Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Clos Marsalette Blanc is 60% Sauvignon and 40% Semillon, and it's unquestionably another gorgeous 2021 white. White peach, pear, flowers, and a beautiful sense of chalky, almost salty minerality give way to a medium-bodied, vibrant white that has bright acidity, the purity and precision that's common in the vintage, and a great finish. I love it.
Range: 92-94 -
James Suckling
Lovely density and richness to this, with dried lemon and apple. Medium-bodied, dense and layered. Plenty of firmness and fruitiness.
Range: 92-93 -
Wine Spectator
This has a lot to like, with a vibrant mix of white peach, yellow plum and chamomile notes laced with flashes of shortbread, lemon curd and salted butter. The long finish keeps good tension, with a quinine accent lingering prettily. Lovely. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Drink now through 2030.
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
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.