Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Perhaps the strongest wine I have ever tasted from Malartic Lagravière, the 2005 has a dense ruby/purple color and a wonderfully sweet nose of crème de cassis, graphite, and soil undertones. Medium-bodied., smoky, with classic scorched earth, Graves-like aromatics and flavors, this wine displays impeccable winemaking, with pure fruit, medium body, and gorgeously long, rich flavors and moderate levels of tannin. The wine should be relatively drinkable in 3-5 years and last for at least two decades or more. This is possibly the finest Malartic Lagravière ever made. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025
-
Wine Enthusiast
A deliciously black currant-flavored wine, with juicy fruit, plum skins and spice over the firm tannins. Great balance already shows through; a finely poised wine.
-
Connoisseurs' Guide
Concentrated cherry-like fruit sits at the heart of this carefully composed youngster while highlights of green olives, loam and a dash of sweet oak add richness and range. Nicely integrated tannins provide very claret-like structure yet stop short of being in any way tough, and, if fully ripened, the wine shows a fine sense of polish and should reach its top form with a wait of but five or six years.
-
Wine Spectator
There's beautiful blackberry and toasty oak on the nose, with hints of licorice and meat. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a dark chocolate, fresh herb and currant aftertaste. Best after 2013. 8,330 cases made.
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.