The 2017 Haut-Bailly is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it offers an aromatic bouquet of spices, blackberries, and floral notes. With firm, ripe tannins and a fresh, mineral finish, it’s a balanced, full-bodied wine. The vintage is noted for its early bud break and harvest, with a particularly floral profile and excellent finesse. This wine is expected to age beautifully and will be ready to enjoy after 2023.

The Wine Advocate | RP 94-96
Published: Apr 27, 2018

The 2017 Haut-Bailly is composed of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. Very deep garnet-purple colored, it has a wonderfully spicy nose of cinnamon stick, cloves, anise and fenugreek with core of roses, warm blueberries, black forest cake and black raspberries plus hints of underbrush and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied with firm, ripe, grainy tannins, it has oodles of freshness and great finesse, continuing bright and energetic on the long, minerally finish.

“In 2017, everything was early at Haut-Bailly”, commented General Manager, Véronique Saunders. On March 25 budding started and by April 12 full leaves were developing. Then on April 27 and 28 the frosts hit, lowering production here considerably. Afterwards, on May 19, flowering started very early, with an early veraison on July 28. There was a lot of rain during the last three days of June and it was a very quick, short harvest from September 13-29.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 95
Published: Dec 14, 2019

Blackberry, walnut, iodine, and sandalwood aromas follow through to a full body, round and juicy tannins and an intense, flavorful finish. This shows richness with structure. Excellent 2017. Try after 2023.

Decanter | D 95
Published: Jul 3, 2020
Drink: 2025-2042

Grilled caramel notes set against sappy black fruit show classic Haut-Bailly balance, with savoury cassis and bilberry shot through with liquorice root and finely-spun tannins that tiptoe across the palate. Less monolithic than the 2016 or 2018, clear that this is going to be ready to drink sooner. Harvest September 13 to 29. 4% Cabernet France completes the blend. The last vintage under Bob Wilmers.
Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 13.00%
Body: Full
Oak: Oaked
Grapes: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon 32% Merlot 4% Petit Verdot

Jancisrobinson.com | JS 16
Published: Sep 16, 2021
Drink: 2025-2035

Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Quite earthy and savoury on the nose – peppery hedgerow fruit has a lightly warming quality. The palate shows savoury fruit at the core with fair intensity, yet there is an earthy, leafy edge here. Firm and slender, this tightly wound wine may need time to truly flourish.

Haut-bailly.com

Renowned for its exceptional elegance, the Grand Vin is the fruit of a complex balance: elegant and tactile, powerful and supple, immediate and timeless. Each vintage is unique, but also adds to the lineage of Haut-Bailly wines, embodying the constancy of the estate’s terroir and style.

Vintage 2017: The wonder of nature
After a harsh winter and a mild spring, the 2017 vintage began early with bud break on March 25th. During the nights of the 27th and 28th of April there were frosts of an intensity rarely seen in Bordeaux. This frost caused damage to our lower plots but spared our parcels of old vines. And then nature took its course, with a warm spring favouring fast growth in the vineyard, further emphasising the early nature of the vintage.

Flowering (which took place from the 20th-25th May) was two weeks ahead of usual. As for the plots affected by the frost, vegetative growth was truly remarkable. The base of the vines showed intense growth, which had the effect of limiting the production of fruit and second-generation clusters. Exceptional rainfall in late June (120 mm in three days) reduced any risk of hydric stress. However, the weather conditions of July and August, with limited rainfall, meant that overall, 2017 will be recorded as one of our driest vintages–along with 2000, 2005 and 2012. During the summer, the alternation of hot and cool days gave us favourable conditions for ripening. Veraison began early (at the end of July) and was particularly regular throughout the vineyard. The earliness of the vintage is confirmed and the harvest begins on 13 September with the Merlot and ends with the Cabernet Sauvignon, from 25 to 29 September.

The Merlots of 2017 are both fruity and balanced. Cabernets offer a pleasant aromatic freshness and savoury tannic structure with good density. The overall yield of the vintage is quite low. The 2017 blend of Château Haut-Bailly is particularly floral and is composed of those parcels spared by Mother Nature–the plots of old vines which make up the historic heart of the vineyard.

Harvest: September 13th - 29th
Château Haut-Bailly blend: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon - 32% Merlot - 4% Petit Verdot - 4% Cabernet Franc