Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 51% Sauvignon Blanc, 33% Semillon and the rest Sauvignon Gris, this wine has staggering aromatics of orange blossom, lemon custard, pineapple and mango. Exotic, rich and full-bodied, it should drink nicely for at least 10 -15 years or more.
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James Suckling
This is a juicy and luscious white. Not the perfect 2009. But really delicious and impressive. It's full-bodied, with creamy, floral and apple pie character. Lots of new wood and ripe fruit. Better in 2015. But up front and sexy now.
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Wine Enthusiast
A gorgeously ripe wine, full of tropical fruit flavors. All this opulence is tempered with spice, grapefruit and lime flavors. A finely structured and textured wine.
Barrel Sample:92-94
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Wine Spectator
A ripe white, offering a good bolt of lemon curd and heather running through the middle, with brioche, paraffin, passion fruit and green almond notes filling in the background. The lush, creamy finish sports the punch of the vintage, displaying length and definition.
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.