100
Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com
I obviously underrated the 2016 Château Haut-Bailly on release, and it easily tops out my scale. A hypothetical blend of the 2009 and 2010, it has the opulence and sexiness of a ripe, sunny vintage (à la 2009) paired with incredible purity, concentration, structure, and elegance (à la 2010). Incredible aromatics of cassis, liquid violets, cedar pencil, flowers, and minerals give way to a full-bodied, multi-dimensional, layered Haut-Bailly offering ultra-fine tannins, flawless overall balance, nothing out of place, and the class to drink well today yet evolve for 30-40 years. Absolute perfection in wine, this is a modern-day Legend from director Veronique Sanders.
98 James Suckling - Jamessuckling.com
Wonderful aromas of tobacco, sweet fruit and licorice follow through to a full body with ultra-fine tannins that caress every inch of your palate. Love the length and subtlety to this young wine. Gorgeous. Drink after 2024.
98 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Haut-Bailly is medium to deep garnet-purple in color. The nose opens with beautiful floral notes of violets and lavender accented with earthy notions and sparks of crushed rocks over a core of kirsch, cassis and wild blueberries. Full-bodied, rich and seductive, it has layer upon layer of red, black and blue fruits intermingled with earth and mineral hints leading to a very long, perfumed finish.
98 Jane Anson - Decanter
Still extremely knitted down, pretty closed at the four year point as you would expect in a vintage that has such walls, floors, ceiling and buttressing. The tannins are very much present but even now they are confident without being intrusive, and the future potential is singing. There are traces of gunsmoke, suggesting even after four years in bottle we are still very much in the reductive phase, so don't drink this for at least another five years. But wow is it going to be good. Blend completed by 3% Cabernet Franc.
97+ Antonio Galloni - Vinous
A big, vertical wine, the 2016 Haut-Bailly explodes onto the palate with tremendous depth and intensity. Readers should be in no rush to drink the 2016, as it won't be close to ready to drink for at least a decade, and I say that as an eternal optimist. Black cherry, smoke, tobacco, cedar, gravel and incense add to the wine's decidedly somber personality.
