Winemaker Notes
The wines are well-balanced with great purity of fruit, sleek and very elegant tannins, enhanced by the very successful cellar work. The whites present terrific aromatic purity and really stand out; they are so precise, polished, round and fragrant.
Blend: 71.8% Sauvignon Blanc, 28.2% Semillon
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Straight-up classic notes of honeyed pineapple, chalky minerality, minty herbs, and spicy nuances emerge from the 2020 Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere Blanc, a deep, richly textured, medium to full-bodied white with nicely integrated acidity, beautiful overall balance, and a great finish. It's one of the finest whites I've tasted from this chateau and is well worth seeking out. I like it today, yet it should have 10-12 years or more of prime drinking as well.
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Wine Enthusiast
While its rich, this wine has fine poise and intensity. The wine's green fruit flavors are lifted beautifully by the tight texture, the subtle interplay of spice from the wood and luminescent acidity. The wine is sure to age well.
Barrel Sample: 95-97 -
James Suckling
Aromas of spearmint, fresh thyme, pears, green papaya and white lilies. Full-bodied, with beautiful structure and depth. Gorgeous fruit and intensity. Long and flavorful. So enjoyable now but will improve beautifully with age.
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Decanter
Herbal accents on the nose with creamy lemon, ginger and salty orange touches. Lots going on here, definite oak influence, too, which is a little restrictive at the moment and really does mark the palate, causing a bitter finish and stark spice though this will settle. There’s delectable fruit with a juiciness at the end and signs of energy and persistence from start to finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Malartic Lagravière Blanc has turned out nicely in bottle, offering up aromas of sweet citrus oil, pastry cream, crushed mint and Sauvignon botanicals, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and fleshy palate that's relatively textural without veering into outright unctuosity. This will appeal to readers who appreciate Sauvignon-dominant Bordeaux blends.
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Wine Spectator
A bright, refined style, with focused white peach, gooseberry and verbena notes backed by a hint of lemon pith on the finish. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.
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.