Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Suave aromas of cedar and fresh red flowers with a thread of ripe red berries and blackcurrants, mulberries, coal smoke and cool stones. The palate delivers a wealth of rich red-fruit flavors, framed in sleek tannins that build with precision and length. A class act. One of the best from here in the modern era. Try from 2023.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another sleeper is the 2016 Château de Potensac, which is 44% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, all aged 14 months in 30% new French oak. This beauty is upfront and ready to go, with a dark, rich bouquet of currants, unsmoked tobacco, graphite, and earth. With beautiful concentration and a layered, elegant texture, it’s one of those wines that has ample upfront appeal yet will keep for 15+ years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Is the 2016 Potensac this estate's finest vintage to date? Certainly, its compelling bouquet of cassis and pencil shavings and it's seamless, beautifully balanced palate make a strong case. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with beautifully refined tannins, lively acids and a long, penetrating finish, this is built to age with style, yet it is also quite accessible at this early stage for a young Potensac. Rating: 91+
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Decanter
This is such classic Médoc - the freshness is clear, perfectly underpinning the crunchy red and black berry fruits. It's super-seductive and easy to drink despite being closed right now, as you would expect at this stage, but the weight of tannins suggests that it will open back up fairly swiftly, and a second bottle I tasted was even more juicy. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend.
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Wine Enthusiast
This ripe wine offers structure from the Cabernet in the blend but also rich berry fruits with just a hint of chocolate. Its density and acidity give a smooth as well as juicy aftertaste.
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.
One of the most—if not the most—famous red wine regions of the world, the Medoc reaches from the city of Bordeaux northwest along the left bank of the Gironde River almost all the way to the Atlantic. Its vineyards climb along a band of flatlands, sandwiched between the coastal river marshes and the pine forests in the west. The entire region can only claim to be three to eight miles wide (at its widest), but it is about 50 miles long.
While the Medoc encompasses the Haut Medoc, and thus most of the classed-growth villages (Margaux, Moulis, Listrac, St-Julien, Pauillac and St. Estephe) it is really only those wines produced in the Bas-Medoc that use the Medoc appellation name. The ones farther down the river, and on marginally higher ground, are eligible to claim the Haut Medoc appellation, or their village or cru status.
While the region can’t boast a particularly dramatic landscape, impressive chateaux disperse themselves among the magically well-drained gravel soils that define the area. This optimal soil draining capacity is completely necessary and ideal in the Medoc's damp, maritime climate. These gravels also serve well to store heat in cooler years.