Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Aged for the same time as the red wine; so approaching two years, but entirely in large-sized 400 litre barrels from Austria and Sancerre, this has a clear salinity to both the aromatics and the palate, coupled with a lovely rich weight on the palate. More intensity of flavour than many white Bordeaux, you certainly know that you are tasting a wine with ambition. Great first vintage with clean citrus flavours and an excellent retraction on the close of palate that gives the impression of minerality and freshness. Let’s hope Bordeaux has room for another icon white, as this is very much worth trying.
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James Suckling
Very firm and fresh with blueberry, blackberry and chocolate. Full body, firm tannins. This is long and deep. A very beautiful second wine.
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Wine Spectator
This has a lovely feel, with a light shortbread frame around a core of white peach, honeysuckle and quinine notes, and shows both blanched almond and thyme flavors through the finish. Has an intriguing combination of weight and zip and really stretches out nicely in the glass. Sauvignon Blanc. Drink now through 2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Le Petit Cheval Blanc, the first release to be commercialized, has a crisp and well-defined bouquet with scents of linden, yellow flowers and citrus fruit. Certainly there are no pyrazine elements here that Pierre-Olivier Clouet told me that he wanted to avoid. The palate is taut and linear, the acidity noticeable, conveying a light marine influence towards the finish with lip-smacking salinity on the aftertaste. It is a neutral style of Bordeaux Blanc that deftly disguises the oak. It is an impressive wine, though I wager that it will be even more so once the Sémillon comes on board in 2018.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
One of the most important wine regions of the world, Bordeaux is a powerhouse producer of wines of all colors, sweetness levels, and price points. Separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a coastal pine forest, this relatively flat region has a mild maritime climate, marked by cool wet winters and warm summers. Annual weather differences create significant vintage variations, making Bordeaux an exciting French wine region to follow.
The Gironde estuary, a defining feature of Bordeaux, separates most of the region into the Left Bank and the Right Bank. Farther inland, where the Gironde splits into the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers, the bucolic, rolling hills of the area in between, called Entre-Deux-Mers, is a source of great quality, approachable reds and whites.
The Left Bank, dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, contains the Médoc, Graves, and Sauternes, as well as the region’s most famous chateaux. Merlot is important here as the perfect blending grape for Cabernet Sauvignon adding plush fruit and softening Cabernet's sometimes hefty tannins. Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec may also be used in the Left Bank Bordeaux wine blends.
Merlot is the principal Bordeaux wine variety of the Right Bank; Cabernet Franc adds structure and complexity to Merlot, creating wines that are concentrated, supple, and more imminently ready for drinking, compared with their Left Bank counterparts. Key appellations of the Right Bank include St. Emilion and Pomerol.
Dry and sweet Bordeaux white wines are produced throughout the region from Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and sometimes Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris. Some of the finest dry whites can be found in the Graves sub-appellation of Pessac-Léognan, while Sauternes is undisputedly the gold standard for sweet wines. Small amounts of rosé and sparkling Bordeaux wines are made in the region as well.