Winemaker Notes
A wine of precise character, with freshness, power, extreme elegance, and a beautiful lasting taste in the mouth.
Blend: 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Sémillon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Sliced lemons and pear drops with some hints of cream. Limes. Full-bodied with a creamy and delicious palate of dried fruits and hints of nougat. Chewy and phenolic.
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Wine Spectator
Shows nice brightness, with fleur de sel notes out front that give this zing from the get-go, followed by pink grapefruit oil, gooseberry and bitter almond hints. The fleur de sel takes an encore on the finish for zip.
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Decanter
Sappy and slatey, more emphasis on texture than fruit, this is a lovely understated wine. Juicy and easy to drink, not trying too hard.
Barrel Sample: 92 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Domaine De La Solitude (Pessac-Léognan) Blanc is classic Sauvignon with its bright citrus and grapefruit aromatics as well as its medium-bodied, clean, crisp, balanced profile on the palate. It's going to be versatile on the dinner table and should evolve of 4-6 years, although it's great today.
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.