Winemaker Notes
The colors are deep, the palate ample, powerful, and fruity. The aromatic range is very complex.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This estate, with vineyards in the suburbs of Bordeaux, has produced an elegant wine. Black fruits, taut tannins and a hint of smokiness are integrated into a stylish structure. Drink the wine from 2024.
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Decanter
Beautifully sleek, fresh plum and damson fruit on the nose, and a confidently extracted deep purple colour. The little touch of Petit Verdot is making a clear impact here, with a brush of black pepper spice. Jean-Christophe Mau works with Stephane Derenoncourt as a consultant, and there is a lovely focus in the vibrancy of the fruit, vinified in small stainless steel tanks. 33% of malolactic takes place in new oak and the rest in stainless steel. The blend here is 50% Merlot, 48% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot, aged in 33% new oak barrels for 14 months. Drinking Window 2023 - 2040
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James Suckling
Very pretty currant aromas with hints of asphalt and tar. Medium to full body and firm,silky tannins. Attractive fruit and structure. Try after 2022.
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Wine Spectator
A solid, slightly robust style, with waves of dark currant and blackberry paste flavors rolling through, underscored by tar, alder and sweet tobacco notes. A bramble accent is buried deep on the finish, while the tobacco edge lingers. Best from 2023 through 2032.
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.