Evoking aromas of white flowers, lemon oil, lime tree leaves and spring flowers, the 2023 Aile d'Argent is medium to full-bodied, charming and enveloping with a fleshy core of fruit and a mouthwatering, long finish. While not as dense or fleshy as previous iterations, this vintage is a notable success within its context. It is a blend of 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 44.5% Sauvignon Gris and 0.5% Muscadelle. The Wine Advocate Published: Apr 26, 2024, Yohan Castaing
"Harvested in the month of August, the 2022 Aile d'Argent bursts with aromas of gooseberries, white flowers, lime zest and mango. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it's a bright, fleshy Sauvignon Blanc-dominant blend that concludes with a saline finish." William Kelley, Apr 2023, Wine Advocate
Including fully 29% Sémillon, the 2021 Cos d'Estournel Blanc is a terrific effort from holdings in the northern Médoc. Offering up aromas of confit citrus, crisp orchard fruit, lime zest, pastry cream and freshly braked bread, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and incisive, with chalky structuring dry extract and a penetrating finish. There's no question that it's one of the Médoc's most interesting white wines. Apr 29, 2022 The Wine Advocate William Kelley
The 2021 Haut-Brion Blanc also shows considerable promise, offering up aromas of pink grapefruit, nectarine and crisp orchard fruits mingled with notions of freshly baked bread, pastry cream and beeswax. Full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, it's satiny and seamless, with a broader-shoulders, more muscular profile than La Mission's white but similarly vibrant acids. At this early stage, this would appear to be one of the two or three finest Haut-Brion whites of the last 20 years. The Wine Advocate William Kelley, Published: Apr 29, 2022
The 2021 Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc exhibits aromas of confit citrus, crisp orchard fruit and pastry cream, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and incisive palate that's textural but tensile, concluding with a saline finish. A maturing vineyard combined with winemaking that emphasizes plenty of lees has delivered an excellent result this year. Issue 260 End of April 2022, The Wine Advocate, 29th Apr 2022, William Kelley
The 2021 Pape Clément Blanc shows the tension and cut that this vintage could bring to dry white Bordeaux. Exhibiting aromas of gooseberries, nectarine, confit citrus and pastry cream, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy but incisive, with a textural attack and a bright, saline finish. It's a blend of 72% Sauvignon Blanc, only 22% Sémillon, 5% Sauvignon Gris and 1% Muscadelle. This 32.5-hectare estate is surrounded by the city of Bordeaux, not far from Haut-Brion. In the vineyards, farming is thoughtful, with Esca-infected vines counted and registered by tractor, and both horses and an electric tractor are employed to avoid compacting the soils—and to respect the neighboring dwellings. While the château isn't organic, the use of chemical products is kept to a minimum, and activity in the estate's beehives is monitored immediately after a treatment to verify that there hasn't been any adverse impact. Planted in red with roughly equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon and in white with roughly equal parts Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, Pape Clément produces some of Pessac-Léognan's richest, most dramatic wines, though recent years have seen a discreet turn toward a somewhat more restrained style, a shift especially obvious in the château's white wine: Merlot is picked a touch earlier than in the past; foudres and large-format oak barrels now supplement 225-liter barriques; and the percentage of new oak is more modest. While there's still room for evolution, these 2021s represent fine efforts in a challenging vintage. Apr 29, 2022 The Wine Advocate William Kelley
Representing 13% of the estate's production (a further 18% was sold off in bulk), the 2021 Le Petit Cheval exhibits aromas of cherries, sweet berries, loamy soil, tobacco leaf and spices. Medium to full-bodied, lively and nicely concentrated, with powdery tannins and a saline finish, it's a blend of 60% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. The Wine Advocate William Kelley, Published: Apr 29, 2022
Reimagined in a more vibrant style, in a Burgundy/Loire bottle, the 2021 R de Rieussec exhibits scents of citrus oil, gooseberry and botanicals, followed by a medium-bodied, bright and vibrant palate, with tangy acids and a nicely defined finish. It's an attractive middleweight that avoids the pungently varietal, heavily sulfitic caricatural style so prevalent in contemporary Bordeaux, while managing to reinvent what was historically a rather richer, more fruit-driven wine. Dec 22, 2023 The Wine Advocate William Kelley
At this early stage, the 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc appears set to number among the best white wines this estate has produced to date. Wafting from the glass with aromas of crisp orchard fruit, nectarine, grapefruit, pastry cream and smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a concentrated core of fruit, racy acids and a taut, chiseled profile, concluding with a saline finish. Balancing texture and tension to compelling effect, this beautifully integrated, characterful white is going to be thrilling to revisit in bottle. Certified organic with the 2019 vintage, the Cathiard family banished herbicides at this address in 1991, radically reducing chemical treatments and suffering the consequences for several years in the form of much diminished yields (today, happily, materiel and techniques are more sophisticated). In addition to organic methods, cover crops have been deployed on the vineyard's central blocks and western band, where soils are less well drained. Hedges have been planted to encourage biodiversity, and ultraviolet treatments are being trialed as an alternative to copper sulfate. In addition to such initiatives, the technical team is adapting to a warmer climate: that means picking a touch earlier, certainly, but more importantly, adapting in the vineyards, with somewhat lower canopies and an end to systematic deleafing to retain fresh, vibrant flavors. Winemaking, too, is a little gentler: reds see cool but protracted macerations, with periodic punch-downs, and whites are whole-cluster pressed with an inerted press. This has brought new structural elegance and energy to the estate's wines. It surely helps that as much as possible is done in-house: since 1995, the Cathiards have their own nursery for their own massal selections, in partnership with Bérillon, and barrels are made in the château's own on-site cooperage too, favoring the forests of Tronçais and Jupilles for reds and Loches (which brings tension) for whites. All this is symptomatic of the attention to detail and seriousness that the Cathiards, and their technical director Fabien Teitgen, have brought to this estate—and it has paid off in the challenging 2021 vintage with a superb set of wines at every level. Apr 29, 2022 The Wine Advocate William Kelley
The 2020 Carbonnieux Blanc delivers loads of zesty sparks of yuzu and lime peels over a core of green apples, fresh grapefruit and crushed rock with a hint of wild thyme. The medium-bodied palate is crisp and refreshing, offering a great intensity of citrusy flavors with a chalky finish. May 2021 Week 3, The Wine Advocate, 20th May 2021, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2020 Cos d'Estournel Blanc is composed of 66% Sauvignon Blanc and 34% Semillon, with an alcohol of 14% and a pH of 3.15. The harvest took place August 31–September 10 with a yield of 24 hectoliters per hectare. It is aging in French oak barrels, 8% new. It bursts from the glass with vibrant notes of lime blossoms, fresh grapefruit and white peaches, plus hints of ripe pears and lemongrass with wafts of chalk dust and wet pebbles. The medium-bodied palate is charged with intense citrus and stony flavors, supported by a seriously racy line of acidity, finishing long and minerally. May 2021 Week 3, The Wine Advocate, 20th May 2021, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2020 Coutet has a pale lemon-gold color, waltzing out of the glass with energetic notes of lemon tart, pink grapefruit, green mango and lime blossoms, with hints of chopped almonds, clover honey, candle wax and straw, plus a waft of sea spray. The palate is all class, featuring ethereal intensity and amazing poise, enveloped in a satiny texture and seamless acidity, finishing long and mineral laced. Currently, while it is just a tick or so down on the impressive 2019, I love the restraint and energy of this 2020 and wouldn't be surprised if it eventually spreads its wings and surpasses its showier sibling over time. The Wine Advocate Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Published: Jul 30, 2021
The 2020 Doisy Daëne Blanc Sec gives up notes of fresh pears and white peaches with a savory undercurrent of baking bread, allspice and almonds. The medium-bodied palate is refreshing, offering a lovely purity of spiced pears flavors with a racy backbone and zesty lift on the finish. May 2021 Week 3, The Wine Advocate, 20th May 2021, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Another terrific vintage for this wine, the 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc unwinds in the glass with aromas of nectarine, pear, nutmeg, passionflower and hazelnuts. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and seamless, with racy acids and a bright, pure profile, it nips at the heels of the brilliant and somewhat racier, more refined 2019. The Wine Advocate William Kelley, Apr 06, 2023,
The 2020 La Clarté de Haut-Brion is showing nicely in bottle, bursting with notions of grapefruit, nectarine, lemongrass and pastry cream. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a sweet core of fruit and a chalky finish, it will offer demonstrative drinking young. April 2023 Week 1, The Wine Advocate, 6th Apr 2023, William Kelley
The 2020 Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc is a little closed to begin, soon unfurling to offer notes of fresh yellow apple, ripe Bosc pears and key lime pie, plus subtle hints of paraffin wax and lemongrass. The medium-bodied palate is tightly wound with apple and citrus layers, supported by compelling tension, finishing steely. May 2021 Week 3, The Wine Advocate, 20th May 2021, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Offering up notes of crisp nectarine, lemongrass and white flowers, the 2020 Pape Clément Blanc is medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless, with bright acids, attractive purity of fruit and a long, aromatic finish. This is the most elegant white wine produced by this estate over the last decade, and it has turned out well in bottle. The Wine Advocate William Kelley, Published: Apr 06, 2023
This is only the second vintage of this dry white wine made from the Chateau Climens's vineyard in Sauternes, in collaboration with Pascal Jolivet from Sancerre. It is 100% Sémillon, fermented and aged in stainless steel. The nose has a lovely, soft-spoken restraint, offering notes of lemon peel, fresh hay, Bosc pears and paraffin wax with touches of coriander seed, honeysuckle and toasted almonds. The medium-bodied palate has beautifully understated savory and mineral nuances accenting the citrus and spiced pears flavors with a lively line of freshness and a satiny texture, finishing long and perfumed. I'm seriously smitten by this uniquely fragrant, uncontrived style of dry white coming from Sauternes—bravo! It is delicious right now, but I'd like to see what this does with 5+ years of cellaring. As with Chateau Climens, this wine is certified both organic and biodynamic. End of September 2020, The Wine Advocate, 30th Sep 2020, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Bursting with aromas of grapefruit, gooseberry, tropical fruits and fresh bread, Pape Clément's 2019 Blanc is medium to full-bodied, bright and vibrant, its elegantly fleshy core of fruit animated by lively acids and chalky dry extract that lends pleasing grip to the finish. This is a seamless, refreshing Sauvignon-dominated (in percentage as well as personality) blend that is drinking well out of the gates. Though this derives from a warm terroir in a warm vintage, that's not especially evident, and this is far less unctuous and overtly oaky than was the case a decade ago. Equally, though it can't be faulted in terms of haut couture winemaking, the lack of yesteryear's pronounced signature reveals a wine that's just a little simple. April 2022 Week 1, The Wine Advocate, 7th Apr 2022, William Kelley
Pale lemon-gold in color, the 2019 Rieussec flaunts a delicately scented nose of fresh grapefruit, lemon curd, lime leaves and clover honey with wafts of jasmine, white truffles and nutmeg. The palate slowly builds, revealing layers of apple and citrus fruits with loads of savory accents, framed by refreshing acidity and a seductively oily texture, finishing on a lingering honey-nut note. Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate
The 2018 Blanc is a blend of 57% Sauvignon Blanc, 39% Sémillon and 4% Muscadelle. It was aged for around 14 months in 55% new and 45% second-fill French oak barrels. It races out of the gate with flamboyant scents of pineapple upside-down cake, lemon meringue pie and honey-drizzled peaches, plus suggestions of orange blossoms and yuzu peel. The medium to full-bodied palate has a decadent touch of oiliness to the texture with loads of spicy sparks to the tropical fruit layers, finishing long with a refreshing burst of zestiness. It's a richer expression, for sure, but it really works and it is seriously scrumptious. The Wine Advocate, Mar 31, 2021, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Cheval Blanc's relatively new white wine, the 2018 Le Petit Cheval Blanc, is a blend of 74% Sauvignon Blanc and 26% Sémillon. This is the first vintage that the Sémillon plantings have come online to make the blend. Profound notions of ripe pineapple, passion fruit and white peaches explode from the glass, followed by fragrant notes of lemongrass, lime blossoms and yuzu zest with a waft of sea spray. The palate is full-bodied with an alluring oiliness to the texture and layer upon layer of tropical fruits, citrus peel and minerals, marked by a refreshing line and finishing with loads of mineral sparks. Put aside all your preconceptions of "Bordeaux Blanc" and don't even try to compare it to Pessac-Leognan. This has its own gorgeous expression of these grapes, defying regional tradition. Give yourself over to the rich decadence of this flamboyant white that is at once without peers, but is also quintessentially Cheval Blanc. End of March 2021, The Wine Advocate, 31 Mar 2021, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2017 Coutet has a super intense nose of ripe apricots, honey-coated nuts, warm pineapple and mango with touches of nutmeg and orange blossoms. Rich, sweet and unctuous, it has wonderful intensity and depth, finishing with fantastic length. March 2020 Week 3, The Wine Advocate, 17 Mar 2020, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
There was just a little frost here this year. Blended of 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Sauvignon Gris, 5% Sémillon and 5% Muscadelle, the 2017 Blanc comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant scents of ripe apricots, lemon curd and tangerine peel plus nuances of lime leaves, honeysuckle, cedar and chalk dust. Medium-bodied, the palate is very fresh and vibrant with loads of citrusy layers and a minerally backbone, finishing with great length and loads of zip. March 2020 Week 3, The Wine Advocate, 17th Mar 2020, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The Pape Clement 2017 Blanc (composed of 55% Sauvignon Blanc and 45% Sémillon) has loads of exotic fruit—pineapple, green guava and passion fruit—with crushed stones, fragrant herbs and mandarin peel hints. The palate is medium-bodied, intense and racy with a long, pure, exotic fruit finish. The Wine Advocate, Mar 2020, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Margaux has a spraying system to combat frost at the Pavillon Blanc vineyard, but they lost a bit of production, with yields finishing at 22 hectoliters per hectare. The nose of the 2017 Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux is a little reticent to begin, giving way to beautiful white peach, grapefruit and lemongrass notes plus hints of mandarin peel, honeysuckle, baking bread and just a waft of ginger. The medium to full-bodied palate is very crisp and super intense, laden with citrus and stone fruit layers, coupled with a lovely satiny texture and plenty of weight without feeling heavy, finishing with incredible length and a lingering mineral note. The Wine Advocate (236), 27th Apr 2018, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2017 Y de Yquem was picked very early from 16 August to 25 August. It was released the week prior to my visit. Side by side, the bouquet is almost identical to the 2018 with green apple and hints of yellow flower, the Sauvignon Blanc very expressive (75% of the blend). The palate is sweet and a little more viscous thanks to the additional gram of residual sugar compared to the previous vintage with hints of nectarine and apricot laced with lemongrass towards the persistent finish. Excellent. Sep 2019, Neal Martin, Vinous.com
The 2016 Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux features fresh grapefruit, white peaches and lemon juice scents springing from the glass, followed by lime leaves, wet pebbles and elderflower plus a touch of honeysuckle. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant and fresh with loads of vivacity and a long, mineral-laced finish. The Wine Advocate, Dec 01, 2018, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2016 Ygrec (or “Y” as it is shown on the label and referred to) is, of course, the dry white from Yquem, and this latest release is a blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Sémillon picked between 5 September and 13 September. It has a fresh, attractive bouquet with citrus peel, Nashi pear, grass clippings and gooseberry, the Sauvignon firmly in the driving seat. The palate is where the Sémillon says: hold on a moment, it’s not all Sauvignon. The texture is waxy, and there are lovely peachy, watermelon notes that dovetail into a saline finish that leaves you wanting more. True, it is not cheap, and you could argue there is a plethora of cheaper alternatives. But they are not Yquem. Tasted September 2017. Neal Martin, Sep 2017, Wine Advocate
A blend of 50% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, the medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Haut-Brion is reticent to begin, languidly revealing crushed black cherries, ripe black plums and wild blueberries with sparks of cinnamon stick, cloves, nutmeg, espresso, unsmoked cigars, tapenade, crushed rocks and lavender. The full-bodied palate possesses wonderfully complementary contrasts of bold black and blue fruit richness and delicately nuanced cherry fruit, baking spices and floral accents, strutting ripe, finely pixelated tannins and seamless acidity that is placed firmly in the background, finishing very long and with plenty of attitude. This impeccably poised, exquisitely perfumed 2015 Haut-Brion possesses the most alluring yet seemingly effortless beauty. While it bears only a passing resemblance in its opulent personality to the now legendary 1989, like that vintage the 2015 cannot fail to hedonically satiate and intellectually edify all lovers of great Bordeaux who drink it. What’s more, it also has the blue-blooded tenaciousness to remain this jaw-droppingly impressive, throughout its many guises over time, and for a very, very long time. Interim Issue Mid-February 2018, The Wine Advocate, 22 Feb 2018, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2014 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is a beautiful white Pessac-Léognan. It offers a very succinct and focused bouquet of dew-speckled Granny Smiths, then flint and wet limestone, certainly a more stony bouquet than overt fruit. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity, exquisite balance, the citrus fruit dappled with white pepper and spices, but everything very judicious and nuanced. It offers wonderful persistence in the mouth, basically a class act that comes strongly recommended. Interim End of March, The Wine Advocate, 1st Apr 2017, Neal Martin
The 2014 Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc is now more expressive than when I tasted it from barrel. It offers engaging scents of citrus fruit, Mirabelle and orange pith that gradually gathers intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity, finely tuned citrus fruit married with Clementine and yellow plum, seguing into a spicy finish that lingers in the mouth. It is a delicious, complex Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc that should age well over the next 12-15 years. Interim End of March, The Wine Advocate, 1st Apr 2017, Neal Martin
The 2013 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc is very refined on the nose. There is a sense of effortlessness here that is very persuasive, unfolding with lemon thyme and lime, just a touch of lychee in the background, everything in its right place. The palate is fresh and vibrant with nectarine and lime zest, a "cool" white Bordeaux, quite restrained and almost Chablis-like on the finish. This is a complex and intellectual offering from Olivier Bernard, dare I say, a thrilling wine in the making. 227, The Wine Advocate, 29 Oct 2016, Neal Martin
The second wine from the owners of Haut-Brion and La Mission-Haut-Brion, the 2012 La Clarte is a blend of 58% Semillon and 42% Sauvignon Blanc. This strong effort boasts beautiful notes of apricots, honey, candle wax and melons in a rich, full-bodied, concentrated format. A stunner, it should age effortlessly for a decade or more. Wine Advocate (206),Apr 2013, Robert M. Parker, Jr
The 2012 Pape Clement, a profound blend of 45% Sauvignon Blanc, 44% Semillon, 5% Sauvignon Gris and the rest Muscadelle, is once again a fabulous effort. Gorgeous notes of honeysuckle, pineapple, orange blossoms and mangoes soar from the glass of this full-bodied, unctuously textured, zesty, well-delineated white Pessac-Leognan from a suburb of Bordeaux. Drink it over the next 15-20 years. Wine Advocate (206), Apr 2013, Robert Parker
No tasting note given. Wine Advocate (200), Apr 2012, Robert Parker
