Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Great cassis nose that's so fresh and vibrant for 10 years of age, then comes the crisp, dry palate where there's easily enough substance to make a harmonious package. With a little more polish at the finish this would rate even higher. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Almost sweet in its richness, this is a deliciously fruity wine. The structure and tannins are almost buried among all of the velvety fruits, ripe berry flavors and layered wood notes. That said, it still has complexity and richness that promise aging, with the final acidity giving some brightness.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Probably the best wine that has come from this estate, along with their 2005, the final blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot boasts Michel Rolland as the consulting oenologist. This organically farmed vineyard has turned out a deeply layered wine with a striking perfume of graphite, wet stones, red and black currants, tobacco leaf and underbrush. The compelling aromatics are followed by a medium-bodied but intensely concentrated wine with loads of ripe fruit, plenty of glycerin (14% natural alcohol) and a long, nuanced, impressively endowed finish. Accessible already, this wine should continue to drink well for 15 or more years.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine Spectator
Packed and very backward, with taut tobacco, iron and bittersweet cocoa notes up front, while the core of crushed plum, roasted fig and cassis flavors is held in reserve. Lots of chalky grip marks the finish, where the fruit drips in the background. Best from 2015 through 2022.
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.