I went up to the Grill Room at the Club to arrange a dinner next week when I chanced upon a winemaker's dinner in the last stages of preparation. The featured estate was Chateau Haut-Bailly and the winemaker was there to present the wines. Although being on call (away from the hospital) and therefore cannot drink, I nevertheless had a chat with her about the estate and the wines. Although the second wine (and they have a third wine too) can come from designated plots of lesser terroirs or younger vines. they vinify all the plots separately and it is at the final assemblage that determines which batch goes to the grand vin, the second and the third wines.
Chateau Haut-Bailly does not grow any white grapes unlike many other estates in Pessac-Leognan. They however make a Cabernet Sauvignon rose from time to time in recent year. When the grapes are small, there is little juice and no rose is made. When however the grapes are large, making a saignee rose can improve the juice to skin ratio for the red wine and one gets the bonus of a rose too!
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