Château Haut-Batailley

Sitting close to the border of St-Julien and neighbouring Pichon-Lalande, Grand Puy Lacoste and Château Latour’s ‘Petit Batailley’ vineyard, lies the auspicious Château Haut-Batailley. Recently acquired by the Cazes family who also own Château Lynch-Bages, this is a Fifth Growth Pauillac to watch. Historically, it was once part of Château Batailley, which was split when brothers François and Michel Borie broke up the land to avoid inheritance issues in 1942. The smaller split was taken by François, who also owned Château Ducru-Beaucaillou. He lost the château but added parcels of vines from Duhart-Milon to increase the size of the newly formed Haut-Batailley. Its 22 hectares of vineyards are predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with small percentages of Merlot and Cabernet Franc added to the final blend. With modern winemaking facilities and the backing of the influential Cazes family, Haut-Batailley is going from strength to strength. They have planted new parcels, introduced a second wine, saving the best grapes for the Grand Vin and starting to showcase the true potential that Haut-Batailley offers.