Chateau de France Blanc 2014
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a rich wine, with notes of pineapple and peach that are balanced by a tight texture and attractive minerality. The wood aging just shows through, lending a spicy accent to the vibrant finish. Barrel Sample: 93-95
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James Suckling
Lots of dried-apple and dried-pineapple character with hints of flan. Full body, plenty of fruit and a creamy-textured finish. Drink now.
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Wine Spectator
This has good cut, with a mix of dried pineapple, yellow apple and plum fruit flavors, laced with high-pitched verbena and honeysuckle notes. Offers a fresh, mineral-edged finish. Drink now through 2019.
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Chateau de France boasts all three of the territorial conditions needed to create a "Grand Vin": the soil, the sub-soil and the slopes. Its 40 hectares of vineyards, 36 of which are planted with red grapes, spread out over the most elevated plateau of Léognan.
The Chateau de France currently grows 4 hectares of white grapes. Bernard Thomassin redevelopped this forgotten vineyard in 1985, planting it with Sauvignon and Sémillon grapes, thereby reclaiming the tradition of the land for producing both red and white wines
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.