97 Points - James Suckling
The winemaker calls this wine chic, and it is, with enticing aromas of blackcurrants, chocolate, walnuts, nutmeg, bark and forest floor. Some graphite and dark mushrooms. Medium-bodied with very integrated tannins that melt into the wine, with super length and finesse at the end. It’s the subtle texture and pure and complex fruit character that impress. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 22% merlot, 10% petit verdot and 3% cabernet franc. Drinkable now, but this will age beautifully.
97 Points - Wine Spectator
This is a very aromatic, precise wine. Ripe fruits and density are balanced by the wine's freshness and acidity. It has structure that brings out creamy tannins to balance the succulent black fruit flavors.
96 Points - Vinous
The 2021 Haut-Bailly is incredibly poised, even if it is clearly a wine of reserve in this vintage. Its vertical build speaks of pure sophistication. Time in the glass brings out hints of dried herbs, menthol, licorice, pine, blackberry and underbrush. Most of the blend is Cabernet, so the flavor profile and overall structural feel is quite savory. I can't wait to see how the 2021 ages. It may very well surprise down the road. –Antonio Galloni
95 Points - Decanter
Seductive blackcurrant and juniper with purple floral touches on the nose. Smooth texture with high acidity giving sharp strawberry fruit balanced by both savoury and mineral touches - slate, crushed stone, smoke, violets and dark chocolate - very much in the style of the vintage with no harshness or overt opulence but instead gives a pure sense of classicism, restraint and refinement. Elegant and well structured with a long determined finish - this will continue to deliver pleasure for a long time. 10% press wine. No chaptalisation. 30% grand vin. 3.9pH. 3% Cabernet Franc completes the blend. Yield 19hl/ha. First year in the new cellar.
94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Haut-Bailly, a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc, reveals a complex, brooding bouquet with aromas of blackcurrant, spices, plums, spring flowers and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, it’s a lively, rather muscular wine with a fleshy, dense core of fruit, tangy acids and powdery tannins. Despite its firm character, I like its overall balance. It should age gracefully over the next 10 years.
93 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Château Haut-Bailly is a beautiful, elegant wine that's very much in the style of the estate with its charming, supple, seamless profile. Red and black currants, smoke tobacco, spice, and subtle flower nuances all define this utterly classic, seamless Haut-Bailly. Coming from minuscule yields of 19 hectoliters per hectare, it will drink well for at least 20 years.
