Château Haut-Bailly – 1975 vs 1989
Pessac Leognan
1975
A classic old-school Bordeaux: structured, earthy, and once quite firm. With age, it’s softened into something more delicate and nuanced, dried fruits, tobacco, forest floor, and a touch of leather. it’s still alive, but clearly faded, offering more elegance than power now.
1989
A warm, generous vintage, and it shows. Richer, rounder, and more opulent, with ripe blackcurrant, plum, cedar, and spice. it’s still holding up, harmonious, expressive, and genuinely beautiful.
Château Haut-Bailly is one of the few Bordeaux estates that wasn’t classified in 1855, yet today it’s often considered on par with classified growths, its reputation has been built almost entirely on consistent quality rather than historical ranking.
by igapo12
2 Comments
FWIW the 1855 classification was limited to the Medoc (with Haut Brion tossed in given its massive historical prominence). So it isn’t that Haut-Bailly was left out, it’s just that the Graves estates weren’t really included in the first place.
One of my favorite producers.