Bordeaux 2015 Primeurs: Château Haut-Bailly
During last year’s primeurs, my Pessac-Léognan morning ran a good forty minutes behind schedule, having started my morning in a snarl-up on a rain-soaked Rocade. Happily this year everything went to plan, and so I was very pleased when I pulled into the car park (which looks like a car park, not a beach) at Château Haut-Bailly two minutes before my allotted appointment. I was also delighted to be able to taste the wines of the 2015 vintage here not just with manager Véronique Sanders, but also the owner, American businessman and banker Robert Wilmers.
The growing season started a little late at Château Haut-Bailly, as it did elsewhere, with budbreak not coming until April 15th, although when it did finally arrive it was swift and uniform. Then the weather remained fine through to July, causing some hydric stress in the vineyard. Rain in late-July and August kickstarted the véraison, which like budbreak was rapid and even.
“Of course we had the rain in August, like everyone else”, Véronique Sanders told me as we took our seats in one of the rooms of the château. This was something of a treat for me, as when I visit at other times of the year we often taste above the cellars. She continued, “but it saved the vintage. The vineyards really needed that rain. And then in September and October we had only half the normal amount of rain, so it wasn’t a persistent problem. It was not like the northern Médoc, with more rain the further north you go. When it eventually came to harvest time, the vineyards here were still very green and healthy, and we were picking fruit in lovely condition. The leaves on our vines only went yellow-gold in November”.
