Thanks James, that’s very kind of you - I suspect you haven’t read many of the notes, otherwise you would know how crappy they are!
Anthony - Robert’s list is excellent, but I have one more idea!
Le Blanc de Prieuré-Lichine - many Left Bank CCs produce whites now and most are much of a muchness: a hefty dollop of oak on reasonably refined fruit.
I had a glass of this in a restaurant this summer, so this is from memory, but I was impressed by the lack of the heavy oak treatment, although there is some, and the zingy tastes of lemon and lime. It was a refreshing change. Anyway, should you be tempted you can find this in NY by the bottle, according to Wine Searcher.
It is true that many Chateaux in the Medoc and also right bank (st.Emilion) produce whites, but with the exception of Pavillon blanc, Mouton and Talbot I haven’t tasted a lot of really interesting affordable (!) wines. Some are good but too expensive (compared to Clos Floridene …), often too oaky .
(Never had Prieuré Lichine blanc though)
I´ve had Blanc de Valandraud recently - good wine, but for 60+ I´ll take Carbonnieux or Couhin-Lurton anytime.
My thoughts entirely - hence my surprise tasting Prieuré-Lichine’s effort, which I didn’t remermber as being any different to the others! I live in hope that they will eventually understand that oak distracts and detracts rather than adding complexity. As for oaky - you should try Monbousquet’s white!!! Well, don’t, actually!! Words fail me in attempting to describe its infinite awfulness.
Price is a problem - you can get so much more for so much less from the Loire, but Bordeaux whites do provide a different experience and they age well.
Top tier
Haut Brion Blanc
La Mission Haut Brion Blanc
Not far behind
Pape Clement
Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc (one of my favorites!)
Pavillon Blanc [Château Margaux]
Also worth mentioning
Aile d´Argent (Château Mouton-Rothschild). Had some 1992 recently which was still great!
Domaine de Chevalier (multiple vintages tasted, also vertical tastings).
Not breaking the bank, but age-worthy and nice
Blanc de Lynch-Bages
Caillou Blanc [Château Talbot]
Carbonnieux
Good value
Blanc de Chasse Spleen
Grand Village [Château Lafleur]
Lamothe-Bouscaut
Les Champs Libres [Château Lafleur in Fronsac]
Les Hauts de Smith-Haut-Lafitte
Interesting you mention heavy oak treatment, the '90 Louviere we just drank didn’t hit us with a lot of oak flavors. Little light baking spice like a hint of dried ginger or nutmeg. A smooth slightly buttery mouth feel, but again not a vanilla and butter bomb. I didn’t do a note on the Carbonnieux a couple years back, but I don’t remember that being overly oaked either (since that’s usually a turn-off for us).
I’m not surprised that the 90 didn’t have much oak left, it does tend to die down over time. I think we all have different perceptions anyway - but I was surprised to learn that this wine has time in barrel because it didn’t show.
Everyone listed producers but not vintages - the dry whites IMHO are best in cool, “classic” vintages like 2014 and 2017. They are ok even in 2013. I very much like Loire whites, but always keep Bdx blancs in the cellar as well. Am looking forward to my 2017 DdC & SHL blancs arriving this October.
While I know there has been no mention of it yet…I think that Y de Yquem is a wine that is actually under-valued given the quality and the cost of the other top-tier bottles. $129/bottle is not inexpensive…but for the quality it almost feels like a value when you compare it to other Bordeaux blancs in that price range.
Not sure if Robert answered the question really, but the couple of time I’ve had it was a basic quaffing wine, but this was in the 90’s and early aughts.
Yeah, I was extrapolating and also trying to be a little humorous. Robert has such a wide range knowledge of Bordeaux Blanc, the fact that he never tasted Graville-Lacoste is telling(to me ) about where it might fall in his categories. My thought was if it was much more than what you described it as, I’m guessing Robert would have had the opportunity to taste it. Cheers.
A lot of Sauternes and Barsac estates produce “dry” wines, recently even more since the sweeties seem to sell only slowly.
Recently I had the dry white of Doisy-Daene: very good indeed.
However with many such “dry” specimen I have often the feeling of still some sweetness, in the low range of 5-8 g/l -
and if this is not true analytically it´s (a lot of) Botrytis.
Not really to my taste -
Has anyone tried the Le Petit Cheval Bordeaux Blanc?
I just received an offer from Total Wine Concierge-
Exclusive offer to our Private Client List only: we are excited to offer a limited allocation of Château Cheval Blanc’s 2018 Le Petit Cheval Blanc from Saint-Émilion, available in 3-pack OWC.
White BDX thoughts. I am reminded these are such good food wines, especially with rich seafood dishes. On their own and when first poured it’s pretty unlikely they will rock your world, although they sometimes do, then they are seemingly amplified and get a second wind alongside the right dish.
2015 Ch. de Fieuzal blanc is a baby still. I discovered a package of lobster meat left over in the freezer from a Christmas order and put it to use in a macaroni and cheese dish. Pairing exceeds the some of its parts.