Harvest: September 14 to October 11
Yield: 41 hL per ha
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 58%, Merlot 36%, Cabernet Franc 6%
Alcohol: 13%
Vineyard: 30 hectare (74 acres) at the heart of the Graves and stones throw from city of Bordeaux
Terrroir: positioned on a high ridge of land excellent for drainage, the soil is sandy and mixed with gravel, sitting on a layer of sandstone petrified with the remains of prehistoric fossil shells
Vinification: takes place in a fermentation room containing 26 thermo-regulated cement tanks of different sizes (ranging from 30 to 120 hectolitres); these specially adapted vats ensure that grapes grown in different parts of the vineyard are kept separate from the time they are picked until the vinification is complete; the wine-making process takes place in cement tanks, whereas the blending is done in stainless steel tanks – a good example of how tradition and modernity go hand in hand at Haut-Bailly; alcoholic fermentation lasts eight to ten days and is followed by maceration; this process lasts about three weeks; after the wine is drained from the tanks leaving behind the skins and pips, malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels; the blending only takes place after a number of tastings, 3 to 4 months after the grapes are picked; the young wine is stored in oak barrels (63% new in 2005) and left to age in the cellars for sixteen months; three cellars have been built to accommodate the ageing process
Winemakers: for more than forty years, from 1956 to 1990, Professor Emile Peynaud was the consultant-oenologist at Haut-Bailly; in 1990, Professor Pascal Ribereau-Gayon took over; professor Denis Dubourdieu joined in 1998; under his guidance a research study was carried out to establish balance between terroir, grape variety and graft stock for each plot of land; in 2004, Jean Delmas also became a member of our consulting team

Edit this Article