Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Most interesting and perplexing. Quite a volatile showing. I felt I detected a sense of greenness but then also a burnt fruit finish. Possibly the most tannic of all wines tasted. Presented with a very fresh light colour - almost Pinot Noir esque. Hard to predict how this will play out.
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Dark hued fruits, a little meaty underpin, savoury and sweet spice, a little closed in fact; a sense of brooding density. Juicy, fleshy, dense in the mouth…black fruit and good quality oak vie for attention on the palate; they're both a bit noisy at the moment but there is promise despite the volume; there is harmony. Long. Time, lots of it.
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Best Haut-Bailly in ages, and not merely abstractly great as a matter of raw quality, but great in all the ways that are the distinguishing hallmarks of this chateau and the reasons you love Haut-Bailly. In terms of the former I note that this is only the third 2020 I've opened and it dings higher on my scorecard than every single 2019 I have had, including the first growths - iiiiiinteresting. But you don't drink Haut-Bailly for the points. You drink it for the silky texture and all those characteristic traits of Pessac-Leognan - the campfire smoke, the road tar. All of that is here, flawlessly, in one place, for the first time in a long time. It opens with an array of aromatics that rival Haut-Brion for the sheer multiplicity of elements that absolutely reek of the terroir. The fruit starts out mixing black- and red-toned berries but the latter win the tug of war and the complexion settles in a zone of pure vivid red. The mouthfeel is slender and feminine in proportions and silky in texture as very few Bordeaux can be almost from the first sip. I had been observing a trend line at Haut-Bailly over the last few years of the wines getting darker, denser, richer, and bigger, and I'm so happy to see that wasn't an inexorable pull, as this 2020 has snapped back to the classic style evident in all the great Haut-Baillys going back a century. It is all here and it is all on display. It is not asking you to use your imagination and makes it so easy to keep coming back for more. I can't report on how the leftovers developed the next day because there weren't any.
Union Grands Crus Bordeaux (UGC) 2020 Tasting (Hangar 14, Bordeaux): Layers upon layers of interest to go with the classic smoke and tar. Slightly bitter outer layer followed by a ripe, round layer and finishing with a subtle tannic core. Loads of potential when this integrates.
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Initially, you find a display of flowers before moving on to all of its cigar wrapper, spice, blackberry, currant, black cherry, smoke and hints of forest leaf. Deeply concentrated, vibrant and refined, the palate is packed with multiple-layers of perfectly, ripe, red fruits, a fabulous sense of purity, silky, soft, polished tannins and ample lift in the finish, providing the backdrop to age, evolve for decades. Drink from 2027-2060.
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The 2020 vintage UGCB tasting in Amsterdam 03/06/2023 (Amsterdam): Quite profound, smooth soft peppers, elegant dark fruit combined with refined flowers, a concentration midtaste, lovely bitters and ripe tannins, but, for me, not in the same league as the '16.
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Was für ein Duft, tiefgründig, komplex, florale Noten, Schwarzkirschen, Brombeeren, Tee, Tabak, feine Röstnoten, ein Hauch Blutorangen, eine Droge. Im Gaumen frisch, hochelegant, Tannine von höchster Güte, mittelkräftig und dennoch mit Druck, top Säure, ausgezeichnete Länge im Abgang. Ein grandioser Haut-Bailly, für eine kleine Ewigkeit gebaut. 2028-2050 (Verkostet am 8. November 2022 in Zürich) www.vvwine.ch
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At a tasting of recently bottled 2020s. Typical pessac nose of hot tiles and cedar. Quite tannic for a soft vintage yet still relatively soft for such a young high quality Bordeaux. Medium bodied with very good length.
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While others seem to enjoy this '20 vintage,I didn't fully enjoy it.There is nothing wrong with this wine,it's pleasant to drink,has some interesting typicity of Pessac,but there is nothing here that could impress.Both nose and palate are a bit light and restrained,but do not compensate the lack of depth, body and power.Overall a good Bordeaux,but it has nothing that wows me.This is million miles away from Haut-Bailly 2010.
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Fantastische ätherische Noten treffen auf hedonistische Fruchtaromen von schwarzen und blauen Beeren. Schwarzer Pfeffer, süßer Tabak, Tonka Bohnen, Bleistiftspitze. Praller Saft mit toller Reife. Packender Gerbstoff. Wird sich weiter verfeinern können. Ein kraftvoller Haut-Bailly mit mineralischem Drive. Lang und vibrierend. Jede Wette wert! 97-99
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97-99 vvPunkte In der Nase ein kleines Spektakel, was für eine Droge, dunkle Kirschen, Brombeeren, Tabak, Tee, das Holz ist wahrnehmbar, würzige Komponenten, auch viele Veilchenblüten, Zimt, sogar zitrische Noten. Im gaumen verspielt, saftig, frisch, mittlerer Körper, straffe Gerbstoffstruktur, ein enges Korsett, kernig, hält die Frucht in Schach, der Wein hat Druck und Kraft, eine unglaublich Energie und zeigt im Abgang eine hervorragende Länge. EInmal mehr, einer der ganz grossen Weine des Jahrgangs. Bravo! 2028-2050 (April/Mai 2021) vvWine.ch
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Deeply colored, the wine explodes with fresh flowers, tobacco leaf, cigar box, currants, blackberry, Allspice, licorice, savory herbs and smoke aromas. On the palate, the wine is intense, balanced, silky and refined. The fruits express purity, harmony, length and complexity, finishing with layers of currants, blackberry, herbs, pepper and plums that hold your focus for at least 50 seconds. Give this at least 10-12 years of age. It will evolve and provide sensuous tasting for at least 25 or more years after that. The wine blends 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc., 14.3% ABV, pH 3.9. The harvest took place September 9 to September 25. The Grand Vin was produced from 60% of the harvest. 2020 was the first vintage produced in their new cellars. 97-99
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Very very deep with a fine dark purple rim Pleasingly open, dark focus and lovely perfume, with blue touches, earthy spices, black cherry, red fruits, and toast. Silky attack, quite full and the tannins are very fine-grained. Good freshness (nice acidity), lovely balance already – approachable, with good fruit levels, attractive oak toast. Elegant and silky.
- Tasted again on Saturday (8th May): Open, ‘dusty’ touches, red elements, salinity. Elegant. Great lift and elegance. Good energy, has structure and spice, lovely texture, great intensity. Redder and black cherry fruit.
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4/1/2024 - MAXIMUM SATISFACTION wrote: 93 Points
Opened in the bottle for a few hours. It was ripe but also had a lot of savory funk notes that I was not expecting.
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11/26/2023 - ayalao3 wrote: 95 Points
Tannic still but you can tell the potential. Wait 5 yrs at least 95-96
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11/24/2023 - wineappellation Likes this wine: 93 Points
Ripe blackfruits, herbaceous, creamy oak, chocolaty.
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11/18/2023 - nwebstar Likes this wine: 90 Points
Langtons Bordeaux 2020 Arrival Tasting (Sydney, Australia): Most interesting and perplexing. Quite a volatile showing. I felt I detected a sense of greenness but then also a burnt fruit finish. Possibly the most tannic of all wines tasted. Presented with a very fresh light colour - almost Pinot Noir esque. Hard to predict how this will play out.
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11/17/2023 - chatters wrote:
Dark hued fruits, a little meaty underpin, savoury and sweet spice, a little closed in fact; a sense of brooding density. Juicy, fleshy, dense in the mouth…black fruit and good quality oak vie for attention on the palate; they're both a bit noisy at the moment but there is promise despite the volume; there is harmony. Long. Time, lots of it.
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11/16/2023 - Isaac D wrote:
Cedar, forest floor, violets, plums. Big whack of tannin. Don’t touch for 10 years min IMO. Great finish. 96
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11/3/2023 - jayhawkdds Likes this wine: 92 Points
Obviously very young, but tons of potential.
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7/2/2023 - Keith Levenberg Likes this wine: 98 Points
Best Haut-Bailly in ages, and not merely abstractly great as a matter of raw quality, but great in all the ways that are the distinguishing hallmarks of this chateau and the reasons you love Haut-Bailly. In terms of the former I note that this is only the third 2020 I've opened and it dings higher on my scorecard than every single 2019 I have had, including the first growths - iiiiiinteresting. But you don't drink Haut-Bailly for the points. You drink it for the silky texture and all those characteristic traits of Pessac-Leognan - the campfire smoke, the road tar. All of that is here, flawlessly, in one place, for the first time in a long time. It opens with an array of aromatics that rival Haut-Brion for the sheer multiplicity of elements that absolutely reek of the terroir. The fruit starts out mixing black- and red-toned berries but the latter win the tug of war and the complexion settles in a zone of pure vivid red. The mouthfeel is slender and feminine in proportions and silky in texture as very few Bordeaux can be almost from the first sip. I had been observing a trend line at Haut-Bailly over the last few years of the wines getting darker, denser, richer, and bigger, and I'm so happy to see that wasn't an inexorable pull, as this 2020 has snapped back to the classic style evident in all the great Haut-Baillys going back a century. It is all here and it is all on display. It is not asking you to use your imagination and makes it so easy to keep coming back for more. I can't report on how the leftovers developed the next day because there weren't any.
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6/10/2023 - PlanetX wrote: 95 Points
Union Grands Crus Bordeaux (UGC) 2020 Tasting (Hangar 14, Bordeaux): Layers upon layers of interest to go with the classic smoke and tar. Slightly bitter outer layer followed by a ripe, round layer and finishing with a subtle tannic core. Loads of potential when this integrates.
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6/9/2023 - Bill@57 wrote:
Wrong bottle entered
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3/21/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Initially, you find a display of flowers before moving on to all of its cigar wrapper, spice, blackberry, currant, black cherry, smoke and hints of forest leaf. Deeply concentrated, vibrant and refined, the palate is packed with multiple-layers of perfectly, ripe, red fruits, a fabulous sense of purity, silky, soft, polished tannins and ample lift in the finish, providing the backdrop to age, evolve for decades. Drink from 2027-2060.
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3/6/2023 - Mikaelbe Likes this wine:
Sexy nose, plums, cherries, raspberries, licorice, sage. Quite tannic, will get better with time. Fresh acidity. Great wine.
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3/6/2023 - FransS wrote: 95 Points
The 2020 vintage UGCB tasting in Amsterdam 03/06/2023 (Amsterdam): Quite profound, smooth soft peppers, elegant dark fruit combined with
refined flowers, a concentration midtaste, lovely bitters and ripe tannins, but, for me, not in the same league as the '16.
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1/9/2023 - vvWine.ch wrote: 98 Points
Was für ein Duft, tiefgründig, komplex, florale Noten, Schwarzkirschen, Brombeeren, Tee, Tabak, feine Röstnoten, ein Hauch Blutorangen, eine Droge. Im Gaumen frisch, hochelegant, Tannine von höchster Güte, mittelkräftig und dennoch mit Druck, top Säure, ausgezeichnete Länge im Abgang. Ein grandioser Haut-Bailly, für eine kleine Ewigkeit gebaut. 2028-2050 (Verkostet am 8. November 2022 in Zürich) www.vvwine.ch
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11/10/2022 - wineforth Likes this wine: 95 Points
At a tasting of recently bottled 2020s. Typical pessac nose of hot tiles and cedar. Quite tannic for a soft vintage yet still relatively soft for such a young high quality Bordeaux. Medium bodied with very good length.
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10/15/2022 - valedeniro wrote: 93 Points
While others seem to enjoy this '20 vintage,I didn't fully enjoy it.There is nothing wrong with this wine,it's pleasant to drink,has some interesting typicity of Pessac,but there is nothing here that could impress.Both nose and palate are a bit light and restrained,but do not compensate the lack of depth, body and power.Overall a good Bordeaux,but it has nothing that wows me.This is million miles away from Haut-Bailly 2010.
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6/21/2021 - Mali Likes this wine: 98 Points
Fantastische ätherische Noten treffen auf hedonistische Fruchtaromen von schwarzen und blauen Beeren. Schwarzer Pfeffer, süßer Tabak, Tonka Bohnen, Bleistiftspitze. Praller Saft mit toller Reife. Packender Gerbstoff. Wird sich weiter verfeinern können. Ein kraftvoller Haut-Bailly mit mineralischem Drive. Lang und vibrierend. Jede Wette wert! 97-99
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5/22/2021 - vvWine.ch wrote: 98 Points
97-99 vvPunkte In der Nase ein kleines Spektakel, was für eine Droge, dunkle Kirschen, Brombeeren, Tabak, Tee, das Holz ist wahrnehmbar, würzige Komponenten, auch viele Veilchenblüten, Zimt, sogar zitrische Noten. Im gaumen verspielt, saftig, frisch, mittlerer Körper, straffe Gerbstoffstruktur, ein enges Korsett, kernig, hält die Frucht in Schach, der Wein hat Druck und Kraft, eine unglaublich Energie und zeigt im Abgang eine hervorragende Länge. EInmal mehr, einer der ganz grossen Weine des Jahrgangs. Bravo! 2028-2050 (April/Mai 2021) vvWine.ch
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5/20/2021 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Deeply colored, the wine explodes with fresh flowers, tobacco leaf, cigar box, currants, blackberry, Allspice, licorice, savory herbs and smoke aromas. On the palate, the wine is intense, balanced, silky and refined. The fruits express purity, harmony, length and complexity, finishing with layers of currants, blackberry, herbs, pepper and plums that hold your focus for at least 50 seconds. Give this at least 10-12 years of age. It will evolve and provide sensuous tasting for at least 25 or more years after that. The wine blends 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc., 14.3% ABV, pH 3.9. The harvest took place September 9 to September 25. The Grand Vin was produced from 60% of the harvest. 2020 was the first vintage produced in their new cellars. 97-99
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5/6/2021 - Shrewsram Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very very deep with a fine dark purple rim
Pleasingly open, dark focus and lovely perfume, with blue touches, earthy spices, black cherry, red fruits, and toast. Silky attack, quite full and the tannins are very fine-grained. Good freshness (nice acidity), lovely balance already – approachable, with good fruit levels, attractive oak toast. Elegant and silky.
- Tasted again on Saturday (8th May):
Open, ‘dusty’ touches, red elements, salinity. Elegant.
Great lift and elegance. Good energy, has structure and spice, lovely texture, great intensity. Redder and black cherry fruit.
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