Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesVery pure, with a long, focused beam of cassis, warm plum and loganberry fruit flavors, seamlessly inlaid with savory, iron and floral notes. A tarry hint checks in on the finish, but the fruit and bright minerality win out easily. Shows good precision. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2034.
This shows lots of white pepper, chalk and crushed berries. Medium to full body, creamy tannins and a flavorful finish. 60% of the crop lost due to frost. Delicious now, but better after 2021.
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Clos Marsalette gives up scents of stewed plums, baked black cherries and mulberries with touches of cassis, cigar box and pencil lead. Medium-bodied, the palate has a firm, chewy texture and plenty of earth-laced black fruit, finishing just a tad firm.
This vineyard sits magnificently on gravelly rises deposited eons ago by the Garonne. Offering a great diversity, the subsoil is composed of marine sediment from the Miocene and Pliocene epochs (5 to 15 million years ago) in the form of shelly sand with a bit of clay, fawn-colored sand, and multi-colored clay.
Clos Marsalette's vineyard which covers an area of 12,30 hectares (for the red wine) plus 1,30 hectares (for the white wine) is also looked after expertly in order to produce a wine reflecting the typicity of this Terroir.
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.
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.