Château Balac Cru Bourgeois Cuvée Prestige Haut-Medoc 2003

Asking the assistant which of the 3 stocked Haut-Medocs they recommended, they suggested this wine. After an hour or so of decanting, the bouquet showed red and black berry fruit, cedar, cab-leaf, earth and some mineral. The palate was fairly restrained, with oak a little dominant, fruit somewhat underdeveloped and tannins fairly drying. I felt this wine did possess some interest and complexity, but was too young and unsettled. Overall not a bad Haut-Medoc, but have had certainly much better.
50+4+12+16+7 = 89/100