This is one of my secret weapon wines, that I know will make everybody happy when it is served. Signature Pauillac, generous but still with muscular tannins, loaded up with pencil lead, slate, cassis, cedar and mint leaf, with waves of liquorice and rose aromatics that keep you coming back for more. Ready to drink but with life ahead of it.

The finest Batailley I have had in many years, the dense purple-colored 2009 exhibits a boatload of tannin as well as sweet, caramelized, black currant fruit intermixed with hints of charcoal, cedarwood and smoke, a full-bodied mouthfeel and the aforementioned high, but sweet, well-integrated tannin displaying no jaggedness. Batailley often requires considerable patience as it can be one of the longest-lived Pauillacs. Atypically for Batailley, the 2009 should be ready to drink in 5-7 years and keep for three decades. - Robert Parker

Served blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Batailley '09 has a lovely cedar and mint-scented bouquet - well defined with just a little creamy oak to be subsumed. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a lovely succulent core of blackberry and strawberry fruit and a harmonious, silky finish. It has calmed down since I tasted it in barrel, but it is a long-term Pauillac that should be afforded cellaring for at least a decade. Tasted January 2013.

A chewy core of black currant, tobacco and roasted apple wood stretches out through the grip-framed finish. Fresh acidity rides underneath to keep it all lively. A solid version, with a throwback hint. Best from 2013 through 2023. –JM