2016 Château Batailley, Pauillac in gift box
Critics reviews
The 2016 Batailley has an attractive, meaty bouquet with more red fruit than black, unlike many of its peers. With aeration it appears to gain more floral notes and lift. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, linear and focused, offering pencil lead, cedar and light spicy notes toward the conservative, controlled finish. A mocha-tinged aftertaste emanates from the oak. Good potential, but it needs time. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting.
Drink 2022 - 2050
Neil Martin, vinous.com (Aug 2020)
Shows beautiful, ripe cabernet aromas with currants, plums, meat and smoke. Flowers, too. Full body, deep and ripe fruit and exquisite, ripe tannins. Flavorful finish. Tight right now, but shows excellent potential. Best ever. Try after 2024.
James Suckling, jamessuckling.com (June 2021)
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Description
The 2016 vintage in Bordeaux is a watershed year, with characteristics of the great vintages of the 1990s and 2000s before the run of fine but hot vintages began in 2018. Its sunny warm days and cool nights bring to mind the truly great years of 2005 and 2010. The Batailley 2016 is just on the cusp before it moves into its richer, slightly savoury stage, which comes with some bottle age.
Always an earnest and broad-shouldered wine, right now the wine has a hints of mellow fruit alongside its classic cedarwood and cassis notes, and the palate is open-textured, flavoursome and rewarding, with smooth tannins and ample intensity and length. It's a delicious wine now, although further ageing will open and soften it further.
Mark Pardoe, Wine Director (November 2023)
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