Chateau Batailley 2017

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is straight and transparent with currant and dark-chocolate aromas. Orange peel, light tar and violets. Medium to full body. Gorgeous core of dark fruit and polished tannins that push out the edge of the wine, giving it a seamless texture. A blend of 80% cabernet sauvignon, 17% merlot and 3% petit verdot. Needs two or three years to show it all. Better after 2022."

DECANTER: "Filled with Pauillac signature of method and cassis on the nose, this feels polished and textured, layered with liquorice and coffee beans, with smoked, burnished oak flavours that help elongate the palate. Batailley is invariably an extremely drinkable Pauillac that delivers over the medium to long term, and this is an enjoyable and approachable wine in 2017. Drinking Window 2023 - 2048"

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Batailley gallops out of the gates with notes of baked redcurrants, black raspberries and blackcurrant pastilles plus wafts of cedar chest, bay leaves and rosehip tea. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-coating black fruits with a firm, grainy texture and lively lift to the finish."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Cigar box, tobacco, crème de cassis and forestry create the aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine offers soft, polished, dark red fruits, spice, blackberry and tobacco. Nearly forward in style, this is a charming Pauillac that will age for at least 2 decades with little effort. The wine was made from blending 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, reaching 13.6% alcohol."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This juicy, smoothly textured wine shows great fruitiness, ripe tannins and plenty of freshness, Black-currant flavors shine from the Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink this wine from 2023."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This offers up a small plume of cocoa before steering back to more typical dark currant and black cherry fruit notes, inlaid with graphite and sweet tobacco details. The cocoa edge lingers on the finish, adding a light dusty hint to the well-rendered fruit. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2022 through 2038. Tasted twice, with consistent notes."

WEINWISSER: "Dichtes Purpurgranat. Ein klassisches Nasenbild mit viel Zedern, Brazil- Tabak, Anis und schwarzem Pfeffer, dahinter Holunder und Cassis. Am Gaumen mit viel Eleganz, reifem Extrakt und perfekt stützendem Tanningerüst. Im fein aromatischen Finale mit schwarzbeerigen Konturen, Lakritze und dominikanischem Tabak. Hat seit der Fassmusterprobe deutlich zugelegt und zeigt sich mit dem Barriquefett deutlich charmanter, ist auf gutem Weg!"

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung, frisches Brombeerkonfit, rote Kirschen, zarte Kräuterwürze, Orangenzesten unterlegt. Saftig, elegante Herzkirschenfrucht, feine Tannine, frische Struktur, etwas Nougat im Abgang, vielseitig einsetzbar."