2013 Château Batailley
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Tasting notes
The 2013 Batailley has a very light, innocuous bouquet of black fruit infused with gravelly aromas. It feels a little frail, much more so than when I tasted it just after bottling. The palate is medium-bodied with a slight green note on the entry. This does come across as underripe, and as such, I would drink it in the near future.
Critic scores
Neal Martin
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Mid garnet. Bags of toasty oak. Smells super-sweetly oaky. Tastes over-oaked too – shame because there is some nice fruit underneath. But finishes bitter. (JH)
The 2013 Batailley has a relatively backward bouquet, however, there is respectable fruit concentration here for the vintage: blackberry, cedar and cigar box, your typical traits for this estate. The palate offers commendable weight and extraction: not a Batailley of finesse or even complexity, though one with a modicum of presence and substance. Given this is a 2013 there is negligible under-ripeness on the tensile and almost steely finish. I can see this giving 10-15 years of pleasure and it represents a very commendable wine in the context of the growing season.
Mid cherry red. Light, dusty black fruit. That same dusty, graphite quality on the palate. Fine chalky tannins, not much flesh in the middle but just enough juice on the finish. Balanced in a rather austere style. (JH)
About the producer
It was on the site of Batailley in 1453 that one of the final battles (or “batailles”) of the Hundred Years’ War took place. Today owned by the Castéja family, the Fifth Growth is renowned for producing wine that is the epitome of classic Claret.