The name "Batailley" would come from the "Battle" which took place in 1453 between the French and the English on the lands of the future domain; with the reconquest of Château Latour by the French, this year saw the end of the Hundred Years War. Château Batailley is one of the oldest residences in the town of Pauillac. Vines have been planted on this land rich in history since the 17th century. In the 18th century, three brothers and sisters of the Saint-Martin family, originally from Pauillac, acquired the estate.
In 1791, the two sisters sold their shares to Guillaume Pécholier, a Bordeaux wine merchant. In 1816, Daniel Guestier, from the trading company Barton & Guestier, bought the Château, modernized it, increased the surface area of the vineyard and improved the quality of the wine. His son succeeded him in 1847. It is the Guestier family who would have asked Jean-Pierre Barillet-Deschamps, landscape architect of Napoleon III, to design the 6-hectare park. In 1866, the Parisian banker Constant Halphen acquired the property.
In 1855, Château Batailley was classified in the Fifth Grand Cru category of the Médoc, thanks in particular to the improvements made by Daniel Guestier. The Classification of the Médoc was set up at the request of Napoleon III by the wine merchants of Bordeaux within the framework of the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1855. It was developed according to the value of the wines, but also the reputation of the Châteaux.
Chateau Batailley Grand Cru is made from 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot & 1% Cabernet Franc.
Château Batailley is a winery in the Pauillac appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced at the estate was classified as one of eighteen Cinquièmes Crus (Fifth Growths) in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.
Garnet-purple colour. Rich and expressive nose, fruity with notes of spices, smoke and vanilla. On the palate, this wine is supple, round, well balanced, with good acidity, a nice fruitiness and nice notes of leather and cedar. Long elegant finish.
Review:
The 2010 Batailley repeated its magnificent showing when poured at the chateau. It has a detailed bouquet of blackberry and cedar, quite backward and seemingly having advanced lite since | tasted in in April 2016. The palate remains full of tension and brimming with energy, delivering classic cedar and tobacco notes toward the persistent finish. Batailley can produce wines that live many decades, and this is clearly one of them. Tasted at the property. Drink 2020-2050
- Neal Martin Vinous 95 Points
Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese is made from 100 percent Riesling.
An endlessly energizing late-harvest Riesling from a selection of botrytis-affected grapes harvested in the “sundial” vineyard. This precipitously steep, rocky vineyard consistently yields some of the most elegant and sophisticated white wines in the world. Auslese means “selected from the harvest,” and is a luscious sweet wine made from very ripe clusters that are about 50 percent affected by botrytis. The resulting wine is dense, intensely flavored and rich on the palate, but retains the elegant structure that is characteristic of this great site.
Review:
Rich, but very elegant and creamy with beautiful, peachy character and lovely, floral-honey notes. Long, very silky finish. Drink or hold.
James Suckling 95 Points
Sojourn Pinot Noir Walala Vineyard is 100% Pinot Noir.
This Walala Vineyard resides at 1,200-feet elevation just miles from the ocean in the northern Sonoma Coast. Cool coastal breezes and thick fog helped the grapes mature evenly through the September heat wave.
2022 was a drought vintage that offered only miniscule yields, with small clusters and tiny berries. Sojourn were only able to produce a small quantity of this exceptional Pinot Noir. It offers layers of red fruit aromas with tropical notes.
Review:
"With just 5% whole cluster to give it a touch of added structure and weight, the Walala Pinot Noir from Sojourn is aged in 50% new French oak. Displaying a ruby-red core with a light pink rim in the glass, it boasts pleasant aromas of red and black cherries, marionberries, wet-turned earth, crushed pink peppercorn, dusty flower petals, and sweet baking spices. Tannins are present but sweet and rounded and pair perfectly with the lush acidity that sweeps across the palate. Another winner from winemaker, Randy Bennett, is highly recommended."
- Jeremy Yount, International Wine Review 96 points