Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Beautiful purity of lemon and green-mango aromas with light notes of fresh herbs and wet stones. The palate delivers a very attractively fresh and lively array of lemon flavors and a long, smooth and layered texture. Super fresh and taut finish. There’s lovely tension here. A blend of 90% sauvignon blanc and 10% semillon. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Bright and lively, with lemon and gooseberry gelée notes forming the core, while thyme, tarragon and sel gris accents race along the edge. A flash of salted butter runs underneath on the finish, lending a flattering hint. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Drink now through 2023.
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Decanter
More concentration than the Rahoul, with excellent zippy citrus and white flower notes, along with gentle, cold ash smoke. Not quite the lift of the best years, but this is an enjoyable and well-balanced white, with a slate finish. Drinking Window 2021 - 2026
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.