Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A silky and delicious wine now with very fine tannins, medium body and berry, wet-earth, lavender and currant character. Drink now or hold.
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Decanter
This estate, owned by Paul Garcin, has produced a successful red in 2016 with a lovely sense of restrained power and a fresh delivery with well-paced, well-rounded tannins. It is not as juicy as some in this vintage, but it has presence and good persistency, and is expertly handled.This has all five of the main Bordeaux varieties: Merlot, both Cabs, Malbec and Petit Verdot from clay and gravel soils, aged in 33% new oak over 16 months. Drinking Window 2025 - 2040
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Jeb Dunnuck
The red is also outstanding. Notes of blackcurrants, smoked earth, wet stone, and chocolate all emerge from the 2016 Château Haut-Bergey. Medium-bodied, beautifully textured, and layered on the palate, it has ripe tannins and the hallmark purity of fruit that makes 2016 so special. Drink it over the coming 10-15 years.
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Wine Spectator
This has a fleshy plum and cassis-laden core, laced with singed tobacco leaf and dark earth notes and backed by a tug of cedar detail on the finish. A touch chewy in the end; for fans of the gutsy style. Best from 2022 through 2030.
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.