Batailley has much the same reputation, yet perhaps, in my experience at least, certainly offers better value for the money spent. The wines of Batailley can be enjoyable, but tend to be a rather solid, full, tweed-jacket of a wine; it will not impress with its huge depth and complexity, or with its seductive spice, or with its silky, elegant texture, as some other wines of the commune may do from time to time. The 1995 which I tasted recently was a very good example of this, a nice wine typical of Pauillac, but really not quite as expressive of the appellation as we might hope for. No doubt it will show better with time, but some of the magic quality that marks wine out as Pauillac will stay forever locked away here. The 1985 vintage also showed a solid, fudgy style when I tasted it back in 2002. More recent vintages have been difficult to assess, although they may hold much promise. The 2003 is an interesting example of how much a wine can evolve over a year or two; initially brawny, muted, sullen perhaps, when tasted in early 2007 it was much more open and welcoming and I was forced to revise my score upwards by a not inconsiderable amount. The 2001 was too closed to assess with any sense of completeness, but all the components of structure necessary for the cellar are there. This is a wine where it might be wise to take advice, or to taste, before purchasing. (22/3/07)

Contact details:
Address: Chateau Batailley, 33250 Pauillac
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 56 00 00 70
Fax: +33 (0) 5 57 87 60 30

Chateau Batailley - Tasting Notes

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Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 2009: Cabernet Sauvignon 74%, Merlot 22%, Cabernet Franc 2%, Petit Verdot 2%. Picked at 41 hl/ha. A glossy appearance, rich but bright fruit character on the nose, with a cherry and damson fruit profile. Nicely composed on the palate, very integrated and held together well. Rather a juicy style of fruit here, with soft acidity and rather firm alcohol. The fruit tends to fade away in the mouth. A little straightforward, but it should develop more interest with time. From my 2009 Bordeaux primeur assessment. 14.5-15.5+/20 (March 2010)

Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 2008: Dark, a little perfumed, and with charcoaly notes. An attractive palate, fresh and appealing, with fresh acids and firm ripe tannins. The fruit has nice aromatics, with a slightly chewy character. This isn't as well defined as some, nor does it have the most vigour. Still good though. From my 2008 Bordeaux primeur assessment. 16-17+/20 (April 2009)

Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 2007: The nose here offers up elements of dark fruit and a seemingly light application of oak. There is gentle substance on the palate, all in a very unknit style though. There is some mildly attractive fruit, although with very round edges, and a soft, ill defined finish. All told, not particularly distinguished. From a tasting of 2007 Bordeaux at two years of age. 13.5+/20 (October 2009)

Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 2007: Very sweet, overt, cola-tinged fruit on the nose which doesn't hold a lot of appeal for me. Nevertheless, the palate starts off quite supple, fresh and clean. But there is a firm and broad tannic base very evident through the midpalate and a firm acidic core. There is quite some extraction here. From my 2007 Bordeaux en primeur assessment. 14.5-15.5+/20 (April 2008)

Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 2005: This has a very open, accessible nose with some nice summer fruit character. The palate is immediately seen to have a very soft style, with a lot of texture and a wealth of ripe, chewy, mouth-coating tannins. It has a very flashy, slightly meaty toffee-tinged flavour and along with this there is rather low acidity. Unsurprisingly it all rounds off in a big, grippy finish. A touch overdone for me. Nice wine, but this will never be great. From my tasting of 2005 Bordeaux at two years of age. 16+/20 (October 2007)

Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 2003: This is showing quite a nutty nose, with a wealth of deep fruit, although sill with the confit character typical of the vintage, whereas at the UGC tasting in 2005 it was really very subdued on the nose. This is markedly different (and better) today. Quite fresh on entry, deeply fruited, with rich extract and a nice tannic structure. Good grip. This once muted, brawny wine now shows a much more appealing, firm but not over-the-top style. A much more solid performance here. 16.5+/20 (February 2007)

Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 2003: Subtle, rather muted on the nose. Not brimming with texture or character on the palate, and showing very firm, prominent tannins too. Decent weight, and rather firm acidity, but really all structure and little else at present. Brawny style. Merely quite good. From my 2003 Bordeaux assessment. 14.5/20 (October 2005)

Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 2001: An attractively deep colour. Not very expressive on the nose though. This is closed down, which always makes the wine difficult to judge. On the palate, there is good texture, good weight, clearly a nicely composed wine, with grip and freshness. But at the moment it is so closed it is not possible to give any firm comment on overall quality. Nevertheless, it certainly has promise. 15-16?/20 (February 2007)

Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 1995: Lovely glossy colour, which still has a very youthful hue. A open and attractive nose, with mineral, iron-edged bloody fruit. Undeniably left bank claret. Full bodied and slightly austere on entry, with a firmly structured presence showing plenty of peppery tannin through the midpalate and finish. Slightly soft acidity but no lack of grip, and drinks well with food because of that. A little style typical of Pauillac, with firm iron-cased fruit, green olives and a little pencil lead. Spicy, black peppercorn finish. Very good, but needs four hours and more in the decanter. Has continuing potential. From a 1995 vintage ten years on tasting. 16.5+/20 (December 2005)

Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 1985: This has a red-tawny ochre colour. Another gorgeous nose, with a touch of power. Classic style, with gravelly notes. A full, firm rounded texture on the palate. Nicely structured, big and sweet fruit, with a peppery edge. Pauillac style, with some fudge and tobacco notes. From a Bordeaux 1985 tasting. 17/20 (September 2002)

Chateau Batailley (Pauillac) 1961: A fairly well coloured wine. The nose is unfortunately peppered with unpleasant seaweed and iodine aromas, with a rotten, musty element to it. A very tertiary stage of development I think! On the palate it has a nice texture but rather lacks flavour, and is in fact quite dead. No doubt other bottles may well have fared batter over the years, and this may not be typical.  From a 1961 Bordeaux tasting. Not scored. (June 2007)