June 11, 2016

2015 Chateau Bonnet - Bourdeaux (White)

Chateau Bonnet – 2015 Bourdeaux (White)

Entre-deux-Mers

Retail: $16

Winemaker: André Lurton

Cellar Master: Laurent Le Dez

We may have found a nice Summer wine that is simply good by itself. This wine has a golden color with a slight green hue showing its freshness. While called a Sauvignon Blanc, it is a mix of 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon and 10% Muscadelle. What is Muscadelle (and we had to find out for ourselves)? It is a sweet grape that is similar to Muscat but not related*. Muscadelle adds sweet floral notes. It is used usually in percentages less than 10%. We noticed that the winery’s website conflicts the bottle label as the website showed the blend to be 55% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillon and 15% Muscadelle. Unfortunately, we don’t know why the change from 15% to 10%. We made efforts to reach the winemaker to explain but received no response.

The nose of the wine is clearly Sauvignon Blanc. We found it to reveal citrus and floral notes. The citrus to us was zesty tangerine and grapefruit. The floral note was lavender. The winemaker’s notes say that the wine has "succulent aromas of pear and tropical fruit, . . . with a clean finish and well-defined". They also recognize that the wine is “easy to drink”. There was no fermentation smells nor oak aging because the wine was fermented for four months in stainless steel tanks. The winemaker leaves the wine to ferment with lees and limited skin contact.

The mouth feel is soft but with some grippy tightening as a result. The legs or tears in the glass were fast which to us indicates a medium amount of alcohol. The winery’s website doesn’t reveal the alcohol content percentage. The wine is a rich yellow that yields a smooth balance taste. It is not a complex wine meaning that it doesn’t change in taste from the beginning to the end. It is a refreshing wine with a fair amount of acidity and a warm alcohol feel. The wine is dry with some sweetness.

The aftertaste is pleasant and this Sauvignon Blanc has a likeable lingering taste that lasted a solid 20 seconds. Overall, the wine is ordinary but a good value that you will want to share with others on a warm Summer evening.

http://eng.andrelurton.com

Food pairing: Fish and seafood

Vineyard source:

Vineyard certification:

Harvest dates:

Vintage notes: “2015 was the third warmest year since 1900. Drought conditions, above-average monthly temperatures and sunshine (in the first half of the year), cool nights and hot weather in August accompanying véraison (colour change) were all ideal for the vines!” http://eng.andrelurton.com/Our-Wines/Our-wines/Chateau-Bonnet-Blanc

Yeast: Not disclosed

Fermentation: Steel tanks. Tartaric precipitation by cold treatment. After skin- contact and settling, in temperature- controlled stainless- steel tanks