Chateau Haut Bailly 2014

JAMES SUCKLING: "A very well-made, modern wine with ripe cherry and cassis notes but rather discrete oak. The bright fruit and lively acidity balance the moderately dry tannins very well, and the finish is long and quite complex. Compacted. Needs time to open. Beautiful."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Surprisingly open, the wine already the start of secondary nuances, softness to the tannins and development on the palate. And this is a good thing because the fruit is ripe, texturally, the wine is soft, medium/full-bodied and refined, with a tightly wound, vibrance to the wine, giving you lift and sensuality. Young and fun to taste, it is clearly not quite ready. Wait until at least 2024 before pulling a cork."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Initial tight acidity in this crisp wine gives way to smooth rich black fruits. This already has a fine balance with its ripe juiciness and delicious red-berry flavors. It is going to develop into a very fine wine. Drink from 2024."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2014 Haut Bailly has a charming, quite intense bouquet with layers of blackberry, raspberry coulis, black olive and melted tar scents that soar from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, well-judged acidity, harmonious and focused with superb density and precision towards the finish. This is a classy number and alongside Domaine de Chevalier, it is one of the standouts from the appellation in this vintage."

DECANTER: "Concentrated depths to the fruit, with a silky texture that is striking. Cool blueberry and blackcurrant fruit, along with high floral aromatics, speaks to a summer that was cooler than ideal but one that followed by a beautiful September that allowed for full ripening. This is still extremely young and pretty much in its dumb phase right now, as those tannins close in around the fruit, but with huge promise for the future. I would give it another three or four years before getting going, or ensure a long carafing. Drinking Window 2024 - 2040"

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2014 Château Haut Bailly is a beauty and shows the best of the vintage in its charming, forward, complex bouquet of black cherries, kirsch, dried flowers, and black raspberries, with just a hint of building earthy minerality and tobacco. Pure silk on the palate, with medium to full body, ripe, present tannins, and a great mid-palate, it’s a rock star 2014 to enjoy over the coming two decades or so."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This shows admirable density for the vintage, with a strong loamy echo amid the core of dark currant, fig and plum compote flavors. Loads of tobacco and tar details join in on the finish, while the fruit easily keeps pace. Rock-solid. Best from 2020 through 2035. 6,665 cases made."

WEINWISSER: "Dunkles Granat, recht satt in der Mitte, rubiner Rand. Feintoastiger Beginn, rote Pflaumen, helle Edelhölzer, dominikanischer Tabak, zeigt reife Beerenkomponente zwischen roten bis blauen Früchten, feine Trockenheit aber auch mit wunderschöner Würze ausgestattet. Mittlerer Gaumen mit guten Muskeln und einer ausgeglichenen, aber auch fordernden Adstringenz, endet mit eher sandigen Konturen. Irgendwie unsexy aber dafür klassisch. Will heissen: Er gleicht seinen geduldigen, reservierten Jahrgängen wie 1988, 1996, 2006 und hat auch ähnliche Gerbstoffkonturen. Braucht lange und wird klassisch."