An elegant, dark ruby/purple-tinged effort displaying notes of tobacco smoke intermixed with sweet currant, cherry, and some toast, this medium-bodied wine has the hallmark purity married graciously with nicely concentrated fruit. The tannins are sweet but present and give definition to this well-made Pessac-Leognan. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2016.This property is making impressive wines under the new administration of American Robert Wilmers backed up by his winemaking team led by Veronique Sanders. I have consistently had a tendency to underrate the wines young since they are relatively delicate, and that style hasn’t changed, but there does seem to be more mid-palate and intensity than in the past. For example, I recently had both the 1998 and 2000 Haut-Bailly, and I would have rated them 93 and 91 respectively, which is higher than I had rated them in the past, adding to my belief that I consistently underestimate these wines.