Haut Bailly 2000

I have had this wine a few times this year. It's brillant, open and ready to share over Christmas. As ever with Haut-Bailly - particularly during these years - don't expect it to be the biggest wine in the room, but it is concentrated and nuanced, still with a long life ahead of it. With a few hours in a carafe, you see the full extent of the finessed tannins and beautifully savoury cassis and blueberry fruits, laced with tar, tobacco and grilled cedar spice. Harvest from September 13 to October 11. Bob Wilmers had bought the estate in 1998, and this was the first vintage with Véronique Sanders as president (her grandfather owned the property before the Wilmers family), Denis Dubourdieu consultant.

A classic effort, the 2000 Haut-Bailly exhibits notes of lead pencil shavings, raspberries, black currants, and loamy soil. Subtle hints of earth and smoke are also present in this medium-bodied, stylish, well-balanced, pure wine that emphasizes restraint and graciousness over power and blockbuster intensity. It has entered its plateau of maturity, where it should remain for another fifteen years.

Drinking window: 2021 - 2035The 2000 Haut-Bailly has a well defined bouquet with red berry fruit, earthy tones, touches of melted tar and leather. This seems fully mature but still offers plenty of vigour. The palate has surprising acidity and quite sharp on the entry. Fresh but unapologetically, it is a little rustic with a ferrous, slightly dry finish. This is a fine, mature Haut-Bailly that just seems a touch more developed than I anticipated. Tasted at the Haut-Bailly vertical at the château.

It has been a little while since I last tasted the 2000 Haut Bailly. Now at 17 years of age it does not quite deliver the authority and the pedigree of the 2005 or 2010, moving into secondary notes with cedar wood, smoke and a touch of undergrowth, though it has lost a little cohesion. The palate is medium-bodied with a very well balanced opening. Hints of clove and black pepper infuse the black fruit, and it exerts a gentle grip in the mouth with quite a persistent finish. You can broach this now although it should continue to drink well for another 15-20 years. Tasted March 2017. Drink Date 2017-2035