Château Haut-Bailly, Wine estate in Pessac-Léognan, France.

Château Haut-Bailly is a wine estate in Léognan, in the Pessac-Léognan appellation south of Bordeaux. Its 39-hectare vineyard grows only red varieties on one of the highest rises of the left bank of the Garonne, 48 metres above sea level, where sand mixes with gravel over a subsoil of faluns, fossil stone visible in the walls of one of the winery buildings. The pale stone building with its steep dark roof and three arched dormer windows stands among the vines.

The property began in the 16th century and took its name from Parisian banker Firmin Le Bailly, who purchased it in 1630. This early foundation established what would eventually become a respected wine producer in the Bordeaux region.

The name comes from Firmin Le Bailly, the Parisian banker who bought the estate in 1630. Since 1967 Haut-Bailly has made a second wine, first called Domaine de la Parde, then La Parde de Haut-Bailly from 1979 until 2018, now Haut-Bailly II. A third wine, HB, has been made since 1987, and in suitable vintages a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon rosé, Rose de Haut-Bailly, has been sold since 2004.

The vineyard sits on the highest part of Léognan, at 48 metres above sea level, on a single 39-hectare block of red varieties. Drainage is helped by ditches laid out across the property. Visitors reach the estate south of Bordeaux, near Château Malartic-Lagravière, Smith Haut Lafitte and Carbonnieux. Look for fossil stone from the subsoil set into the walls of one of the cellars.

A quarter of the vines are 80 to 90 years old, a rare old-vine holding in Pessac-Léognan. It traces back to Alcide Bellot des Minières, who refused to graft during the phylloxera crisis and kept ungrafied plants. Fossil stones from the subsoil, faluns, are visible in the walls of one of the winery buildings.