La Parde Haut-Bailly 2011

From the same plots as Château Haut-Bailly, La Parde de Haut-Bailly is the result of a strict selection and is stamped with its own specific style. In 2011, this wine shows a deep blazing colour. Very pure, aromatic and fruity, it is a pleasure wine.

Following a very wet Autumn, the Winter of 2010 and Spring 2011 were marked by drought. In Europe, Spring 2011 was the hottest and driest in 50 years, with only 78 millimeters of rain falling between March and June, compared to the average precipitation of 298 millimeters for the same period. The drought triggered early flowering and fruit formation in May. There was a heat wave on the 26th and 27th of June. Fortunately, this unusually warm Spring was balanced by a cool and rather wet Summer, which allowed the physiological development of the wines to start again. Finally, an Indian Summer in September guaranteed a perfectly ripe harvest. By the beginning of September, thanks to a certain amount of thinning out, enabling the air to circulate around the bunches, the grapes were perfectly ripe and healthy with dense aromas and excellent structure. The harvest started on the 9th September with the young Merlot plots. The harvest lasted three weeks under dry and sunny weather – perfect conditions for harvesting. Rather low yields of Cabernet Sauvignon were balanced by a more generous production of Merlots. The grapes were thoroughly sorted in the vineyard as well as in the cellars, where a brand new de-stemming machine precisely and gently separates the stems from the grapes. The alcoholic fermentation was kept at 26°C in order to protect the fruit from too much extraction.