TN: 00 Batailley [Pauillac]

[AKR]

00 Batailley [Pauillac] 12.5% abv. Purchased EP, double decanted and aerated for 4 hours. medium amounts of sediment in the bottle. Nose has forest, cassis, graphite. Color is dusky garnet, edges have not lightened yet. Surprisingly fruity for an estate with a reputation for being stern in its youth. Medium bodied and oddly doesn't stand up to dinner -- a sausage/squash risotto -- and to my tastes, drinks better on its own. 30 seconds of finish, with some leather and charred notes on the palate. On my example, the tannins are about 90% resolved, and there is balanced acidity here too. If one is patient, and enjoys old school Bordeaux, its worth laying this estate down for a decade or two. They don't show well early, nor in panels, but display cedary typicity with time. This is my last bottle and is a point, but could have held another decade easily. I think the last time I had one was maybe five years ago with BillP, and this showed better due to maturity/decanting. Anyways I'd give this a B++ or so.

PS: It looks like my old friend Matt tapped up some notes from a decade ago when we had this in a big Pauillac horizontal. http://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=3601

[stefan]

Batailley, more than any other 5th growth Pauillac, requires patience. Its problem for a long time is that what it delivers when mature is not worth the waiting for it to reach maturity.

[Blanquito]

I grabbed some of the 2005 en premier, as it was pretty cheap ($40?) and got much better Parker reviews than the norm (something I used to look for, when the producer is comparatively old school and not normally a Parker fave, but gets some extra love in special circumstances). Not tried one yet. Sounds like there's no rush.

[AKR]

Batailley, more than any other 5th growth Pauillac, requires patience. Its problem for a long time is that what it delivers when mature is not worth the waiting for it to reach maturity.

That is a very fair assessment.

I was going to put down some 2010 for the kids, since it does endure, but in the end based on price/history, changed my mind.

But in a world where people curse the modern/spoofy wines, where consultants advocate radical new regimes, and where estates turn themselves into luxe lifestyle brands...Batailley stands fast, and hews to old school Pauillac.

[Rudi Finkler]

Batailley, more than any other 5th growth Pauillac, requires patience. Its problem for a long time is that what it delivers when mature is not worth the waiting for it to reach maturity.

I couldn't disagree more...

[Comte Flaneur]

I tend to agree with stefan, but I would point out that the 1989 Batailley is a notable exception....

It is always old school and rustic verging on Luddite. A lot of British 'claret' aficionados <<love>> Batailley, like they love village greens, steam engines, spitfires and the White Cliffs of Dover. But you can do better for the money.

I tried the 2000 two years ago. It was only a sample but was as tough as old boots from a Robert Hardy novel.

[AKR]

yah, it got the double wide decanter for a few hours. normally I don't do that since cleaning that apparatus is a pain.

it would have gone better with simpler fare, like boiled beef or something. there is a glass or two left, for Sunday lamb supper, or maybe while I prep that.

even the label is still as unfashionable as ever, the same as from a magnum of 1970 I had a while back on my birthday. a strange shiny gold.

[AKR]

I'm looking at the NM mega Batailley vertical notes on WA. He thinks the 2000 will last til 2045 or so.

That's astonishing. But he's tasted 100 years of the estate so has a better sense of this.

I'm going to make some efforts to lay down 2010 for the kids. Neil is really positive on it.