Batailley 2010

16.5 Drink 2020-2030Tasted 17 Feb: Very dark purple. Very dark purple elderberry notes. Sweet and round and a bit of spice. Lots of fine tannin. Tasted blind 8 Apr: Bright, deep purplish crimson. Ripe fruit with a slight smoky note. Very sweet and fluid. Not the most concentrated but a good example that you really can't go too wrong with Pauillac 2010. Just a tiny bit of green on the finish. But super clean and fresh. (Score: 16.5 18-28)

The nose has some rich black fruit and the sweetness of the fruit gives power on the palate. Under the richness there are fresher flavours balancing with structured tannins showing on the back palate.

Deep, slightly smoky cassis fruit and a touch of violets, full rather meaty flavours, both roundness and depth from this very reliable château. Drink 2018-28.

The 2010 Batailley repeated its magnificent showing when poured at the château. It has a detailed bouquet of blackberry and cedar, quite backward and seemingly having advanced little since I tasted it in April 2016. The palate remains full of tension and brimming with energy, delivering classic cedar and tobacco notes toward the persistent finish. Batailley can produce wines that live many decades, and this is clearly one of them. Tasted at the property. Drink 2020-2050.

Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. A strong performance from Batailley under blind conditions, easily surpassing its showing at the UGC in London last year. The 2010 has a very elegant bouquet with blackberry, cedar and leather, well defined and very nicely focused, though not the most vigorous amongst its peers. The palate is very well balanced with filigree tannins, perfectly judged acidity and a very appealing "classic" style of Pauillac very the top drawer. What a superb Pauillac - a benchmark Batailley. Tasted January 2014.

Tasted at the Batailley vertical tasting the château, the 2010 Batailley may well have been the best wine in a tasting that encompassed three centuries of winemaking at the estate. The nose offers outstanding delineation and mineralité. It positively fizzes in the glass with all that coiled-up energy, ladling out vivid blackberry and cedar aromas. The palate is medium-bodied, but it is the detail and precision that achieves a level that makes the 2010 a benchmark for the Pauillac estate. It sashays towards a tensile, tar and graphite-tinged finish that lingers in the mouth. This is destined for long-term aging insofar that its quality will not be widely appreciated for many years. Tasted April 2016. Drink 2025 - 2060

Elegant crushed rock, red and black currant, spice box and earth notes result in a classic Pauillac to smell and taste. Dark ruby/purple-colored, slightly austere because of the robust tannins, beautifully pure and built for the long haul, patience of 5-7 years will be required and this 2010 should keep for 25+ years.

Tasted at the Union de Grand Cru in London. The Batailley 2010 has a vibrant lifted bouquet with blackberry, hints of black olive, cedar and a pinch of bay leaf. It is very precise and shows good attack. The palate is quite fleshy and succulent on the entry, perhaps belying the firm backbone underneath. It fans out beautifully towards the spicy finish, making this a superb Batailley that challenges the supremacy of the 2009. Excellent. Tasted November 2012.

A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon (compared to 74% in 2009), 19% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc cropped at 36hl/ha. Philippe Casteja said that they picked quite late, the last Cabernet coming in on the 19th October (about three days later than in 2009.) The alcohol level comes in at 13.5 degrees. The Batailley '10 has quite a creamy, sensual bouquet with macerated black fruits, a touch of crushed raspberry and a hint of vanilla pod. The definition is very fine. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, tensile tannins, a very good sense of symmetry that was discovered with the 2009, with the vintages telltale signs of graphite on the long finish. Very impressive. Quintessential Pauillac. Tasted April 2011.

This really takes off on the finish. So long with a beautiful pure Cabernet Sauvignon character that has masses of currants and berries. Raspberries too and then turns to mineral. 78 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 19 percent Merlot, 2 percent Petit Verdot, and 1 percent Cabernet Franc