Winemaker Notes
Blend: 50% Semillon, 35% Sauvignon Gris, 15% Sauvignon Blanc
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A white with impressive personality. Green mangoes, lemon rind and limes. Full-bodied, layered and beautiful. Love the dried-fruit and mineral character to the palate. A blend of semillon and sauvignon blanc.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Les Charmes-Godard Blanc (part of Nicolas Thienpont's portfolio) is a blend of 50% Semillon, 25% Sauvignon Gris and 25% Sauvignon Blanc picked at 55 hectoliters per hectare. It has a fragrant bouquet with lychee, pineapple and citrus fruit scents, then honeysuckle and jasmine - very complex and alluring. The palate is fresh and crisp with grapefruit and Granny Smith apples on the entry - a keen thread of acidity, very vivacious and tensile, but it does not quite deliver the depth and complexity on the finish to complete the wine. Maybe that will develop in barrel? I hope so, because this is a delicious white Bordeaux that is often overlooked.
Barrel Sample: 89-91 -
Wine Spectator
Fresh and racy, with a delicious mix of white peach, verbena, quinine, lemon zest and star fruit notes. Shows a flattering hint, but more than enough zip in the end. Sémillon, Sauvignon Gris and Sauvignon Blanc.
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.
On the right bank of Bordeaux between St. Emilion and Bergerac, Cotes de Francs boasts southwestern exposed slopes that produce robust Merlot-based wines. A tiny amount of Sémillon is grown and made in both dry and sweet styles.