Château Haut-Bailly Lanting Collection 高柏麗蘭亭雅集

《蘭亭集序》是代表古代中文文化巔峰的作品之一。東晋穆帝永和九年（公元353年）三月三日，“書聖”王羲之與謝安，孫綽等人，在山陰（今浙江紹興）蘭亭”修禊“，酒酣之際，王羲之為眾人的詩集寫下了序文，聞名後世的《蘭亭集序》由此問世。

波爾多高柏麗酒莊以現代中國書法家袁硕的《蘭亭集序》臨摹作品為主題，推出限量版的《蘭亭雅集》收藏版， 以紀念其酒莊備受好評的2015和2016年的兩款佳釀。

下圖為現藏在北京故宮博物院的《蘭亭集序》摹本，傳為唐朝馮承素所寫。

Wine is an inseparable part of the French culture, as is calligraphy for the Chinese.  What do they have in common?  Château Haut-Bailly presents an answer to that question.

In 353 AD, a group of Chinese poets gathered for a seasonal ceremonial party.  The preeminent calligrapher （王羲之） among the attendees who later became known as the "Sage of Calligraphy" wrote a scroll to commemorate the gathering.  It became a masterpiece imitated by calligraphers in generations to come.  The most famous imitation of this scroll was created in 639 AD by a calligrapher（馮承素）who was serving on the Tang imperial court.  Even 1300 years later, his imitation is still counted among the imperial treasures now preserved at the Palace Museum in Beijing (see partial photocopy above).

The tradition to imitate the masterpiece continues today.  A modern Chinese calligrapher, Shuo Yuan（袁碩）, followed.  He is also known as the artist with whom the fashion label Hermès collaborated with to create a series of scarves showcasing the Chinese zodiacs (for the curious, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger).  His Lanting imitation scroll is now featured by Château Haut-Bailly in a special collection created to present two of Haut-Bailly's most highly regarded vintages from the last decade.

The two bottles of wine in this collection will surely be consumed before the next millennium.  Will Yuan's calligraphy be equally treasured as the Tang copy? The jury is still out.  We may never know.

"The 2016 Haut-Bailly was mightily impressive when tasted from barrel. Now, matured in 50% new oak and bottled at the end of April 2018 (they prefer to bottle before spring here), it has a very well defined bouquet of black fruit, graphite, crushed stone and light rose petal aromas that gain intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with quite grippy tannin. This Haut-Bailly feels pure and classic in style, offering well-judged acidity and a sophisticated, quite tensile finish that lingers long in the mouth. I suspect this might close down in a year or two and deserves perhaps 8 to 10 years in bottle to show what it can really do. The best Haut-Bailly in the modern era? For certain." - Neal Martin, vinous (January 2019) Rating: 97, Drink from: 2026-2050

"Matching the brilliant 2015, the 2016 Château Haut Bailly checks in as a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc brought up in 60% new French oak. This sensational effort boasts a deep purple color as well as a massive bouquet of crème de cassis, tobacco leaf, crushed flowers, and graphite, with just hints of smoky earth emerging with time in the glass. Deep, medium to full-bodied, and concentrated, it’s nevertheless all about finesse and elegant, and this beauty just glides across the palate. Reminding me a little bit of the 2009 with its textural richness and length, it’s another awesome wine from Véronique Sanders that’s capable of keeping for 30+ years." - Jeb Dunnuck (2/28/2019),  Rating: 98, Drink from: 2019-2049

"The 2015 Haut Bailly checks in as a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot that comes from the gravelly soils of the Graves region, just southeast of Bordeaux. It’s an incredibly beautiful, classy 2015 that offers a sexy bouquet of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf, and exotic spices. Deep, full-bodied, and voluptuously textured, with ultra-fine tannin and building richness that never takes away from its incredible elegance and purity, it’s another heavenly 2015 that’s going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and just sing for 2-3 decades. Hats off to winemaker Véronique Sanders – this might end up rivaling the out of this world 2009." - Jeb Dunnuck (2/15/2018),  Rating: 98+, Drink from: 2022-2052