Late January is the worst. The Yule tree is put away, and yet it’s still below freezing and gray outside. I find myself daydreaming about springtime and picnics. And with them, picnic wines.
In the Wine Fairy’s household, a picnic wine is something crisp and aromatic. Buzz-inducing, but not so high in alcohol that you need a nap at 2 PM. Something that tastes good with a lot of different kinds of food–including (critically) pickles and fruit. Something just like this white Bordeaux from Pessac-Léognan.
So, this is the entry-level wine from Château Carbonnieux, one of the top-tier estates in the Pessac-Léognan AOC. I bought it after it frustrated me in a blind tasting. (Oh yeah, wine, you’re going to be like that? I guess I’m just going to have to drink you now.)
Anyway, it’s very good. Classic zesty and mineral-y Sauvignon Blanc with a large portion of Sémillon to keep things interesting.
The color is yellow tinged with green. Pronounced herbaceous aromas of mowed grass and mouthwatering aromatic lime. There’s a lot of of orange and green melon and juicy bromeliad–agave leaves maybe, or fresh-shorn pineapple tops. There’s a tart dairy quality (Greek yogurt?) and faint earthy note that’s best described as sliced white mushroom.
The taste is strongly citrus-zesty and tart–lime, lemon, gooseberry, unripe pear. Honeydew flesh and the faintly pumpkin-y taste of melon rind. Just a hint of stone fruit (white peaches), medium body, and a crisp, saline finish.
What’s wine without legends? Of course, this old wine has legends.
Château Carbonnieux has produced wine interrupted since the 13th century. The first winemakers there were Benedictine monks from the Sainte-Croix abbey. They attached the badge of the St. Jacques Shell–the pilgrim’s emblem–to Carbonnieux wines. And indeed, when Bordeaux was thriving as a port town in the 18th century, the reputation of these wines traveled as far as the United States and Constantinople.
Supposedly, the Ottoman Sultan called this wine “the mineral water of Carbonnieux” and enjoyed it in defiance of Islamic law. (I know the feeling, Sultan–when I was a vegetarian I used to take a very similar approach to bacon bits.) Thomas Jefferson heard the tale, and traveled to Carbonnieux to taste what he called in his diary “the Wine of the Odalisques.” The Château park still boasts an American Pecan tree planted by Jefferson on that trip.
I really like this wine. I think everybody should be drinking white Bordeaux. I can’t wait to learn more about them–including perhaps splurging on the big-brother Carbonnieux when I have the chance.
In retrospect, I know why this wine tripped me up in the tasting. It has a lot of obvious Sauvignon Blanc characteristics. But I knew better than to call it as Sauv Blanc because it has lower acidity and a lot more body. There’s some subtle but detectable lees aging and malolactic traits, too.
Sancerre drinkers would absolutely appreciate this wine (and probably save some money, too!). But compared to Loire whites the minerality is a lot more restrained–think pinch of salt rather than glassful of gravel.
In short, this is a complex and lovely wine. Plenty of intriguing vegetal qualities, plenty of acidity, plenty of appealing fruit aromas in all the right place.
I drank it my L’Enclos de Carbonnieux by itself, but it would be an elegant match for many classic French dishes: Seafood, soft cheeses, cream sauces and the like. And should you feel like splurging on a Bordeaux–rather than getting something with a rooster on the label, again–I’m sure it would make an excellent picnic wine.
Bottle: L’Enclos de Carbonnieux Pessac-Léognan Blanc (2021)
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc (~65%), Sémillon (~35%)
ABV: 12.5%
Suggested retail: $32
My rating: 8.9 (out of 10)
Further reading:
Château Carbonnieux: A Long History
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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