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David Allen MW is visiting Bordeaux for Wine-Searcher to report on the en-primeur campaign for the 2025 vintage. Here he is at Chateau Batailley, a Pauillac Fifth Growth estate owned and run by the Casteja family of the Borie-Manoux negociant firm. When tracking down your wines for the best price, Wine-Searcher is an invaluable tool.
The 2025 is composed of 78 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot (19) and a little Petit Verdot (3).
The estate is one of the oldest in the appellation; its current name is first documented in the late 1700s. Vines were first planted in the area not long after the 1452 battle in the Hundred Years War from which its name is derived. In 1942 due to inheritance issues part of the estate became Haut-Batailley.
It has long had a reputation for good value in the context of other Pauillac wines. In recent years the wines have shown increasing finesse and complexity.
The property hits on a plateau to the west of Mouton-Rothschild. There are around 60 hectares (147 acres) of vines planted on deep gravel over clay and limestone. Roughly 70 percent is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and 25 to Merlot, with small amounts of Petit Verdot, Carmenere and Malbec.
Around 22,000 cases of the Grand Vin are produced each year. It is aged for 16 to 18 months in French oak barrels, around 60 percent of which are new.
The second wine, introduced in 2016, is Lion de Batailley; the third is Pauillac de Batailley. The lots for each are determined by tasting of the young wines in tank which are designated by vineyard plot.