Château Haut-Batailley: Tasting & Drinking
I have long held a sneaking admiration for the wines of Château Haut-Batailley. This estate has an established reputation as one of the more affordable cru classé wines, and provided the wines were allowed to develop into maturity they provided very satisfactory drinking, and they were also excellent value for money. They certainly wiped the floor with the wines of its sibling, Château Batailley.
Nowadays, neither of these descriptions ring totally true. The wines remain at the more affordable end of the spectrum, certainly, although they are more expensive than they were. Whereas they were once a ‘no-brainer’ purchase, such a move requires more careful consideration now. And these price rises come in the face of maintained but not hugely improved quality. Whereas I seem to enjoy the wines of Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste more and more with every passing vintage – especially the stunning, pure and precise 2010 – the wines of Château Haut-Batailley seems to have tread water a little. I often wondered whether the estate did not received the same attention as François-Xavier Borie’s other, more famous charge.
Please log in to continue reading: