May 11, 2024 - Bordeaux GCC 2019 horizontal tasting, wine #5. 5th growth, made from a blend of 74% CS, 25% Merlot and 1% PV. Average age of vines 47 years, fermented in stainless vats, aged for 18 months in oak, 60% new. Intense aroma of tobacco, spices, black cherries, cassis, blueberries, pencil shavings, graphite. Medium+ body, approachable and elegant, velvety texture, not as pronounced but well defined with well integrated acidity and medium+ silky tannins.
January 21, 2024 - Walkaround tasting so just short notes: Juicy dark berries, oak, cedar, minerals, full bodied, good acidity and round, sticky tannin. Great length. Also elegant. A great beauty, possibly the best Batailley I ever tasted. Delicious but still a baby. Will probably reach early maturity stage around 2032 and drink well into the 2040's. 94 - 95+
January 13, 2024 - The nose has a good helping of blackberry, a little cherry, some cedar and pencil case. A lot of reviews say graphite but for me it’s certainly more remnant of the pencil, rubber and protractor set you had when you were 12. It doesn’t dominate too much however unlike some other Pauillac classroom collages I’ve had.
The palate has prominent underripe green fig with black cherry, tobacco, pencil case and a distinctly herbaceous character. It’s very much dry and in fact borderline bitter, which along with any green notes I attribute to me knowingly infanticiding the bottle. The tannin is grippy and aggressive yet the fantastic structure is clearly evident and I find myself enjoying this very much indeed.
Leather, flint and rose on the finish, like a bouquet bought fresh from the quarry by a miner in chaps.
I’ve had Batailey before but can’t quite remember enjoying it anywhere close to this one. Good vintage was it? I would absolutely love to revisit this in say half a decade’s time, if not a little longer. Great stuff.
October 31, 2023 - 2019 Bordeaux Tasting, MW tasting (Vintner's Hall, London): 74% CS 25% Mer 1% PV, 14%
Dense dark notes, black fruit, floral notes, pyrazine notes again, freshness.
Palate fresh, full body youthful tannins, tensity, red fruit, needs time, long finish
April 28, 2023 - A little bit shut down at the moment. Will wait another 2-3 years before popping another cork, even from a half-bottle. Fruit is barely hitting the nose or palate. Perfect tannins and structure, but a little bit drying and short. A few months ago there was much more fruit and was drinking much better....wait! (was decanted for 4 hours, not much improvement)
December 22, 2022 - 91 with potential for more, should age fine.
December 3, 2022 - UGC 2019 Singapore (Singapore): Fresh and well balance, medium body. Not particularly long.
December 1, 2022 - Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux 2019 Vintage Tasting, Singapore: Tasted at UGC Bordeaux 2019 tasting in Singapore.
Cherry, pencil shavings, graphite and a touch of pepper. Well balanced. Will need time to really show off but has potential to be really rather lovely.
Anticipated range 92-94.
December 1, 2022 - Tobacco, roasted coffee, graphite, ripe black fruits, bell pepper, sweet spices. Quite fine and long. Minty finish.
November 8, 2022 - Vins compris 8nov22. Robe foncée. Nez de mûres, cassis, réglisse. Serré en bouche avec déjà des arômes secs de zan, tabac. À carafer 1h au moins.