Winemaker Notes
Blend: 75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Semillon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Solid core of fruit with sliced-green-apple, stone and pear character. Medium to full body and tangy acidity. Shows potential.
Range: 92-93 -
Jeb Dunnuck
In a vintage filled with pure, balanced, incredibly impressive whites, the 2016 Château Picque Caillou Blanc is another outstanding white. If Bordeaux whites are your thing, you’re in luck with the 2016s. Perfumed notes of white grapefruit, pineapple, white flowers, and green herbs all emerge from this medium-bodied, vibrant, juicy white that’s ideal for drinking over the coming 7-8 years.
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Decanter
Juicy white peaches and nectarines, with a fresh, almost bracing vivacity and a mouthwatering finish with gentle white pepper notes. Very good, one of the few producers with equal success in red and white this year. 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Sémillon from 1.7ha of gravel soils. Valerie Lavigne consults for owner Paulin Calvet owner. Drinking Window 2018 - 2028
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.