Château Haut-Bailly is a

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...

from the Pessac-Léognan

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...

, ranked among the ''Crus Classés'' for red wine in the

Classification of Graves wine The wines of Graves in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified in 1953 by a jury appointed by Institute National des Appellations d'Origine, and approved by the Minister of Agriculture in August of that year. The selection was revised w ...

of 1953 and 1959. The

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

and

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

are located south of the city of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

, in the commune of

Léognan Léognan (; oc-gsc, Leunhan) is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Its inhabitants are called ''Léognanais''. Wine It is located in the Graves area of the Bordeaux county, known for its ...

. Château Haut-Bailly's vineyard is located along the left bank of the Garonne river. Neighboring estates include

Château Malartic-Lagravière Château Malartic-Lagravière, originally Domaine de Lagravière, is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, ranked among the ''Crus Classés'' for red and white wine in the Classification of Graves wine of 1953 and 1959. The winer ...

, Château Smith Haut Lafitte and Château Carbonnieux. The estate's

second wine Second wine or second label ( French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or e ...

is named La Parde de Haut-Bailly.

History

The vineyard is believed to have been created during the 16th century by a rich family from the Pays Basque region. By 1630 it was acquired by the Parisian banker Firmin Le Bailly, who gave his name to the estate. A classification of the leading Graves châteaux by Wilhelm Franck in 1845 illustrates that Haut-Bailly had become known by then, but came to be famous in 1872 when it was bought by Alcide Bellot des Minières, a known viticulturist at the time. Followed by a period of prosperity, such as the 1878 vintage judged outstanding among its peers, there came a decline. With the onset of ''

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bu ...

'', Bellot des Ministères also neglected to follow the examples of other estates who combated the disease, and instead of grafting, relied on spraying with copper ammonia solution. After Bellot des Ministères' death in 1906, the estate came to his widow, and then her daughter. After two decades, Haut-Bailly was sold to Franz Malvesin who during his ownership experimented with some questionable techniques, such as

pasteurization Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. ...

and early bottling. After his death in 1923 practices were reverted to normal, though under the various following owners, the results were unremarkable. In 1955, the property was bought by the Belgian wine merchant Daniel Sanders, beginning a prosperous period of quality and restored reputation. Though known for his meticulous control, there was near the end of Sanders' life a perceived dip in quality in the 1970s, as he was reluctant to release management control to his son, but this eventually happened at his death in 1980, and Jean Sanders was able to resume progress. For several years the late oenologist

Émile Peynaud Émile Peynaud (June 29, 1912 – July 18, 2004) was a French oenologist and researcher who has been credited with revolutionizing winemaking in the latter half of the 20th century, and has been called "the forefather of modern oenology". Biogra ...

was retained at Haut-Bailly. The current owner, since 1998, is the estate of the late American banker Robert G. Wilmers who died on 16 December 2017, with Daniel Sanders' grand daughter Veronique Sanders functioning as general manager, and Gabriel Vialard employed as technical manager.

Production

The soil consists of sand mixed with the gravel that gives the Graves appellation its name. From a estate, the vineyard area extends with the plantings are divided up as 65%

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon ...

, 25%

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

and 10%

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being u ...

. The grapes for Haut-Bailly are harvested by hand, processed, and then fermented for up to ten days in both temperature controlled stainless steel and concrete vats of varying sizes. After maceration the wines are aged for eighteen months in oak barrels, many of which are new. In total the estate produces 150,000 bottles annually. In a typical vintage, between thirty and forty percent of the wine is relegated to the estate's

, Haut-Bailly II, produced since 1967, under the name Domaine de la Parde until 1979, then La Parde de Haut-Bailly until 2018. A generic Pessac-Léognan third wine, titled HB, has been produced since 1987 and was known as Pessac-Léognan by Chateau Haut-Bailly until 2018. Unlike many producers from the Graves appellation, no white wine is made at Haut-Bailly. The estate has also produced a wine for the duty-free market, Harmony de Haut Bailly, with Gebr. Heinemann. The estate also oversees the wine production at the neighboring Château Le Pape.

Gallery

Image:Chateau_Haut_Bailly_vineyard.jpg, Château Haut-Bailly's vineyard, note the sand and gravel soil composition. Image:Chateau_Haut_Bailly_barrels.jpg, Barrel aging room at Château Haut-Bailly. Image:Chateau_Haut_Bailly_vats.jpg, Château Haut-Bailly's temperature controlled concrete fermentation vats.

References

Château Haut-Bailly press kit
chateau-haut-bailly.com ;Footnotes

External links

Château Haut-Bailly official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haut-Bailly, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers Châteaux in Gironde