Chateau Haut Bailly - La Parde de Haut Bailly 2017

JAMES SUCKLING: "A very attractive red with chocolate and hazelnut character highlighting the dark fruit. Medium to full body. Flavorful finish. Delicious. Second wine of Château Haut-Bailly. Drink or hold."

DECANTER: "Charming and elegant, the rich blueberry fruit has good density, even if its not particularly generous. The tannins close the fruit down but have life and definition in them, and this will soften and open within four to five years. There was 30% frost in the vineyard, but no second generation fruit was used - in fact, they didn't even have any. The blend has a little more Merlot than usual. 30% of production was used for La Parde, and around 20% for the estate's third wine."

JEB DUNNUCK: "A blend of 65% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, brought up in 30% new French for 12 months, the 2017 La Parde Haut-Bailly is another charming, classic, high-quality wine that I'd be happy to drink. Ripe black cherries, blackberries, leafy herbs, tobacco leaf, and a kiss of loamy soil all emerge from the glass, and it's medium-bodied, has plenty of fruit, a good spine of acidity, and a clean finish. It's already delicious yet will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and evolve for over a decade."