2010 Chateau Batailley 5eme Cru Classe, Pauillac

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Tasted at the Batailley vertical tasting the château, the 2010 Batailley may well have been the best wine in a tasting that encompassed three centuries of winemaking at the estate. The nose offers outstanding delineation and mineralité. It positively fizzes in the glass with all that coiled-up energy, ladling out vivid blackberry and cedar aromas. The palate is medium-bodied, but it is the detail and precision that achieves a level that makes the 2010 a benchmark for the Pauillac estate. It sashays towards a tensile, tar and graphite-tinged finish that lingers in the mouth. This is destined for long-term aging insofar that its quality will not be widely appreciated for many years. Tasted April 2016.