Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This chateau in the middle of Bordeaux suburbs is now on good form, producing a wine that is firm and structured, with dark tannins and ample acidity.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Wine Spectator
Very solid, with a core of gently steeped black currant and plum fruit that shows ample depth, while notes of bay, loam and bramble run underneath. A loamy edge echoes longest, thanks to well-embedded acidity. Best from 2019 through 2028.
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James Suckling
Quite a savory wine in which the cassis and cranberry fruit rather sit in the background, but the tannins are moderate in this context, and that makes the wine very approachable. Better in two years but already delicious.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Brown, now in bottle, is building on the promise it showed in barrel. It has a ripe and generous bouquet with upfront cedar-infused black fruit. This property is always a little feisty in its youth and this 2014 is no different, though it needs 3-4 years to fully assimilate the new oak. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, delicious black fruit laced with tobacco and spices, gently fanning out towards the finish that offers commendable substance and length. A Pessac-Léognan property that I feel is undervalued in the marketplace, this 2014 Château Brown comes recommended and should drink well for 15-20 years.
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.
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.