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Chateau Haut-Bailly Pessac Leognan 2012 750ml

size
750ml
country
France
region
Bordeaux
appellation
Graves
subappellation
Pessac Leognan
VM
96
JD
96
DC
94
WA
94
WE
94
JS
94
WS
93
VM
96
Rated 96 by Vinous Media
The 2012 Haut Bailly is quite fragrant and inviting. Dark raspberries, mint, crushed flowers, spices and rose petals all lift from the glass in this feminine, gracious Haut-Bailly that offers considerable near and medium-term appeal. All the elements fall into place in an effortless, stunningly beautiful wine endowed with personality and class. One of the wines of the vintage, the Haut Bailly will drink well for two decades-plus. This is a superb showing from proprietor Bob Wilmers and his team headed by Véronique Sanders. The decision to lower temperatures in fermentation and go for a soft, gentle extraction, along with strict selection has paid off big time. ... More details
Image of bottle
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Chateau Haut-Bailly Pessac Leognan 2012 750ml

SKU 916536
Case Only Purchase
Long-term Pre-Arrival
$525.06
/case
$87.51
/750ml bottle
Quantity
min order 6 bottles
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Professional Ratings
VM
96
JD
96
DC
94
WA
94
WE
94
JS
94
WS
93
VM
96
Rated 96 by Vinous Media
The 2012 Haut Bailly is quite fragrant and inviting. Dark raspberries, mint, crushed flowers, spices and rose petals all lift from the glass in this feminine, gracious Haut-Bailly that offers considerable near and medium-term appeal. All the elements fall into place in an effortless, stunningly beautiful wine endowed with personality and class. One of the wines of the vintage, the Haut Bailly will drink well for two decades-plus. This is a superb showing from proprietor Bob Wilmers and his team headed by Véronique Sanders. The decision to lower temperatures in fermentation and go for a soft, gentle extraction, along with strict selection has paid off big time.
JD
96
Rated 96 by Jeb Dunnuck
The 2012 Haut Bailly is brilliant and does nothing to damper my belief that this vintage is underrated in the market. Offering up a classic bouquet of tobacco leaf, cigar wrapper, blackcurrants, lead pencil, and graphite, this beauty is full-bodied, has terrific concentration, integrated acidity and plenty of fine tannins. While it starts out up front and seemingly ready to go, it tightens up with time in the glass and is going to benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and drink nicely for two decades. It’s a sensational wine you won’t regret having in your cellar.
DC
94
Rated 94 by Decanter
Even in a more modest vintage such as 2002, Haut-Bailly excels thanks to the production team's detailed knowledge of this all-red vineyard. The vintage was a good one but perhaps less structured than 2014 or 2015. The blackcurrant-scented nose is ripe and seductively charming. It's full-bodied and suave, with a chocolate tone as well as an intense black-fruits character. It's very concentrated and dense, with depth and weight, but no rusticity or excessive extraction. Unlike many 202, it should age very well. Very long. Drinking Window 2019 - 2032.
WA
94
Rated 94 by Wine Advocate
The 2012 Haut Bailly is a brilliant wine for the vintage. It has a very intense bouquet with scents of blackberry, bilberry, cedar and a touch of pencil lead. This is very well defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with quite firm tannin, certainly one of the most structured Pessac-Léognan wines that I have encountered, yet it is struck through with wonderful balance and focus. It tightens up a little on the finish, a 2012 built for long-term drinking pleasure, and as such, I would afford it five or six more years in bottle if wishing to experience this in full flight. Tasted March 2017.
WE
94
Rated 94 by Wine Enthusiast
Very firm and closed up, this wine is a tough proposition at the moment. It has the weight to develop well along with richness. Acidity, sweet fruits and concentrated tannins will all come through strongly as the wine matures. Drink from 2020. (Cellar Selection)
JS
94
Rated 94 by James Suckling
This red shows intense blackberries, raspberries and strawberries on the nose, following through to a full body with refined yet firm tannins, fresh acidity and a delicate finish. The purity of fruit and finesse and texture of the tannins are all fantastic. Drink in 2019.
WS
93
Rated 93 by Wine Spectator
Well-stuffed, with thick and muscular brambly structure that easily supports the core of macerated black currant, fig and boysenberry fruit flavors. A tarry edge coats the finish. More backwards than most of its peers at this early stage, but all the elements are in place. Best from 2018 through 2027. 6,665 cases made.
Product Details
size
750ml
country
France
region
Bordeaux
appellation
Graves
subappellation
Pessac Leognan
Overview
The 2012 Haut Bailly is brilliant and does nothing to damper my belief that this vintage is underrated in the market. Offering up a classic bouquet of tobacco leaf, cigar wrapper, blackcurrants, lead pencil, and graphite, this beauty is full-bodied, has terrific concentration, integrated acidity and plenty of fine tannins. While it starts out up front and seemingly ready to go, it tightens up with time in the glass and is going to benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and drink nicely for two decades. It’s a sensational wine you won’t regret having in your cellar.
barrel

Vintage: 2012

2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in. The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
green grapes

Varietal: Red Bordeaux

The Bordeaux method of blending quality grape varietals is something which has long been imitated and envied around the world. Whilst there are six Bordeaux grape varietals allowed for the production of red wine in this region of France – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Carménere – the most common and widely used combination involves a careful blend of the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, usually with a small percentage of Petit Verdot to boost the overall flavor and balance things out. This process accentuates the finer points of all these varietals, and takes the astringency of one type whilst rounding it out and mellowing it with the light tannins and fleshiness of another. The results are rarely short of spectacular, and are perfect for oak aging, where the flavorful magic of Bordeaux wine making can really take place, and the complex aromas and characteristics can truly come forward.
barrel

Region: Bordeaux

The Bordeaux region of France is possibly the most famous and widely respected wine region in the world. Known primarily for its exceptional blended red wines, made most commonly with Cabernet Sauvigon, Merlot and Petit Verdot grape varietals, it also produces superb dry white wines (both blended and single variety), alongside the highly esteemed sweet wines of Sauternes. All of these wine types use a careful mix of traditional wine-making methods alongside modern techniques, as well as more experimental and unorthodox practices such as turning their grapes over to the noble rot which intensifies the flavors in the sweet wines. Bordeaux benefits greatly from its position amongst wide river basins, and the cooling Atlantic breezes which blow across the rolling vineyards which cover this region.
fields

Country: France

France is renowned across the globe for its quality wines and the careful expertise which goes into making them, but what is truly remarkable about this relatively small country is the vast range of wines it produces in such huge amounts each year. Not only are the finest red wines in the world said to come from the beautiful regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy, but elsewhere in the country we find the Champagne region, and areas such as the Rhone Valley and the Loire, whose white wines consistently receive awards and accolades by the plenty. This range is a result of the great variety of climatic conditions and terrain found in France, coupled with generations of wine makers working within single appellations. Their knowledge of specific terroirs and grape varieties has, over time, perfected the production of wines within their region, and the end results continue to impress the world to this day.
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More Details
barrel

Vintage: 2012

2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in. The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
green grapes

Varietal: Red Bordeaux

The Bordeaux method of blending quality grape varietals is something which has long been imitated and envied around the world. Whilst there are six Bordeaux grape varietals allowed for the production of red wine in this region of France – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Carménere – the most common and widely used combination involves a careful blend of the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, usually with a small percentage of Petit Verdot to boost the overall flavor and balance things out. This process accentuates the finer points of all these varietals, and takes the astringency of one type whilst rounding it out and mellowing it with the light tannins and fleshiness of another. The results are rarely short of spectacular, and are perfect for oak aging, where the flavorful magic of Bordeaux wine making can really take place, and the complex aromas and characteristics can truly come forward.
barrel

Region: Bordeaux

The Bordeaux region of France is possibly the most famous and widely respected wine region in the world. Known primarily for its exceptional blended red wines, made most commonly with Cabernet Sauvigon, Merlot and Petit Verdot grape varietals, it also produces superb dry white wines (both blended and single variety), alongside the highly esteemed sweet wines of Sauternes. All of these wine types use a careful mix of traditional wine-making methods alongside modern techniques, as well as more experimental and unorthodox practices such as turning their grapes over to the noble rot which intensifies the flavors in the sweet wines. Bordeaux benefits greatly from its position amongst wide river basins, and the cooling Atlantic breezes which blow across the rolling vineyards which cover this region.
fields

Country: France

France is renowned across the globe for its quality wines and the careful expertise which goes into making them, but what is truly remarkable about this relatively small country is the vast range of wines it produces in such huge amounts each year. Not only are the finest red wines in the world said to come from the beautiful regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy, but elsewhere in the country we find the Champagne region, and areas such as the Rhone Valley and the Loire, whose white wines consistently receive awards and accolades by the plenty. This range is a result of the great variety of climatic conditions and terrain found in France, coupled with generations of wine makers working within single appellations. Their knowledge of specific terroirs and grape varieties has, over time, perfected the production of wines within their region, and the end results continue to impress the world to this day.