Address: Château Batailley 33250 Pauillac France
Telephone: +33 (0)5 56 00 00 70
Visits: By appointment only
Details: Pauillac, 5ème cru classé, 57ha, gravel on sandstone and clay
Vineyards: Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Merlot Noir 25%, Cabernet Franc 3%, Petit Verdot 2%
History:
Batailley? Some historians claim it’s from the French word for battle (‘bataille’) with particular reference to a siege here during the Hundred Years War. Others say it’s named after a local winemaker of the same name who first planted vines in the area. At any rate, the name was in use by the time the St Martin family were running the vineyard in the late 1700s. In 1816, the property sold at auction to Daniel Guestier (of Barton & Guestier) and in 1866 was bought by Paris banker Constant Halphen from Guestier’s offspring. The by-now much expanded estate was managed by François and Marcel Borie, and when Halphen died in 1932, the brothers purchased the property. Ten years later they decided to split the estate between them: François took the smaller portion – he named it Haut-Batailley – while Marcel retained the Batailley title and château building for his considerably larger share. When Marcel died in 1961, Batailley passed to Marcel’s son-in-law Emile Castéja, of prominent negociant firm Borie-Manoux.
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