Château Haut-Bailly 1986

Considering the strong, tannic personality of the vintage, Haut Bailly's 1986 is a soft wine that can be drunk at a very early age. The full-intensity bouquet of sweet, smoky oak and ripe, plummy fruit is very attractive. On the palate, this medium-bodied wine is long, rich in fruit, and supple, and finishes surprisingly smoothly. Anticipated maturity: Now-2005. Last tasted, 1/97.

Remarkably elegant and graceful with firm tannic structure and currant, cassis, cedar and earth flavors that are complex and intriguing. Built for the long run, but almost drinkable now.

The 1986 Haut-Bailly has an attractive and fully mature bouquet, but still healthy, well defined and quite generous with small red cherries, mulberry and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied, structured yet fresh with good grip in the mouth. There is tangible salinity, especially on the finish that you could argue cuts away short. This might be because there was no Merlot in the blend and was in fact, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. It's not bad at all, although it does not approach the best vintages from the château. Served blind at the property.

Tobacco, earth, smoke and root beer aromas open to a medium bodied, bright, cassis filled wine that is fully developed. 1986 remains the only vintage from the chateau produced exclusively from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

88: Arrival (16/20): Plum on the nose with a concentrated fruity bouquet. Healthy, powerful tannins. As early as 1992, this wine already offered wonderful drinking pleasure: full-bodied, dense, supple, with a wealth of charm. And with each new encounter, it clearly moved closer to the 17/20 mark. 96: Maturing colour. On the nose, reminiscent of a Ducru; pencil lead, cedar. On the palate, light-bodied, with gently metallic contours, very expansive, good length (17/20). 02: Veronique Sanders lugged an Impériale bottle to a Bordeaux evening of the Académie du Vin at Sources de Caudalie: beautifully mature, refined, yet still showing the slightly sinewy, typical contours of the 1986 vintage. It gave everyone great pleasure. (17/20). 08: A Magnum at Haut-Bailly. A fine, comforting classic with dried berries, a touch of cinnamon and lots of tobacco. (17/20). 21: The relatively pale colour is surprising, showing a brick-red shimmer and a noticeably lighter rim. It smells of classic, earthy Bordeaux—plenty of leather, even horse saddle, camphor and freshly cut peat. The fruit is gone and has been replaced by medium-intensity terroir notes. What I like are the nuances of dried fruit, especially Malaga raisins. I feared it would show an astringent palate, but that was not the case. The tannins are beautifully wrapped in malty tones, giving an artisanal melt. The finish tastes of herbal liqueur and ratafia. Anyone who likes old Bordeaux will enjoy it. I certainly do. Despite its maturity, I would decant it for a good hour. This bottle: 18/20.

A deep, dark bouquet that is dense, spicy, powerful and intense, with notes of plum, tobacco and currants. An balanced, full-bodied and powerful palate with fine tannins, spicy aromatics, a dense structure and a long, aromatic finish. 18/20 drink.

Deep dark red color. Bordeaux. Ruby. Bright. Intense and beautiful. Clean nose. Medium intensity. Fine and complex. A subtle floral note, then fruity with a hint of graphite. Lots of fresh fruit. Elegant. Notes of blackcurrant and plum. With swirling, it becomes cleaner, more intense and more powerful. Still very fruity. It opens up to an inky, cedar-driven register. Very good. Supple, very fruity attack, developing with a fine mouthfeel and fresh flavor into concentrated, fine, savory and subtle tannins without excessive power. Very sappy finish with great length. Tight, refined texture. Straight, linear palate profile. A wine of pure Cabernet Sauvignon. Needs time.