Château Batailley, Pauillac, Bordeaux 2016

Château Batailley is one of Pauillac's most dependable classed growths — a fifth growth from the 1855 ranking that has quietly delivered classic claret for generations, usually at a friendlier price than its more famous neighbours. The 2016 is a wine to buy with confidence: the vintage is one of the great modern Bordeaux years, combining ripeness with freshness and firm, ageworthy tannins.

The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon-led, around 85%, with Merlot and a little Petit Verdot, aged some eighteen months in French oak with a good proportion new. Give it air and the classic Pauillac signature emerges — graphite and cassis, a note of freshly picked mint, tobacco and a touch of violet and dark chocolate. It is medium-bodied and properly structured, with the firm, gripping tannins that mark it out as a wine for the table and for the cellar.

It is drinking well now with a decant, but it will be better still from around 2028 and hold for two decades.

How to Serve

Serve at 17–18°C. Decant an hour or more ahead of time — young classed-growth Pauillac needs it to soften and open.

Where to Drink It

Wiltons on Jermyn Street, the natural home for a claret like this. Or Scott's in Mayfair with something off the bone.

Food Pairings

Rack of lamb, cooked pink, with rosemary. A rare ribeye is the other obvious pleasure.