Winemaker Notes
The color is pale yellow with light green highlights and the nose displays lovely, assertive yellow fruit aromas (peach, apricot, and mango). With aeration, the bouquet goes on to reveal considerable depth and complexity with fruity (candied pineapple, peach), floral (acacia blossoms), mineral and empyreumatic nuances. The wine starts out very straightforward and is impressively smooth from the very first. It shows superb balance between richness, power, concentration and tension. The aftertaste is very long and expresses all the potential on the nose featuring delicious overtones of citrus fruit, white flowers, flint and brioche. The flavors are underpinned by beautiful acidity. Blend of Sauvignon blanc 90%, Sémillon 5%, Sauvignon Gris 5%.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Wonderfully complex nose in this white with ripe lemon, green papaya, lime peel and lots of ripe yellow peach. Full and focused, it offers a beautiful ripe acidity and silky texture on the palate. Long and precise finish with lots of flowers and mineral. What a wonderful white wine!
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A stunning wine with hints of pineapple, caramelized citrus, mandarin oranges, smoky figs and hazelnuts, this is a full-bodied, rich, superb white Graves from the Cathiard family. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2035.
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Wine Enthusiast
A rich wine, full-bodied in character, the acidity hiding behind the ripe fruits. Concentrated and structured, the spice coming through to dominate.
Barrel Sample: 93-95 Points -
Wine Spectator
This crackles with thyme and savory notes, offsetting the powerful core of lemon curd, white peach and fennel. The long, pure finish has a stony thread and extra waves of fruit and herb.
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.