Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesBarrel Sample: 94-95
Barrel Sample: 93-95+
Barrel Sample: 92-94
Barrel Sample: 93
Starting with the 2009 vintage, the owners, the Jean-Claude Bolleau family, have entrusted management of this estate to Domaine de Chevalier, a Graves great growth. Olivier Bernard and his team have undertaken to make this wine with an outstanding potential one of the jewels of the Pessac-Leognan appellation. In order to do so, they use the same methods as the finest great growths: ploughing the soil, sustainable viticulture, plot-by-plot vineyard management, hand picking and careful sorting of grapes, their transfer by gravity flow into small 50-80 hectolitre fermentation vats, finely-tuned extraction, malolactic fermentation, ageing in barrel on the lees, etc.
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.
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.