Chateau Batailley

Chateau Batailley, as its name suggests, has a military origin, with the location being the site of a skirmish near the end of the Hundred Years War. In the 18^th century there was a vineyard here named Batailley, giving rise to the Batailley and Haut-Batailley that exist today.

During that time it was owned by the Saint-Martin family, under three siblings. The two sisters Marianne and Marthe sold their portion to Jean-Guillaume Pecholier in 1791, who passed to his son Amiral de Bedout, and upon his death in 1816 the estate was sold by auction.

It was acquired by Daniel Guestier, who further purchased lands nearby, renovating the chateau and improving the winemaking facilities. In 1855 the estate was classified a cinquieme cru. The property was inherited by Guestier’s three children, and in 1866 the family decided to sell the estate, which was acquired by a Parisian banker named Constant Halphen.

The vineyards expanded to 55 hectares then, and the vineyards were tended by the brothers Francois and Marcel Borie. Upon Halphen’s death in 1932, the Borie brothers purchased the estate and by 1942 it was divided into the current Batailley and Haut-Batailley.

Francois, who also owned Ducru-Beaucaillou, kept the smaller part of the vineyard, and augmented some vines purchased from Duhart-Milon in 1951 to become Haut-Batailley. The larger part came to Marcel, keeping the original name, who continued to run the estate until his death in 1961, bequeathing it to his daughter Denise and her husband Emile Casteja. The Casteja family also owned Beau-Site, Trottevieille, and Lynch-Moussas. Today it is run by Philippe Casteja, Emile’s son.

The vineyards now comprise about 57 hectares, with the typical gravel for the region, with some elements of sand. The vines are planted at 8000 per hectare and averaging 40 years of age, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon at 70%, with 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.

Philippe installed new drainage in the field, as well as elevated trellising, at the same time starting more intensive green-harvesting and leaf-thinning in 2002. Manually harvested, the fruit is destemmed prior to cold maceration of up to 5 days, followed by a 15-20 days fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, consulted by Denis Dubourdieu.

The chai was refurbished in 2006, with 60 individual vats allowing plot-by-plot fermentation, and a new grape reception facility. Malolactic fermentation happens in steel vat, with a portion going into oak, before all the wine is run into oak barrels for 16-18 months, with 55% new wood. The wine is fined with egg white and bottled without filtration. Grand vin is Chateau Batilley with typical production of 21000-25000 cases, without a second label.

I have recently tasted the 2004 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, this wine is of medium (+) ruby color, with garnet rims and legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium (+) intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackcurrant and blackberry, oak notes of vanilla and cedar, sweet spice of cloves and nutmeg, pungent spice of liquorice, animal notes of leather, maturity notes of savory. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with medium acidity, medium (+) tannin of ripe and silky texture, the wine has medium alcohol and a medium (+) body, showing medium intensity on flavors, including black fruit of blackcurrant and blackberry, oak notes of vanilla and cedar, sweet spice of cloves. The wine has a medium (+) finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Pauillac with an intense nose showing good complexity, the wine has a robust structure, balanced and having a palate equally concentrated and complex, with also good long finish. Overall a wine that you can enjoy with and without food, it is ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.