Wine Ratings

wines

I was blown away by the quality of the 2021 Château Lynch-Bages Blanc, which ranks with the top whites in the vintage. Offering awesome white grapefruit, floral, mint, and chalky notes, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a vivid, pure, chiseled mouthfeel, and a great finish. I’d be a buyer.Jeb Dunnuck | 94-96 JDBright and crunchy white with layers of gooseberries, fennel, lemon grass and sea shells. White peach, too. Medium-bodied, bright and driven with linear character. Stony and saline at the end. 79% sauvignon blanc, 15% semillon and 6% muscadelle. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2021 Blanc de Lynch Bages is terrific. The move to increase the Sauvignon Blanc and decrease the Muscadelle yields a white endowed with notable energy and brightness, a style I personally like quite a bit.Vinous Media | 91-93 VMA blend of 79% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Semillon, and 6% Muscadelle, the 2021 Blanc de Lynch-Bages skips out of the glass with energetic scents of grapefruit, fresh lemons, and lime leaves, plus hints of wet pebbles and elderflower. Light-bodied, the palate is crisp and intense, laden with citrusy layers, finishing with plenty of zing. pH 3.27.The Wine Independent | 91-93 TWIAlready bottled, the 2021 Blanc de Lynch-Bages exhibits aromas of ripe grapefruit, musky peach and pastry cream. Medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy, with lively acids and a saline finish, it’s a blend of 79% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Sémillon and 6% Muscadelle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPSuch varietal Sauvignon Blanc aromas on the nose, freshly squeezed lemon, grass, elderflower, peach juice. So clear on the palate, crystalline purity with the richness coming a little from the Semillon on the mid palate. This has real austerity and minerality too in the sense of the salinity and wet stone notes that linger on the tongue, giving a slight cleanliness to the palate. Feels very precise - in high definition, each fruit and textural element sticking out with the floral nuances coming in towards the end. A direct style. Really excellent, it’s taught and streamlined with these sharp lemon, green apple and grapefruit notes on the palate too, giving edges to the fruit while the overall lively acidity fills the mouth. 3.27pH. 2,000 case production.Decanter | 91 DEC

This has so much depth and power, with complex notes of flint, oyster shell, white pepper, dried mango, lemon, papaya, apricot stone and chalk. Medium-to full-bodied. Bright, yet creamy. It’s so long and concentrated. Wait and see. 90% sauvignon blanc, 5% semillon, 5% sauvignon gris. From organically grown grapes.James Suckling | 98-99 JSThe 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is the white wine of the vintage, hands down. Creamy and layered, the 2021 offers all the qualities that make whites off this site so compelling, Nothing is out of place. It’s aromatic yet deep, fresh yet layered. Utterly mind-bending right out of the gate, this superb white hits all the right notes. Slate, crushed rocks, mint and white pepper linger. Magnifique!Vinous Media | 98 VMThe 2021 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc (90% Sauvignon and 5% each of Sauvignon Gris and Sémillon) is similarly crisp, focused, and chiseled, yet has another level of concentration. Racy citrus, lime, and graphite fruit notes are support by beautiful minerality, minty herb, and sappy flower-like aromatics. These carry to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated white offering perfectly integrated acidity, a balanced, layered mouthfeel, and a clean, dry finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This beauty will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring and have over two decades of longevity.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDLemon and lime, such purity and scintillating freshness, bright and sharp, so well positioned and poised with licks of mineral salinity on the finish. Great texture, weight and sense of life. I love this wine! The juiciness is moreish and this makes you want another sip straight away.Decanter | 96 DECA blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris, and 5% Semillon, the 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc soars from the glass with enticing scents of nectarines, lime leaves, and fresh grapefruit, giving way to notes of cedar, jasmine tea, and yuzu zest, with a touch of chalk dust. The light to medium-bodied palate has exhilarating tension, with loads of orchard fruit and citrusy layers, finishing with fantastic length.The Wine Independent | 96 TWIThe 2021 Blanc has developed gracefully since en primeur, delivering attractive aromas of ripe pear, peach, lime tree leaves, verbena and mint intertwined with mineral, smoky nuances. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and concentrated, with a broad attack and fleshy mid-palate, it exhibits compelling purity and tension, concluding with a saline, mint-inflected finish. It has the potential to improve in the cellar over the next decade or more.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPPlump, with an enticing edge to the mix of lemon curd, jasmine, honeysuckle and white peach flavors. Shows length too, with paraffin and salted butter details filling in. A touch shy on depth and cut overall, but this is still well ahead of the pack in this vintage. Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Sauvignon Gris. Drink now through 2029. 2,400 cases made, 250 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

"The Chatin family purchased Château de Respide in 2021. Amelie Chatin is originally from the Champagne region and worked as an oenologist for Dom Ruinart for nine years prior to travelling and eventually settling here in Graves. Her regular bottling of Graves Blanc is made from a fifty-fifty blend of sauvignon blanc and sémillon, with the vines generally planted on gravelly or sandy soils, though some plots are on chalk. The wine is fermented and raised in stainless steel tanks. The 2022 version offers up a deep and complex bouquet of fresh fig, gooseberry, a lovely base of soil, gentle notes of fresh-cut grass and a topnote of lime zest. On the palate the wine is vibrant, focused and full-bodied, with lovely depth at the core, fine soil signature and grip, bouncy acids and excellent balance on the long, complex and very serious finish. This is outstanding white Graves."John Gilman | 91 JG