Tour and Gourmet Dinner with Wine-pairing at Château Haut-Bailly, Appellation Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé, with Daina Paulin - Bordeaux Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours, France

Pictures: Amuses Gueules and Champagne on the Terrasse.Tour and Gourmet Dinner with Wine-pairing at Château Haut-Bailly, Appellation Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé, with Daina Paulin - Bordeaux Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours, France

The final event of the 2018 Bordeaux Tour by ombiasy was a tour of and dinner at Château Haut-Bailly. It was a most memorable evening thanks to our charming host, Daina Paulin, the very special setting in the dining and the living rooms of Château Haut-Bailly, the excellent food of Chef Jean-Charles Poinsot, and – last but not least - the superb Chateau Haut-Bailly wines.

We started with a tour of the vineyard and the winemaking facilities.

We moved then to the Château Haut-Bailly Mansion for dinner.

We began with Champagne on the terrasse, watching the sun going down.

We then proceed to the dining room and were served a meal – worthy of a Michelin-star - prepared by the private chef. Daina Paulin poured a selection of Château Haut-Bailly wines.

After dinner we moved to the living room for tea and had the opportunity to tour the kitchen to personally thank Chef Jean-Charles Poinsot for his inspirational menu.

This exclusive dinner celebration in the private living quarters of the owner was be the perfect finale of our wine and gourmet tour.

Daina Paulin was our host.

Pictures: Arriving at Château Haut-Bailly

Château Haut-Bailly

Château Haut-Bailly is a Graves Cru Classé estate that has really hit form in the last 5-7 years. It is located in the commune of Léognan, which is usually more associated with white wine production. Just a stone’s throw away from the city of Bordeaux and our hotel, Château Haut-Bailly, one of the most prestigious Cru Classé de Graves, sits majestically in a 30 hectare vineyard at the heart of the Graves region on the left bank of the river Garonne. Neighboring estates include Château Malartic-Lagravière, Château Smith Haut Lafitte and Château Carbonnieux. The estate's second wine is named Le Parde de Haut-Bailly.

Pictures: In the Vineyard

At Château Haut-Bailly wine has been produced for more than five centuries. Like many Bordeaux estates, the property changed owners multiple times over the centuries. However, three owner families put their mark on the estate.

First, in 1630 it was bought by the Le Bailly family which eventually gave the estate its name. In those days the château had about 80 acres under vine, roughly the same as today. There were many ups and downs during the centuries and by the 1950s the estate was in a sorry state.

Pictures: Cellar Tour

Second, a wine merchant from Belgium, Daniel Sanders, bought the château in 1955 and started intensive renovations. His efforts proofed him right and Château Haut-Bailly was one of the 16 wine producers awarded with the Grand Cru Classé certification in the 1959 classification of the Graves estates.

Finally, in 1998, Elisabeth and Robert G. Wilmers – he is an American banker, she is French – bought Château Haut-Bailly and spared no expenses to invest in the vineyards, winery, and the château to give the estate the possibility to keep producing top quality wines. Robert G. Wilmers passed away in 2017.

Today, Château Haut-Bailly is managed by Véronique Sanders, fourth generation of the Sanders family.

Robert G. Wilmers (1934 - 2017)

In 1998 Château Haut-Bailly was purchased by the late Robert G. Wilmers, Chairman and CEO of the M & T Bank based in Buffalo, New York. As a lover of Bordeaux Grands Crus, his dream came true when he became the owner at Haut-Bailly. He spent much of his childhood and professional life in Belgium.

Hugely conscious of Haut-Bailly’s history yet eager to ensure continuity and modernity, he entrusted in 1998 Haut-Bailly’s management to Véronique Sanders, granddaughter of Jean Sanders.

Picture: Annette Schiller with Daina Paulin and the late Robert G. Wilmers in New York. See: Bordeaux Vintage 2014 in Bottle: Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGC) on 2017 North America Tour in New York - Schiller’s Favorites

Véronique Sanders, General Manager

In 1998, at the age of 30, Véronique Sanders became the General Manager of Château Haut-Bailly, making her one of a very small number of women in charge of a vineyard and the fourth generation of her family to be associated with Haut-Bailly. After two years of preparation at the Grandes Ecoles françaises, she obtained a Master’s degree in economics at the Sorbonne. She began her career at Publicis-FCB in Paris and Prague. Deciding to improve her knowledge about wine, she returned to Bordeaux in 1997 to obtain her DUAD diploma from the Faculty of Oenology. Following the sale of Château Haut-Bailly by her grandfather, Jean Sanders, Robert G. Wilmers appointed Véronique as Commercial Director in 1998 and General Manager in 2000.

Gourmet Dinner with Wine-pairing at Château Haut-Bailly, Appellation Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé, with Daina Paulin

Amuses Gueules and Champagne on the Terrasse

We started the dinner with small bites and a Pol Roger Champagne on the terrasse of the chateau.

Pictures: Amuses Gueules and Champagne on the Terrasse

Dinner

We then moved over to the dining room for dinner.

Pictures: Dinner

Pictures: Dinner

4-Course Menu

Chef Jean-Charles Poinsot prepared for us an outstanding 4-course menu.

Scallops, red butter

Wagyu beef filet

Selection of cheese

Vanilla, red fruits macaron

Chocolate

The Wines

Château Haut-Bailly Portfolio

Château Haut-Bailly has 28 hectares of vineyards which are very well sited on high, gravelly ground just east of Léognan village. In total the estate produces 150,000 bottles annually. Approximately 50% of production from the property is Grand Vin, 30% is second and 20% is third wine, although this will depend on the vintage.

Grand Vin: Château Haut-Bailly

The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (25%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). The grapes are fermented in 26 concrete tanks of different sizes. The wines are aged for 18 months in new (about 50%) and used barrique barrels. There are 3 different cellars for barrel aging.

La Parde de Haut-Bailly

The estate's second wine is La Parde de Haut-Bailly, produced since 1967, but under the name Domaine de la Parde until 1979. It is aged in barrels for 12 months.

Pessac-Léognan by Chateau Haut-Bailly

The property’s third wine, "Pessac-Léognan," which bears the same name as its appellation, was created in 1987. It comes from young vines – an accessible wine that has spent less time in barrel and can be enjoyed young.

Rose de Haut-Bailly

Since 2004, Château Haut-Bailly has produced a ‘rosé de saignée’ when the conditions allow.

La Parde de Haut Bailly 2015

Château Haut-Bailly was one of the first to produce a second wine in 1967. Originated from the same plots and made with the same winemaking techniques as the first label, La Parde Haut-Bailly is subject to the same draconian selection controls. Over time, it has developed its own personality, displaying a pleasant silky texture on the palate and achieving a style of elegance and refinement. Although its softness and forward aroma mean it can be drunk sooner than Château Haut-Bailly, it also has good aging potential (5 to 8 years).

wine-searcher average price in US$: 30

Château Haut-Bailly 2015

The 2015 Haut-Bailly has an intense bouquet with raspberry preserve, blackberry and briary scents intertwined with cedar and hints of truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins and superb acidity (more tensile than I remember it in barrel). I adore the focus and the class of this wine, the manner in which it gently fans out toward the finish. Classy and sophisticated, this is an outstanding Haut-Bailly. To repeat my sentiment from barrel, this 2015 is up there with the 2009 and 2010. Anticipated maturity: 2021 - 2045. Score: 95 Neal Martin, March 2018

wine-searcher average price in US$: 125

Château Haut-Bailly 2012

The classic 2012 Haut-Bailly is staggeringly great wine, with a stunning bouquet of lead pencil shavings, blueberries, black raspberries and blackcurrants and perhaps a touch of spring flowers, followed by a medium to full-bodied wine with an almost seamless integration of wood, alcohol and tannin. It is rich, concentrated, stunningly supple, pure and a total hedonistic and intellectual turn-on. This wine defines what is meant by intensity of flavor, but it is light on its feet, à la great cuisine. It should be drinkable reasonably young, but age effortlessly for 25-30 years. Drink 2015-2045. Score: 96 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (218), April 2015

wine-searcher average price in US$: 81

Château Haut-Bailly 2008

A candidate for the -wine of the vintage,- the 2008 Haut-Bailly possesses incredible complexity. Tell-tale notes of lead pencil shavings, charcoal, damp earth, black cherries and black currants intermixed with a hint of subtle barbecue smoke are present in this classic, quintessential Graves. Medium-bodied with an emerging, precocious complexity, it is a super-pure, beautifully textured, long wine that can be drunk now or cellared for 20-25 years. Bravo! Score: 96 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (194), May 2011

wine-searcher average price in US$: 91

Tea, Coffee

After dinner we moved back to the living room.

This exclusive dinner celebration in the private living quarters of the owner was be the perfect finale of our wine and gourmet tour.

Pictures: Tea, Coffee

In the Kitchen with Chef Jean-Charles Poinsot

Before leaving, we went to the kitchen to say thank you to Chef Jean-Charles Poinsot for the outstanding dinner.

Pictures: Last Stage - In the Kitchen with Chef Jean-Charles Poinsot

Good Night

Picture: Good Night

Winemaker Dinner with Château Haut-Bailly at BToo in Washington DC, with Daina Paulin and Chef Bart Vandaele

Earlier in the year, we enjoyed a great winemaker dinner with the wines of Château Haut-Bailly at BToo in Washington DC, with Daina Paulin and Chef Bart Vandaele.

Daina Paulin was in Washington DC and Annette Schiller/ ombiasy WineTours was able to organize a winemaker dinner at BToo, with Daina and the wines of Château Haut-Bailly and Chef Bart Vandaele and his American/ Belgian/ French fusion cooking.

Picture: Winemaker Dinner with Château Haut-Bailly at BToo in Washington DC, with Daina Paulin, Annette Schiller, Chef Bart Vandaele and Christian Schiller