Pessac-Léognan · vintage 2018
Why this vintage
- 99/100 from Jeb Dunnuckand 5 other scores above 90/100.
- The 2018 vintage in Pessac-LéognanAfter a spring marked by mildew, the heat concentrated a small crop: rich, ripe wines with great depth of material.
Critic scores
- Jeb Dunnuck99
- Decanter98
- Vinous97
- Wine Advocate96
- Wine Enthusiast96
- Wine Spectator95
The 2018 vintage in Pessac-Léognan
Vintage benchmark: 95/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)
Vintage character: After a spring marked by mildew, the heat concentrated a small crop: rich, ripe wines with great depth of material.
Overall reading of the year’s season across Pessac-Léognan. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.
Tasting
The WINES are very colorful, dense, structured and expressive. Opulence and explosive quality for a sun-drenched vintage.
Blend of the 2018 vintage
- 55 % Cabernet-sauvignon
- 35 % Merlot
- 5 % Cabernet franc
- 5 % Petit verdot
Shares for this vintage, as recorded on the 2018 technical sheet. The vineyard itself is planted with 60 % cabernet sauvignon, 34 % merlot, 3 % cabernet franc, 3 % petit verdot — a vintage blend departs from the area under vine as the year dictates.
Figures from the 2018 sheet
- 35 yrsVine age
- 80,000 bottlesProduction
Winemaking
Alcoholic fermentation lasts 8 to 10 days but vatting continues for 3 weeks, a period during which balance is sought above all. Vinification is carried out away from excessive temperatures and no excessive reheating disrupts the end of fermentation.
Ageing
16 months in barrels (55% new).
Terroir
A Grand Cru Classé at the gates of Bordeaux, Château Haut-Bailly looks out majestically over a 30-hectare vineyard in a single block, established on one of the highest gravel rises of the left bank. It benefits from an excellent gradient of the slopes, effective drainage and well-distributed ditches that carry the water away in wet years. Of the three components of terroir, the soil is the most subtle: here it combines a soil of sands mixed with gravels that slipped down in the Quaternary era with a subsoil of falun, or petrified fossil stone, which is one of its major characteristics.
An offer on Château Haut-Bailly 2018
Availability, allocations and terms: the Compagnie Médocaine will reply promptly. The estate and vintage are already filled in in the message.
Texts and documents 2018
The texts below copy in one click for your product sheets, catalogues and social channels. The printable sheet condenses the whole page onto a single A4 page.
Visuals
For this vintage, the media library contains: packshots, labels. High-definition packshots, labels, back labels and lifestyle photos are reserved for clients and partners, on the Compagnie Médocaine’s VinCod media library.
Sheet checked on September 21, 2026. Technical data: the estate’s VinCod sheets. Critic scores: sources cited above, with their date. Vintage benchmarks and character: Compagnie Médocaine’s own editorial read. Soils and relief, where shown: the Compagnie Médocaine’s parcel survey and the Mapbox/IGN terrain model.