Andrew Jefford | Dark black-red, though far from the blackest of its peers. Fresh, gentle, harmonious aromas of the orchard and the copse; a little coal dust; some fruited sweetness, too. But the harmony is what is so striking in a four-year-old from a great terroir. On the palate, it is pure, fresh, sustained, and lively, carefully crafted around a core of ripely acid-led fruit. (It’s a little more slender than Domaine de Chevalier.) It doesn’t have the density or persistence of a great or a warm vintage, but if you are looking for an Haut-Bailly in which the qualities of the terroir are evident early, and which has acquired the harmony and finesse of a mature wine while still being youthful, pure, and poised, look at 2014. 2018–24. | 91

Michael Schuster | Lightly aromatic nose, persistent; very nicely, discreetly balanced wine, fresh, silky in tannin, moderate in concentration, not big, but oh so harmonious; a beautifully proportioned mid-weight, a dry, subtly ripe, long, graceful, and gently aromatic wine, with the emphasis on finesse and fragrance; classy, complete, long to finish. A lovely, understated, refined expression of Pessac-Léognan. Accessible early because it is so harmonious, but clearly better with another five years or so in bottle. 2024–35+. | 93