Château Haut Bailly is a famous Crus Classés de Graves estate, located in Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux. Its 30-hectares-vineyards are spread over Pessac-Léognan appellations, farmed according to sustainable principles, certified by HVE, with 6 hectares farmed organically. The Wilmers family has been the owners of the château since 1998. Their wines are marked with elegance, fine tannins and perfect ageing potential.

The estate produces Château Haut Bailly Pessac-Léognan, Haut-Bailly.II (2nd wine), HB (3rd wine), and Rosé de Haut Bailly. The Château Haut Bailly Pessac-Léognan 2016 scored 98, 2020 scored 96-98+ and 2015 scored 97+ by the Wine Advocate.

Robert Parker’s tasting notes on the Château Haut Bailly Pessac-Léognan 2016: “The 2016 Haut-Bailly is medium to deep garnet-purple in colour. The nose opens with beautiful floral notes of violets and lavender accented with earthy notions and sparks of crushed rocks over a core of kirsch, cassis and wild blueberries. Full-bodied, rich and seductive, it has layer upon layer of red, black and blue fruits intermingled with earth and mineral hints leading to a very long, perfumed finish.”

Château Haut Bailly has been owned by the Wilmers family since 1998 when it was purchased by Robert Wilmers and Elisabeth Wilmers. Chris Wilmers has been in charge of the estate since 2017. Director is Véronique Sanders, the consultant is Axel Morcha. The family also owns Château Le Pape in Pessac-Léognan.

According to the notes in ancient archives, the lands of today’s château had been planted with vines since 1461. Château Haut Bailly was founded in the 1530s, when the Goyanèche and then the Daitze family acquired and unified the vine plots in this region. The estate remained in the Daitze Family until 1630, and since that time it has changed many owners until 1955, when purchased by a Belgian négociant Daniel Sanders. The Sanders family owned the estate for more than 40 years and invested a lot in the vineyards and wineries, giving Château Haut Bailly a unique style and reputation.

The château itself is a 19th-century building, situated in the centre of the vineyards. In 1953 the Crus Classés de Graves classification was obtained.

Château Haut Bailly cooperates with the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences, taking part in various research projects.

Château Haut Bailly’s vineyards are farmed according to sustainable principles, certified by HVE, with 6 hectares farmed organically. Zero chemical weedkillers are used. The vineyard planting is divided into plots, the main part is mosaic-like and composed of 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 34 percent Merlot, 3 percent Petit Verdot and 3 percent Cabernet Franc. 4 hectares are planted according to twelve-based proportions: 1/12 Carmenère, 1/12 Merlot, 1/12 Cabernet Franc, 1/12 Malbec, 1/12 Petit Verdot and 7/12 Cabernet Sauvignon.

60 percent of grapes are used for Château Haut Bailly Pessac-Léognan, 30 percent for Haut-Bailly.II (2nd wine), and 10 percent for HB (3rd wine).

All the work in the vineyard is carried out manually. The first sorting is done in the vineyard, followed by destemming and then passing through the vibrating sorting table. Each plot is vinified separately, in cement tanks ranging from 500 to 1,500 litres.

The wines are matured from 16 to 18 months, in French oak barrels selected from 6 different cooperages. The percentage of new wood varies from 20 to 65 percent.