Château Haut-Bailly 2008

Because we tasted it at a challenging stage, we noted it cautiously en primeur and dismissed it with 17.5 points. Once bottled, it belongs, as expected, to the truly great wines of the year. Brilliant tannins, superior density and precision, absolute nobility: stunning.

A candidate for the “wine of the vintage,” the 2008 Haut-Bailly possesses incredible complexity. Tell-tale notes of lead pencil shavings, charcoal, damp earth, black cherries and black currants intermixed with a hint of subtle barbecue smoke are present in this classic, quintessential Graves. Medium-bodied with an emerging, precocious complexity, it is a super-pure, beautifully textured, long wine that can be drunk now or cellared for 20-25 years. Bravo!

Racy and slightly taut, with red currant and cherry pit notes laced with grilled herb and warm stone. There's a sinewy edge on the finish, with more minerality than fruit for now, but this adds some flesh as it airs, showing subtle persistence. Drink now through 2016. 6,000 cases made.

Beautifully balanced and concentrated, with Cabernet Sauvignon dominant in the fruit expression, offering controlled, elegant, savoury and utterly moreish blackberry and cassis. It remains extremely young, closed in on itself, not quite ready to reveal all its facets, but it has the grip that shows just how good this wine is, finishing with layers of plum, slate and liquorice. Particularly late harvest in 2008, from September 25 through October 23, one of the latest on record and the latest of the decade. It highlights how assured and confident the winemaking was at Haut-Bailly ten years on from Bob Wilmers’ arrival.

Wonderful nose of decadent fruit and chocolate, with hints of meat and flowers. Full-bodied, with well-integrated tannins and a spicy, silky, long finish. Tight now, but so fine and dense. Give it four to five years of bottle age. So lovely. Best after 2013.

Youthful cassis colour at the core. Light and spicy, a little leafy, finely scented. Fresh red fruit and the scent carries through on the palate to a long finish. Restrained elegance though well structured. (JH)

Deep ruby in color, the wine is already beginning to show tertiary characteristics. Spice, tar, tobacco, leather, cedar, red fruits, and wet forest notes shape the nose. There are ample layers of ripe fruit. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, fresh, and classic. The tannins are soft but present, calling for another 5 years in the cellar for the wine to flesh out and soften from here. The quality is there, but at the moment, the wine is a bit on the strict side.

Fully mature, yet still pure and layered, with plenty of vibrancy, the 2008 Château Haut-Bailly has quintessential Haut-Bailly sweet darker berries, smoked tobacco, minty herbs, and floral aromas and flavors. These carry over to the palate, where the wine is medium to full-bodied, has firmer, focusing tannins, solid mid-palate depth, and a great finish. This is a more austere, focused style from the estate that has a classic, age-worthy style. It should hold nicely going forward and, I suspect, have another 10-15 years of prime drinking, with a gradual decline thereafter.

Medium ruby-garnet. Delicate, almost gentle bouquet with blackberry blossom, fine cassis, and a discreet opening. Light, very elegant palate, silky tannins, well-supported oak with coconut accents, demanding astringency, powdery contours, medium finish. A wine full of finesse that should not be underestimated.

Medium ruby-garnet. Delicate, almost gentle bouquet with blackberry blossom notes, fine cassis, discreet on the attack. Light, very elegant palate, silky tannins, well-supporting oak showing a hint of coconut; on the tongue you first feel the demanding astringency, powdery contours, medium finish. Perhaps the wine gets a bit lost because of its finesse, as the class is there. We tasted it three times and then rounded up to 18/20. For a 2008 it has a really great color. Overall soft and elegant. Somehow ready already. I would use it as a business-lunch Haut-Bailly. (18/20). 16: Now at an early maturity. This will be one of the best 2008s! (18/20). 21: Medium wine-red, ruby rim. Floral bouquet, also slightly herbal at first, then it manages to generate fruit, tending more toward red berries, cherries and redcurrants, complemented by a medicinal glimmer. Pleasant palate with easygoing tannins. It comes with a pleasing aromatic profile and already knows how to charm. These are not wines you buy for the cellar, but order in a restaurant. Better a delicate steak than a tough wine. (17/20).

Floral, fresh, fragrant, sweet bouquet; cherries, licorice, tobacco, cedar, mint. Fresh, silky, perfumed palate with delicate, sweet fruit, slightly powdery tannins, fine structure, fragrant finish. 17/20 drink - 2032

Precision, clarity, tannins fully present and still towards the front of the mouth. Cassis and blackberry fruits dominate, with waves of bitter chocolate and cocoa bean; this is young and has plenty of time ahead to soften further. As so often with Haut-Bailly, its charms lie beneath the surface, in the layers of subtle flavours and aromatics that steal up on you and keep you engaged. Harvest September 25 to October 23, 60% new oak. Denis Dubourdieu consultant.

On the nose, aromas of black cherry and chocolate ganache, with beautifully fresh notes of hay and dried rose petals. Sparkling on the palate, juicy and silky, with black fruit and very fine-grained tannins, lifted by light hints of freshly ground coffee that lead you toward a delectable finish.

The Haut-Bailly vineyard fully benefited from its gravelly hillside terroir, little exposed to frost, thus protecting it from a particularly cold winter. Meticulous attention was given to the vines during flowering, which was subjected to excessive rainfall in May. As a result, a natural selection of berries reduced yields. The hallmark of this vintage stems from the exceptional and particularly dry conditions from September to October, which ensured excellent ripeness, characterized by high potential alcohol levels, comparable to those of 2005 and 2006. Acidity is fairly firm due to the rather moderate summer temperatures. The 2008 harvest will go down in the records as the longest and latest of the decade: ten picking days spread over five weeks. It began on September 25 for the youngest Merlots, while the Cabernet Sauvignons were picked from October 17 to 23. The bouquet shows a certain maturity along with mentholated nuances. Hints of graphite and hearth ash. The tannins are supportive and aligned with the acidic structure, which enhances the fruity, persistent expression on the finish. A fine, fresh wine.

Logo on the cork: A inside a circle (Amorim) Dark color, medium intensity, youthful. Moderately aromatic nose with fresh fruit. Soft on the attack, very fruity and perfumed as it develops; the wine evolves into a tasty, pleasant profile with medium body and length.

As always at this stage, Château Haut-Bailly is still a little austere, but what pedigree and what class! The palate is superbly classic and linear. Great length and a remarkable quality of tannins.

While at this young stage there may be toasty aromas, there is also intense, perfumed fruit. This complex, distinguished wine is polished, with plenty of bright fruits and acidity.