Dry Whites

Release date: 10/6/2024

Good vibration here, with edgy, fresh acidity that makes it long and vivid. It's medium-bodied and tight, with sliced lemon and green apple and stone character. Better than 2022? 80% sauvignon blancGood vibration here, with edgy, fresh acidity that makes it long and vivid. It's medium-bodied and tight, with sliced lemon and green apple and stone character. Better than 2022? 80% sauvignon blanc and 20% semillon. Rating: 94-95 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 10/6/2024

This takes half the crop, the remainder split between the two second wines, and the blend is 90% Sauvignon Blanc, with 5% each Sauvignon Gris and 5% Semillon. I don’t usually comment on colour anThis takes half the crop, the remainder split between the two second wines, and the blend is 90% Sauvignon Blanc, with 5% each Sauvignon Gris and 5% Semillon. I don’t usually comment on colour an primeurs, but the density of pigment here stands out compared to Les Hauts and Le Petit. The fruit comes with some honeyed overtones on the nose, smoked peach and orange, complexities which are carried onto the palate, which is rich with the flavours of gorse, freesia, peach, orange, mango and pear. Beneath I see honeyed veins and infused minerals, with streaks of bitterness. There is grip and structure here, and great persistence too, the finish and length shimmering with deliciously bitter phenolics. And yet it has freshness and drive too. A superb white Smith-Haut-Lafitte. One for the cellar. Tasted twice. The alcohol is around 14%. Rating: 96-98 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 6/6/2024

The 2023 Pavillon Blanc is quite powerful in this vintage, marked by a combination of creamy, textured fruit, bright acids and an almost phenolic feel that adds pseudo-tannic structure. I imagine theThe 2023 Pavillon Blanc is quite powerful in this vintage, marked by a combination of creamy, textured fruit, bright acids and an almost phenolic feel that adds pseudo-tannic structure. I imagine the 2023 will need a few years in bottle. Pavillon Blanc is usually more immediate and racier, but the 2023 looks like more of a long-distance runner. Lemon confit, almond and white flowers unfurl in the glass. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 92-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

Release date: 29/5/2024

The 2023 Blanc from Latour Martillac reveals aromas of confit citron, lime, lime tree leaves, herbs and spices, followed by a juicy, round and layered palate framed by bright acids and aThe 2023 Blanc from Latour Martillac reveals aromas of confit citron, lime, lime tree leaves, herbs and spices, followed by a juicy, round and layered palate framed by bright acids and a mouthwatering finish with delicate smoky hints. This blend of 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Sémillon was matured 20% in new oak barrels. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 89-91 Yohan Castaing, www.robertparker.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 23/5/2024

A blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Sémillon, the 2023 Les Arums de Lagrange evokes aromas of confit citrus, herbs, white flowers and grapefruit, followed by a medium-bodied, fresh and livelyA blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Sémillon, the 2023 Les Arums de Lagrange evokes aromas of confit citrus, herbs, white flowers and grapefruit, followed by a medium-bodied, fresh and lively palate that segues into a mouthwatering, delicate finish. Despite this varietal-inflected style, this is a great effort. It has a pH of 3.2 and 13.3% alcohol. Drinking range: 2024 - 2030 Rating: 87-89 Yohan Castaing, www.robertparker.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 21/5/2024

A perfumed, complex bouquet of pear, white peach, hazelnuts, lime tree leaves and spring flowers prefaces the 2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated wineA perfumed, complex bouquet of pear, white peach, hazelnuts, lime tree leaves and spring flowers prefaces the 2023 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, a medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated wine with racy acids, chalky, structuring dry extract, and a bright, vibrant profile that's rare in this vintage. This is a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon. Drinking range: 2025 - 2045 Rating: 94-96 Yohan Castaing, www.robertparker.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 17/5/2024

The 2023 Grand Vin Blanc Sec Vieilles Vignes is classy, elegant and polished. All the elements are impeccably balanced in a sublime, refined white that hits all the right notes Green pear, mint,The 2023 Grand Vin Blanc Sec Vieilles Vignes is classy, elegant and polished. All the elements are impeccably balanced in a sublime, refined white that hits all the right notes Green pear, mint, white pepper and jasmine build in the glass. Drinking range: 2025 - 2038Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2025)

Release date: 14/5/2024

Kicks off with slate grip that it maintains through the palate, quickly filled out with stone fruits, sage and fresh cut herbs. High spice translates into a touch of heat on the finish.Kicks off with slate grip that it maintains through the palate, quickly filled out with stone fruits, sage and fresh cut herbs. High spice translates into a touch of heat on the finish. Drinking range: 2024 - 2035 Rating: 92 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2024)

Release date: 14/5/2024

This is 81% Sauvignon Blanc, higher than usual which reflects a good yield for this variety, with 11% Semillon and 8% Muscadelle, the harvest starting August 31st and continuing for one week. It isThis is 81% Sauvignon Blanc, higher than usual which reflects a good yield for this variety, with 11% Semillon and 8% Muscadelle, the harvest starting August 31st and continuing for one week. It is vinified 80% in oak barrels, one-third new, with 20% in stainless steel. After that there was no racking, with less bâtonnage. The wine was bottled three weeks ago. A ripe and exotic nose, of melon, confit pear, acacia and crushed chalk. This continues on the palate, although it feels rather softly framed, with lightly confit fruits over a grained phenolic grip and fresh acidity. It finishes solid and grippy, and given the acidity and early picking here I would have hoped for a little more definition and zip. The alcohol is 13.2% on analysis. Rating: 90 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (May 2024)

Release date: 14/5/2024

The 2023 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc is a very soft-textured white, its lovely floral and mineral notes very much front and center. Gentle touches of pear, jasmine, white pepper and mint lift fromThe 2023 La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc is a very soft-textured white, its lovely floral and mineral notes very much front and center. Gentle touches of pear, jasmine, white pepper and mint lift from the glass in a wine that impresses with its understatement and class. Aeration fills out the mid-palate as the Sémillon begins to reveal its breadth. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: 92-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

Release date: 14/5/2024

51.8 Sauvignon Blanc, 41.9 Semillon: 50.3% new oak: 13.8% alc This is a much more structured and regal wine than La Mission in this vintage, but this does not mean it is the only white wine you51.8 Sauvignon Blanc, 41.9 Semillon: 50.3% new oak: 13.8% alc This is a much more structured and regal wine than La Mission in this vintage, but this does not mean it is the only white wine you should consider from Domaine Clarence Dillon. It is, however, the only one you should consider for serious cellaring. There is a colossal swoosh of lemons and limes followed by a couple of fast-moving chariots of brioche and then a monsoon of mint and finely diced sand dune succulents! There is so much going on here, and it is incredible. There is red wine intensity, but my glass contains a demure-looking white! Undoubtedly, Bordeaux’s dry white wines are going through a staggering renaissance right now that ought to make Burgundians blush, and this wine is always near the top of the pile. In 2023, it is the pinnacle white wine, but don’t even think of opening a bottle for ten years. Rating: 19.5 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2024)

Release date: 7/5/2024

The grand vin, which takes 43% of the crop, is a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, all vinified in oak barrels. This has a really enticing nose, clearly rather saline, with a focus onThe grand vin, which takes 43% of the crop, is a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, all vinified in oak barrels. This has a really enticing nose, clearly rather saline, with a focus on citrus fruits, cherimoya and crushed gravel, traced with reduction, not entirely unlike a young, sandy-terroir Savennières (I thought the same on a second taste, too). The palate really takes it up a notch or two compared to the second wine, with a real sense of sinew and presence on the palate, with bitter citrus elements, melon, smoke, matchstick and grip, leading to a finish riven with phenolics and fresh acidity. This is really precisely drawn, with substance, sinew and drive. A good result in this vintage, long and incisive in the finish. This will develop well. Tasted twice. The alcohol is 13.19%. Rating: 93-95 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

Release date: 6/5/2024

The 2023 Aile d’Argent is a rich, heady, wine that very much captures the radiant style of the year in its generous textural feel. Tangerine peel, spice, menthol, lime, dried flowers and lightThe 2023 Aile d’Argent is a rich, heady, wine that very much captures the radiant style of the year in its generous textural feel. Tangerine peel, spice, menthol, lime, dried flowers and light tropical accents abound, The 2023 is a serious dry white. There’s a bit more Sémillon in the blend and a greater emphasis on texture and structure than usual, while the oak imprint and exotic character of some previous editions have been toned down. Drinking range: 2025 - 2030 Rating: 92-94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

This is quite a big Pavillon Blanc with sliced pineapple, ripe apple, lemon and stone. It's full-bodied, layered and phenolic with a ripe sense to it, but then it’s citrusy and salty. Like freshThis is quite a big Pavillon Blanc with sliced pineapple, ripe apple, lemon and stone. It's full-bodied, layered and phenolic with a ripe sense to it, but then it’s citrusy and salty. Like fresh oysters. Reminds me of vintages from the 1980s, but with more freshness and clarity. 100% sauvignon blanc. Rating: 96-97 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)