Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Dark fruits with spiced chocolate, licorice, black olives and wet earth. Full-bodied with a nice grip of ripe, juicy tannins and a velvety texture. Succulent and vivid yet firm and structured. Polished finish with notes of crushed stones.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Already showing some softness, this wine with a generous texture is dense. Black fruits have some sweetness beneath the young berry flavors. Plenty of acidity contrast with the full, ripe berries. Drink from 2026.
-
Decanter
Smooth and supple, nice bounce to the palate with a creaminess to the blackcurrant and blueberry fruit. Round and gentle, not too much in any one direction. Clean and precise. Tannins have lots of grip but are well integrated. Nice energy and good fun - well worked, intense but balanced. Great freshness, lots of appeal with a liquorice tang on the finish.
-
Wine Spectator
Round, ripe and polished in feel, with an inviting core of warmed cassis and plum puree laced with light iron, red tea and sanguine notes. Packs judicious toast, which lets the fruit and savory notes play out nicely. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
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.