Chateau Haut-Batailley, Pauillac, 2018

Fifth Growth Pauillac at its most approachable—yet don't mistake elegance for simplicity. Since the Cazes family (of Lynch-Bages fame) took over in 2017, Haut-Batailley has undergone a quiet revolution: new cellar, meticulous viticulture, and winemaking that emphasizes freshness over extraction. The 2018 vintage was exceptional across Bordeaux, and this wine captures the best of it—ripe cassis, cedar, graphite, with the characteristic Pauillac gravelly minerality. Drinking beautifully now, but will reward cellaring through 2035. Decant one hour.