Winemaker Notes
Fieuzal is modern, inventive and youthful in spirit. It is refined and remarkable in the mouth. Fieuzal awakens the uninitiated and holds the attention of the most discerning. Fieuzal is impressively smooth, delicate and exquisite. Expertly crafted, subtle but competent, Fieuzal seems effortless. Fieuzal dances on the palate, alive with a universe of complementary sensations. Precise structure holds together aromas and textures in a tight, unwavering equilibrium.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The smoky oak is a little dominant but softens through the palate, giving a charred, smoky, cigar-box edge to the rich black fruits. This is bright and perky, with firm tannins, great impact and a feeling of fruit that was easily extracted due to beautifully ripe fruit. A good wine which will age well.
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James Suckling
Very intense red-plum and dark-fleshed peach aromas, plus a hint of pomegranate, make this generous, well-structured Pessac-Léognan red very attractive. However, the full, moderately dry tannins need some time to resolve. Better from 2021, but with a long future ahead of it.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A barrel sample, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 de Fieuzal opens with cedary notes over a core of red and black currants, black cherries and tobacco with wafts of fallen leaves and lavender. Medium-bodied with a firm, grainy texture and oodles of freshness, it has plenty of compelling red and black fruit sparks and an earthy finish. Rating: 90-92
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Wine Enthusiast
Full of black fruits, this rich wine has structure and juicy berry flavors. The dry core of tannins balances the dense black fruits to give a wine with an excellent future. Drink from 2024.
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Wine Spectator
Youthfully vivid, with lots of red and black currant and raspberry confiture flavors driving through, inlaid with anise and sweet tobacco hints. Vibrant throughout, with a roasted apple wood note giving the finish a second kick. Best from 2022 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.