Haut Bailly 1998 Case (750MLx12)

94 VM / 94 WS / 93 DE / 93 WE / 91 WA / 91 JD

The 1998 Haut Bailly has been a great wine that coincided with the château’s acquisition by the late Bob Wilmers. It has a sublime bouquet with blackberry, boysenberry, crushed stone and hints of violet. After twenty years it is still so youthful. The palate is mediumbodied with slightly firm tannin at the beginning, plenty of tarry black fruit, well judged acidity and a finish that to be honest, is not a million miles away from the 1998 Haut-Brion in style. You can see this continuing to evolve for another two decades without difficulty. Tasted at the château. -- Neal Martin, Vinous Media

I love the nose on this wine; multidimensional, with flowers, sweet blackberry and citrus fruit. Full-bodied, with superclassy tannins that are polished and very refined. Goes for minutes on the palate. Still very reserved and not giving all it has. Give it much more bottle time to realize its wonderful style. One of the sleepers of the vintage. - Wine Spectator

Aromatics of gently smoked bracken, with stirrings of tertiary character that shows we are reaching the full expression of this wine at 22 years old. There is a softness to the tannins that is extremely enjoyable and a silkiness that perfectly showcases the balance and elegance of Haut-Bailly in full flight. Savoury raspberry and blackberry fruits with sappy acidities giving a juicy finish that remains very much on the elegant, controlled side - this is made for drinking pleasure. - Jane Anson, Decanter

All tastings reported in the Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, products are tasted in peer-group flights of from 5-8 samples. Reviewers may know general information about a flight to provide context—vintage, variety or appellation—but never the producer or retail price of any given selection. When possible, products considered flawed or uncustomary are retasted. - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast

The 1998 Château Haut-Bailly is evolved and fully mature, with ripe currants, tobacco, and chocolaty notes in a medium-bodied, elegant profile. It builds nicely with time in the glass, picking up more freshness and elegance, but this is unquestionably fully mature and a wine to watch going forward. - Jeb Dunnuck