Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Just touched by wood, this second white wine from both Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion is tangy, just hinting at herbaceousness. It has plenty of acidity, crisp citrus and pear flavors with a touch of spice from the wood aging. The wine is developing fast, drink from 2017.
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James Suckling
Wonderful aromas of lemons, minerals and papaya follow through to a full body, crisp acidity and mineral, chalk, stone and dried-apple undertones. Delicious now but better in 2017.
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Wine Spectator
Features a flattering edge of singed macadamia nut that melds wonderfully with the racier white peach, yellow apple and green almond flavors. The long salted butter finish has a touch of toast. Approachable now, but there's no rush. Drink now through 2020.
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.