One thing that I've learnt whilst writing blogs is that I say "one of my favourites' an awful lot.
So here's a little look at another one: Chateau Batailley, Pauillac.
It's a wine I came across quite early in my wine exploration days in the mid 1980's and have been fortunate to enjoy many different vintages over the years.
One of the oldest and largest properties in the Médoc, its name derives from Bataille (battle) that took place between the French and English in 1453. The French also recaptured Château Latour this very same year, marking the end of the Hundred Years’ War.
Awarded a 5th growth in the 1855 classification. Feret describe it as a noble estate in the highest sense and informed people that Batailley has become one of the growths in greatest demand.
Modern history really starts in 1932 when Marcel and Francois Borie bought the estate and ran it jointly until 1942 when they split the property to avoid future inheritance tax and Chateau Haut Batailley was formed.
In 1961 Chateau Batailley passed to Marcel's daughter who was married to Emile Casteja who became the Managing Direct of the Negotiant firm Borie-Manoux. Sole distributers of the wine.
The vineyard is planted with predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, usually 70 - 80% of the blend, Merlot, 20% or so. Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, small amounts of which are added to the final blend depending on the vintage.
In 2015 a second wine, Les Lions de Batailley was introduced to further refine the grand vin with stricter selection.
In summery its a wine that I believe still offers good value in terms of current release vintages (admittedly I've not seen the 2022 release price yet) and older mature vintages.
We have a few vintages in stock currently which can be found here
Credits 1983 Edition Feret. Chateau Batailley website.
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