Chateau Haut-Batailley 2016

85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. Deep ruby-purple in colour. You can sense the high proportion of Cabernet immediately on the nose, cool with blackcurrant fruit, there are subtle and sophisticated layers of cedar and toasted spices. Pure and focused, it remains youthful on the nose. This follows on the palate, which has great drive. Black fruit lines the palate in tandem with ripe tannins that offer a velveteen bite. The proportions here are superb; tannin, fruit, acid and alcohol all lie in harmony, with flecks of wood spice adding a generous touch of glossy sweetness. Not as showy as some other recent Batailleys, this is proper Pauillac that harnesses the vintage superbly. If approaching now it should be decanted, but you can already enjoy it with food. It will only improve over the next decade in bottle, and will then have a long drinking window.