2020 Château Batailley, Pauillac, Bordeaux

  • Red
  • Dry
  • Full Bodied
  • Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (26%), Petit Verdot (2%), Cabernet Franc (2%)
Not ready (Drink 2026 - 2047)
James Lawther MW
17/20
William Kelley
92+/100
Jeb Dunnuck
92/100
Neal Martin
93/100
Jane Anson MW
94/100
James Suckling
95/100
Georgie Hindle
96/100
Product: 20208003227

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2020 Château Batailley, Pauillac, Bordeaux

Description

Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Merlot 25%, Cabernet Franc 2%, Petit Verdot 2%.

This is a high-octane Ch. Batailley, which will delight the many fans of its style and value. Its aromas are warm and ripe, with just a suggestion of the dryness of the summer in evidence from some firm tannins. The palate opens out into fulsome and lush textures, and the fruit is weighty and heady. The slight solidity of style is entirely consistent with Batailley’s renowned longevity. The wine finishes with very ripe cassis fruit, and a winning, lingering sensation of pure pleasure.

Drink 2026 - 2045

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Colour Red
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2020
Maturity Not ready (2026 - 2047)
Grape List Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (26%), Petit Verdot (2%), Cabernet Franc (2%)
Body Full Bodied
Producer Château Batailley

Critics reviews

James Lawther MW 17/20

Dark fruit with cassis notes and a graphite edge. Fine attack, juicy and refreshing but backed by a firmness of structure behind. Solid, subdued and distinctly Pauillac. Still relative value.

Drink 2028 - 2040

James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)
William Kelley 92+/100

A strong effort for this Pauillac fifth growth, the 2020 Batailley offers up aromas of sweet blackcurrant fruit mingled with notes of cloves, baking spices, vanilla pod and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, with good depth and concentration, its pure core of fruit is framed by powdery, youthfully assertive tannins.

Drink 2027 - 2050

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (Apr 2023)
Jeb Dunnuck 92/100

Darker currants, black cherries, leather, ripe tobacco, and cedar pencil notes all emerge from the 2020 Château Batailley, a classic, balanced, nicely concentrated Pauillac with lots to love. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has plenty of mid-palate depth, ripe tannins, and just a charming, satisfying character that will evolve nicely for two decades if well stored. It's certainly in the same league as the 2015, 2016, and 2019.

Drink 2025 - 2043

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (Mar 2023)
Neal Martin 93/100

The 2020 Batailley has a well-defined bouquet with quite precocious blackberry and raspberry fruit, graphite, just a hint of aniseed, very nicely focused and poised. The palate is medium-bodied with tensile black fruit and armed with commendable salinity and a very detailed finish that lingers in the mouth. Want a classically-styled Pauillac at a good value? Look no further.

Drink 2028 - 2055

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (Feb 2023)
Jane Anson MW 94/100

42hl/ha, owned by the Casteja family.

Always a Pauillac that I love to recommend, as it is packed with appellation signature, and it suits the slightly serious character of 2020. Entirely delivers on En Primeur promise, with charcoal, cigar box, slate, crayon and fragrant mint leaf set against waves of black cherry and cassis fruit.

Drink 2028 - 2046

Jane Anson MW, JaneAnson.com (Dec 2023)
James Suckling 95/100

70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc.

Aromas of black and red currants as well as orange. Ink pot. Cassis bush. Bramble berry. Graphite. Full-bodied yet tight and back-loaded with intense tannins, but they turn soft and polished. Very classic structure. Reminds me of a top Batailley from the 1980s, like 1985, but much more precise and clear.

Try after 2030

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (May 2023)
Georgie Hindle 96/100

18 months ageing in oak barrels, 60% new.

Really quite fragrant, with lots of purple flowers and purple fruits, ripe blackcurrants, and pencil shavings - deep and brooding. Supple and succulent, immediately just so balanced and comfortable in the mouth, calm and quietly confident, less showing off, not so overt or upfront, but more mouth-filling and expansive. Tannins give a stronghold in the mouth but are fine and velvety in texture, cushioning the cool fruit - blueberries and black cherries with mint and liquorice edges but not spiced. There’s an air of style but also of ease, you could drink this now, it's so approachable and likeable in the glass. Mouthwatering acidity, long and giving. Lovely structure and frame, great definition and persistence from the beginning. Opulent and structured, this needs some time, but I like the texture and tension, excellent potential.

Drink 2027 - 2048

Georgie Hindle, Decanter.com (Jan 2023)

About this wine

Cabernet Sauvignon

The most famous red wine grape in the world and one of the most widely planted.
Find out more
Pauillac

Pauillac

The aristocrat of the Médoc boasts 75 percent of the region’s First Growths, with Grand Cru Classés representing 84 percent of production. Pauillac's First Growths each have their own unique characteristics: Ch. Lafite Rothschild produces the region’s most aromatically-complex and subtly-flavoured wine, while – with its high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon – Ch. Mouton Rothschild can produce a decadently rich, fleshy and exotic wine.
Find out more

Château Batailley

Château Batailley is one of the oldest estates in Bordeaux, dating from the 15th century. A 5ème Cru Classé, it is known for producing wines of consistently high quality and excellent value in a classic Pauillac style.
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