78% cabernet sauvignon 19% merlot 1% cabernet franc 2% petit verdot. Chateau Batailley has 40 year old vines planted to 58 hectares. Aged in 50% new French oak barrels. A pretty nose of cherry cassis and licorice leads into a palate that is very silky with well integrated tannin structure and good acidity. Medium bodied this is a delicious and softer style 2010 Pauillac. Enjoy in 5 years and over following 20.

The Haut-Batailley '10 is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Merlot. It has what you might describe as a very "natural" bouquet with wild blackberry raspberry just a touch of pencil lead and wet limestone. Not an intense nose but very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with very precise tannins good acidity just a little hardness at the front-palate but this will soften. The backbone is very impressive the finish very masculine classic the Cabernet Sauvignon dominating and imparting great purity and expression of terroir. Superb. As always one of Pauillac's over-looked gems. Drink 2017-2040.

92+ Tasted at a vertical tasting at the château. The 2010 Haut Batailley is beginning to reach the potential I enthused about when I first tasted this from barrel. Much like the 2009 Haut-Batailley, it has a very expressive bouquet that needs a lot of coaxing from the glass. And like many 2010s it is a broody bugger, stubborn and obdurate but when you get to the palate...this is where the action is! This is where the quality positively shines through with very fine tannin: extremely pure fruit, a judicious touch of spice and a long and tender finish that is seamless. It needs 8-10 years for those aromatics to open but judging by the quality of the palate, it will be worth the wait. Tasted July 2016. - Neal Martin

A fresh, polished, forward style, with scrumptious plum and cassis fruit judiciously laced with toasted apple wood and cedar, sporting a well-integrated finish of violets and iron. Should be more accessible than most 2010 Pauillacs early on. Drink now through 2025. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.