The actual product may vary from the images shown on the website.
Red dry
Dark ruby color. Bouquet composed of cedar, tobacco, spices and cherries. On the palate, this wine is fleshy with good structure, a velvety texture and notes of cassis, leather, spices and graphite. With a classic style, Château Batailley 2008 is an elegant wine.
Serve at 16-18 °C with grilled beef or lamb.
Young, as you would expect, the wine is solidly built, with crisp, red, bright, but still juicy, fruits. Medium/full bodied, with hints of secondary nuances starting to pop out, the finish offers classically styled, bright, red berries, pepper and cassis. Give it another 5 years or so. The wine was made from a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc.
Tasted at a vertical tasting at the château.The 2008 Haut Batailley is service back to normal after the rather lacklustre 2007. It has a well defined, blackberry, minerally nose that has a sense of brightness and vivacity—a vivid set of aromatics that entice you inwards. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp and focused with great tension and energy. I appreciate the purity embroidered into this wine from start to finish, the manner in which it gently fans out towards the long and precise finish. Excellent for the vintage, this is probably very good value in today's market.
Château Batailley is a historic Bordeaux wine icon and one of the most authentic expressions of Pauillac style in the heart of the Médoc, uniting centuries of heritage, classic Bordeaux structure, and precise modern winemaking.
Historical context and heritage
The estate’s name derives from a 1452 battle (bataille in French) fought on these lands during the Hundred Years’ War, when France finally reclaimed the Médoc territories from English rule. This is more than a symbolic name—it anchors the estate’s deep historical weight, which in Bordeaux is considered an integral part of terroir.
The first vines at Batailley were planted in the 16th century, and in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, commissioned by Napoleon III, Château Batailley was awarded 5ème Grand Cru Classé status—an official recognition that remains in force today and attests to the estate’s long-standing quality.
Location and terroir
Château Batailley’s vineyards lie within the Pauillac appellation, one of the most prestigious zones of the Médoc. The vines are planted on classic gravel terraces that:
The nearby Gironde estuary moderates climatic extremes and contributes to a stable style well suited to long ageing.
Vineyards and grape varieties
Château Batailley wines are built on the classic logic of Bordeaux’s Left Bank:
Yields are deliberately limited to favor concentration and balance over volume.
Wine style and philosophy
Château Batailley is regarded as a benchmark of classic Pauillac—wines that are never excessive, yet always structured and disciplined:
These are not wines of instant impact, but of slow evolution, often reaching their peak after 10–20 years of ageing.
Ageing and winemaking
Fermentation and ageing follow traditional Bordeaux practices, with maturation in French oak barrels (a portion new) to:
Technology serves precision rather than stylistic change—the philosophy remains consistently classical.
Significance within Bordeaux
Château Batailley is often described as the “quiet aristocrat of Pauillac”—less demonstrative than some famous neighbors, yet exceptionally reliable, consistent, and authentic. It is a wine favored by:
It is an estate that speaks softly but with authority—about time, place, and the very essence of the Médoc.
