Bordeaux wines are now world renown and those who received recognition in the five levels of the 1855 Classification are expensive.
It wasn’t always the case back in the seventies.
Your scribe has been a long time enthusiastic student of Bordeaux wines for over 50 years starting with a first extended visit in 1970. Humbled to be the only Canadian to be among “les Membres D’Honneur” of Academie Du Vin De Bordeaux. A particular fan of Pauillac (and St. Julien) it was fun to collect properties early on that were less expensive. That classification is led by 3 Pauillac First Growths of Lafite, Latour, and Mouton followed by two top Seconds of Pichon Longueville Baron & Pichon Comtesse Lalande. However, there were 18 Fifth Growths (out a total of 61 now Classified) of which 12 were Pauillac. This value list was led by highly admired Lynch Bages, classic Grand Puy Lacoste, and more recently improved Pontet Canet. The other 9 included often underperforming Batailley, Haut Batailley, Grand Puy Ducasse, Lynch-Moussas, d’Armailhac, Haut Bages Liberal, Pedesclaux, Clerc Milon, and Croizet-Bages. In some vintages those 9 overperformed like Batailley did in 1964, 1961, and 1953. Today they are all much improved and more consistent. Collecting vintages of these lesser Pauillacs provided a great opportunity for me to study them over the years and obtain some education on both the style & terroir of the properties and the quality of the vintages.
There is always going to be bottle variation with old wines but it can be miraculous when you catch it on a high complex plateau. The gravel soils with clay of Pauillac usually develop wines with aging that generally show more powerful full Cabernet Sauvignon dominant of cassis cedar cigar box tobacco plus sometimes graphite mocha notes. This last week we pulled out our last bottles of Chateau Batailley from 6 vintages 1975-1982 matched with six at home dinners. A few surprises among these wines that generally were better if opened a decade or two earlier:
1975 BATAILLEY: Showed better than expected paired with a delicious recipe for chicken by Chef Eric Ripert. The slow developing tannic cab sauv year finally had softened enough leaving still some sweet chocolate fruit left to enjoy it. Surprise of this vertical!
1976 BATAILLEY: Earlier bottles showed more appeal and charm from this hot dry year. Earthy spiced fruit drying out. Over the hill but matched just OK with a garlic chicken breast course.
1978 BATAILLEY: Called a miracle vintage by Harry Waugh for the long warm sunny weather from the last half of August to the start of harvesting in early October. Quite mature aged look but some solid herbal greener fruit left paired well with pork loin curry mustard. Very ready. Pichon Lalande holding better.
1979 BATAILLEY: Big crops with higher acidity retained younger looking bright red colour. Less charm than 1978 but fresher on the palate paired with pasta marinara suiting to the tomatoes.
1981 BATAILLEY: A lighter year but another surprise of a lovely rather complex perfumed bouquet that stands up well to the chicken pasta course.
1982 BATAILLEY: Outstanding vintage helps this one. Like all the six wines shows as a 12 abv but way more ripe fruit and balance here. Finishing out the best plateau but just starting to dry out. Matched appropriately with a lamb shank & polenta. Enjoyed some better bottles younger but pretty good terroir showing. Not close in depth and complexity to the still sensational 1982 Grand Puy Lacoste.
Interesting mini-vertical of vintages from when this now excellent property since 1982 was not at its highest fruit concentration level then but underrated for the modest price they cost. Long aged less weighty Bordeaux may continue to surprise you.
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