Château Batailley

Pauillac 5th Growth 2012

• 

  Vintage 2012
  92 points

From the famous château estate of the Castéja family, the 2012 Batailley is a very strong effort. This is a big-time sleeper of the vintage. A dense purple wine with loads of crème de cassis, blueberry notes, background forest floor and cedar, this is a strong effort from Batailley and may well usher in a new era for this fifth-growth chateau that is capable of producing great wine. The tannins are sweet and the wine has an opulence and richness that is rare for a Médoc in 2012. Drink it over the next 25 years.

• 

  Vintage 2012
  93 points

Deep colour. Intense malty, vanilla, dark cherry, cassis, liquorice aromas. Richly flavoured and inky with dark cherry., blackcurrant, liquorice flavours, graphite firm tannins and roasted chestnut oak. Builds up brambly at the finish but the flavours follow through. Should develop more richness with time. Fruit complexity and elegance promise a lovely wine. (Barrel)