Winemaker Notes
Aromas of currants and raspberries with burnt orange, too. Medium body, firm and tangy tannins and a juicy finish. Fresh and tight.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has excellent depth, loaded with quality cabernet character. Expect fresh black currants, black olives, graphite, dark minerals and white pepper. Full-bodied and juicy, with lots of creamy, fine-grained tannins before a long, structured but precise finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
The black coffee aroma and dense black currant fruits give this wine restrained power. From the Pauillac plateau, the wine is full of both fruit and tannins. Drink from 2029.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
A dark, winey style, with a deep well of cassis and black cherry reduction flavors supported by charcoal, tobacco and chestnut leaf notes. Violet peeks out, giving this a chime of purity. Shows scale but is just a bit shy on energy. Still, this is an impressive effort for the vintage. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Notes of vanillin, tobacco and oak introduce the 2023 Bellegrave (Pomerol). Medium- to full-bodied, creamy and layered, it is built around structured, firm tannins that carry through to a somewhat rustic finish.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
The leader on the Left Bank in number of first growth classified producers within its boundaries, Pauillac has more than any of the other appellations, at three of the five. Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild border St. Estephe on its northern end and Chateau Latour is at Pauillac’s southern end, bordering St. Julien.
While the first growths are certainly some of the better producers of the Left Bank, today they often compete with some of the “lower ranked” producers (second, third, fourth, fifth growth) in quality and value. The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification that goes back to 1855. The finest chateaux in that year were judged on the basis of reputation and trading price; changes in rank since then have been miniscule at best. Today producers such as Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau Grand Puy-Lacoste, Chateau Lynch-Bages, among others (all fifth growth) offer some of the most outstanding wines in all of Bordeaux.
Defining characteristics of fine wines from Pauillac (i.e. Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blends) include inky and juicy blackcurrant, cedar or cigar box and plush or chalky tannins.
Layers of gravel in the Pauillac region are key to its wines’ character and quality. The layers offer excellent drainage in the relatively flat topography of the region allowing water to run off into “jalles” or streams, which subsequently flow off into the Gironde.