2015 Château Batailley, Pauillac, Bordeaux

The 2015 Batailley has a slightly gamey bouquet that opens nicely in the glass, with red berry fruits, brown spices and light minty aromas that entice you in. The palate is medium-bodied, with plush tannins, but there is real structure behind it, an insistent grip, and an off-dry, dark chocolate-tinged finish. Give this another couple of years. Tasted blind.

77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot. Matured in French oak, 55% new, 45% one-year old for 18 months. Fine tannins, very Pauillac in style with leafy Cabernet Sauvignon leading the way. No hurry to drink.

On first nose, this hits you with cedary oak. It achieves balance after a few minutes in the glass, as you start to enjoy the rich black fruits and coffee bean aspect to the palate, but the winery seems to be overpowering the vineyard here. This is a modern-style 2015 that can be enjoyed earlier than many other Pauillacs from this vintage, and it is often good value too. The first vintage with a second wine, Les Lions de Batailley, which perhaps explains why this feels just a little more supercharged than in previous years.

Impressive depth to the wine from the outset with a gently smoky edge to the ripe blackberries, blueberries and red plums. Some attractive spicy oak here, too. The mid-weight palate has a very composed and linear shape with a long, succulent and regal finish. Great polish and balance here; the structure is superb. Try from 2022.

Located in Pauillac, Château Batailley has produced a beautiful 2015, but it will need time to integrate its oak. Made primarily from Cabernet Sauvignon, with 20% Merlot and a splash of Petit Verdot, it offers a wealth of red currant, coffee, and cedary, woody spice characteristics, as well as a meaty undercurrent. Medium to full-bodied, ripe and polished on the palate, with ripe, yet present tannin, give bottle 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades or more.