Hors Bordeaux tasting notes: the whites
db’s Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay gives his verdict on the white wines being released as part of La Place’s September campaign.
White – Spain
| Spanish releases (white) | Vintage | Region | New? | Rating |
| De la Riva Macharnudo San Cayetano | 2024 | Andalucia | No | 95 |
| Cornamús (F. Algueira) | 2023 | Ribeira Sacra | Yes | 96 |
De La Riva Macharnudo San Cayetano 2024 (Vino di Pasto; 100% Palomino Fino planted in 1988 on 3.35 hectares of Albariza, a very pure chalky soil formed by the siliceous skeletons of microscopic diatom algae; released after one year of flor aging; 13.5% alcohol; around 6000 bottles). Utterly unique! This is an unfortified Palomino and it comes from the famous Macharnudo vineyard in Jerez. To taste this is to believe! An incredible wine once again and a wine of massive vertical lift – the vinous equivalent of Elon Musk’s fantasy spaceship! Cordite. Flint. Whetstone. Struck match. Confit grapefruit rind. Citrus and almond stone, walnut shell too. A touch of leather and almost a hint of red berry fruits. White field flowers. Confit melon and almost the profile on the palate of a Sauternes from which all the residual sugar has been extracted and discarded. I’m throwing a lot of descriptors around here, but even together they fail really to capture the essence of this. A wine that is very difficult to describe. You’re going to have to trust me, it’s great! 95.
Cornamús (F. Algueira) 2023 (Ribeira Sacra DO; 100% Godello planted on two very steeply sloping terraced vineyards at 200 and 600 metres of altitude; aged for 15 months in oak foudres; 13.5% alcohol; just 3050 bottles produced). A new presence on la place. Fascinating and, again, highly distinctive. Wild mint, Bergamotte, eucalyptus, privet, a hint of yuzu too and some lovely subtle floral notes. In the mouth this is, for now at least, dominated by the citrus – above all citron pressé and white grapefruit zest. There’s a more herbal element too – fennel seed and oregano, marjoram perhaps. Indeed, we have here something like the parfumier’s essence of mountain herbs. Fabulous. Glassy and intensely fresh with a rapier like clarity. Sapidity and salinity combine on the finish to render this even more succulent and juicy. Delicate and very refined yet vivid and vibrant at the same time. This has much in common with wines like Asphodèle and Lilium from Château Climens, above all in its crystallinity and that signature ‘white’ florality. 96.
White – Italy
| Italian releases (white) | Vintage | Region | New? | Rating |
| Etna Bianco (Giovanni Rosso) | 2024 | Sicilia | No | 94+ |
| Petrolo Bòggina B | 2023 | Toscana | No | 96 |
Giovanni Rosso Etna Bianco 2024 (Etna; 100% Carricante; 13% alcohol). White flowers and a little hint of beeswax, maybe a suggestion of pollen. Pure and glassy, quite lifted and delicate. Lime and a pleasing citrus acidity, a little white pear and peach flesh. Passionfruit too. Quite vibrant and fresh, despite the ripe exotic fruit notes. Nicely done. 94+.
Petrolo Bòggina B 2023 (IGT Toscana Bianco; 100% Trebbiano; aged on its lees for over 15 months in French oak tonneaux; pH 3.49; 13% alcohol; certified organic; the consultant for this wine is none other than Mounir Souma of Lucien Le Moine). Utterly gorgeous as I am accustomed to finding it now in each consecutive vintage. This is suitably Burgundian given the prestigious consultant oenologue here for Trebbiano. Beguiling notes of honeysuckle, beeswax, chamomile (so often present in this wine) and bergamot, with just a little hint of hazelnut shell. There’s lime zest and peach stone too. Glassy, glacial and fantastically eloquent in its crisp and essential brightness and levity. There’s the depth and concentration here that one finds only in the very best of Italian whites but a lightness and levity that is all its own and the signature of the wine-making here (for the reds just as much as for Bòggina B). A study in purity. So gracious and yet so energetic. 96
White – France
| French releases (white) | Vintage | Region | New? | Rating |
| Domaine Sébastien Brunet Vouvray Les Pentes de la Folie | 2022 | Loire | Yes | 94 |
| Domaine Vincent Delaporte Sancerre Silex | 2023 | Loire | Yes | 92 |
| Domaine Vincent Delaporte Sancerre Les Monts Damnés | 2023 | Loire | Yes | 94 |
| Domaine Vincent Delaporte Sancerre La Côte d‘Amigny | 2023 | Loire | Yes | 94+ |
| Laurent Lebrun Pouilly Fumé Eugénie Collection | 2020 | Loire | Yes | 93 |
| Domaine Luneau Papin Gula Ana | 2023 | Loire | Yes | 94 |
| La Bouche du Roi Grande Vue | 2024 | île de France | No | NYT |
| La Bouche du Roi Grand Lever | 2024 | île de France | No | NYT |
| La Bouche du Roi Les Louis d’Or | 2024 | île de France | No | NYT |
| Les Héritiers Saint Génys – Santenay | 2023 | Burgundy | No | 89 |
| Les Héritiers Saint Génys – Clos Marcilly Monopole | 2023 | Burgundy | No | 92 |
| Domaine Chapuis Chorey-lès Beaune | 2023 | Burgundy | No | 90 |
| Domaine Chapuis Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru | 2023 | Burgundy | No | 92 |
| La Capitelle de Baronarques blanc | 2023 | Laguedoc-Rousssillon | No | 91+ |
| Domaine de Baronarques blanc | 2023 | Languedoc-Roussillon | No | 93 |
Domaine Sébastien Brunet Vouvray Les Pentes de la Folie 2022 (Vouvray; 100% Chenin Blanc; 13.5% alcohol; from extremely old vines – 80 years of age – planted on a steeply sloping argilo-silex over argilo-calcaire terroir). Another new release. And a fascinating on it is too. Peanut brittle. Popcorn. Macadamia. Pine resin. Lime. Linden. Peach stone. Apricot. Guava. As that already suggests, this is an incredibly distinctive wine. It’s strikingly saline too. Crystalline and pure, focussed yet almost fluffy in its lift and aerial character. A cloud of lifted fruits. 94.
Domaine Vincent Delaporte Sancerre Silex 2023 (Sancerre; 100% Sauvignon Blanc; sourced from old vines with an average of 50 years of age; 13% alcohol). Pure, poised, fresh, bright, lifted and yet dense and compact, structured by the minerality and brilliantly stony – like a polished slab in a river stream. A little peach and peach stone. Subtle, refined and gracious. I love it. The price is incredible for the quality! 92.
Domaine Vincent Delaporte Sancerre Les Monts Damnés 2023 (Sancerre; 100% Sauvignon Blanc; from another famous – and famously steep-sloping – vineyard planted, back in the 10th century, by the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Saint-Satur and highly prized ever since with a southern/south-eastern exposure on a Kimmeridgean marl terroir; 13% alcohol). The minerality is very different here. Glassier and purer still, more ample and layered in a way with lovely fresh fennel bulb and fronts joining the white current and gooseberry fruits. Grace in harmony. Exquisite. 94.
Domaine Vincent Delaporte Sancerre La Côte d‘Amigny 2023 (Sancerre; 100% Sauvignon Blanc; 13% alcohol). This is more vertical and lifted than the other two cuvées here. It comes from a small vineyard, part of the famous La Grand Côte in Chavignol (as in the François Cotat cuvée), the vines planted in the 1950s on Kimmeridgean marls. Lifted, yes … and it’s a little richer too. That’s in part because it takes a less ample form in the mouth. Sinuous and rippling along the layers, this is fascinating texturally with that very distinctive whetstone and pebbly minerality again. This is perhaps a little more complex and certainly has a little more aging potential. I love it; but I love them all. A little more serious and not perhaps as fully expressive of its potential at this stage – but it’s there! 94+.
Laurent Lebrun Pouilly Fumé Eugénie Collection 2020 (Pouilly-Fumé; 100% Sauvignon Blanc; 13% alcohol). A first release on la place. Searingly fresh and lifted. Flinty in its minerality with that distinct smoky Fumé note so redolent of the appellation. Almost a Riesling-esque citrus note too. Struck match. Fascinating, distinctive and very fresh. An exciting addition from a region that it would be great to see be more present on la place. 93.
Domaine Luneau Papin Gula Ana 2023 (Muscadet-Sèvre-et-Maine; 100% Melon de Bourgogne; certified organic and biodynamic and sourced from a rather singular and superior volcanic terroir, the vines planted in 1974 and organic since that moment; 12.5% alcohol; tasted twice, first in Bordeaux and then from a sample sent to me in Paris, with similar notes). Another new arrival. Greengage. Mirabelle. Peanut brittle. Salted caramel. Bright, fresh lifted white flowers and citrus fruits. Tangerine. Blood orange. A little beurre de baratte fleur de sel. Fascinating in its minerality. Ethereal. Lifted and gravity-defying. 94.
La Bouche du Roi Grande Vue 2024 (IGP île de France; 100% Sauvignon Blanc; 14% alcohol; certified organic). NYT.
La Bouche du Roi Grand Lever 2024 (IGP île de France; 100% Chenin Blanc; 12.5% alcohol; certified organic). NYT.
La Bouche du Roi Louis d’Or 2024 (IGP île de France; 100% Chardonnay; on clay and limestone; 13.5% alcohol; certified organic). NYT.
Les Héritiers Saint Génys Santenay 2023 (Santenay; 100% Chardonnay; from 1.04 hectares, the smallest of Les Héritiers Saint Génys’s holdings in Santenay; 13% alcohol). Bright, crisp, but in the context of the Joanne tasting, a little simple and monotone. Fine in its way but this lacks the lift and levity on display in so many of these wines, including the estate’s own Clos Marcilly from Mercurey. Lemon cordial. A touch of flinty minerality. 89.
Les Héritiers Saint Génys Clos Marcilly Monopole 2023 (Mercurey 1er cru; 100% Chardonnay; from a 3.15 hectare vineyard entirely replanted since 2012 and a monopole only since 2016). Crisp, bright again but with much more vivid acidity and above all minerality. Flinty. Stony. Very pure and clean. Crisp and bright. Linden. Fennel fronds. A hint of the viscosity of a tomato consommé. Delicate. Refined. 92.
Domaine Chapuis Chorey-Lès-Beaune 2023 (Chorey-Lès-Beaune; 100% Chardonnay; 13.5% alcohol). Fresh, clean, bright and crisp. Linden. Satsuma. Tangy and fresh but relatively simple and a little one-dimensional. Sapid and refreshing on the finish. 90.
Domaine Chapuis Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2023 (Corton-Charlemagne; 100% Chardonnay; from parcels of Les Languettes, Les Pougets et Le Charlemagne with an optimal Southern and South-Eastern exposition; 14% alcohol). Rich and plump, but without much sense of textural layering or complexity at this stage. What I do like is that the natural richness and power never threatens to become fat, as the acidity is quite pronounced. But in a way it’s more difficult because of that to pick this as Corton Charlemagne. It will be interesting to see how this evolves. 92.
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La Capitelle de Baronarques blanc 2023 (Limoux; 100% Chardonay; pH 3.3; 10% malolactic fermentation; aged for 6 months in French oak barrels and 3 months in vats; 13.4% alcohol). There are enticing yellow and green highlights here that almost compete for visual attention, indicating something of the tension in this wine between the richer, riper, fuller notes and the more structural and structuring acidity. That is reflected in the fruit profile – pear and a little peach and nectarine on the one hand, quince, tangerine and citron pressé on the other. The two sides find a lovely harmony and this is a tempting, enticing and yet elegant and refined introduction to the grand vin. 91+.
Domaine de Baronarques 2023 (Limoux; 97% Chardonnay; 3% Chenin Blanc; pH 3.29; 2% malolactic fermentation to retain the natural freshness; aged for 8 months in French oak barrels, 25% of which are new; 13.1% alcohol). Bright and crisp to the core. Mirabelle, white pear, a little apricot stone, maybe a sliver of almond. Tangy tangerine and blood orange rind. Impressively complex in its fruit profile, yet elegant, integrated and harmonious. Glassy and quite sapid and juicy. Fresh on the finish. 93.
French (white)
| French releases (white) | Vintage | Region | New? | Rating |
| Domaine de la Pierre Gravée Inspirations | 2022 | Loire | Yes | 94+ |
| Domaine de la Pierre Gravée Momentum | 2022 | Loire | Yes | 95 |
Domaine de la Pierre Gravée Inspirations 2022 (Vouvray; 100% Chenin Blanc; 13.5% alcohol; from 50 year old vines on a distinctive and exceptional terroir of flint and clay; no malolactic fermentation to keep all the tension; aged for 18 months in oak barrels; an exclusivity of The Wine Merchant). Named to honour those – including the late, great Jacky Blot – who encouraged and inspired Philippe Guyonnet both to purchase the property and to produce this exceptional wine from its unique terroir. Like all of these wines, this opens graciously and its needs aeration (but my advice would be to taste this first before decanting it, to appreciate the sheer complexity of the wine). At first we note sesame seed and white pear. There’s a creaminess and a natural richness here, but also a very evident and impressive crystallinity. In the mouth there is a certain amplitude but despite the concentration and impact there is never a hit of fatness – though plenty of viscosity. I love the stony, flinty minerality that is, if anything, more evident in this than the Momentum cuvée. With aeration we pick up notes of nougat, confit fruits and peanut brittle as peach and peach skin intermingle with the white pear and crisp apple from the aromatics. There’s a little hint of wild floral honey. Above all, this is crisp and fresh, tense and taut, with all the natural richness from the old vine Chenin Blanc taken in charge by the salinity and acidity that punches its way through the heart of this wine giving it such energy in the mouth. 94+.
Domaine de la Pierre Gravée Momentum 2022 (Vouvray; 100% Chenin Blanc; 13.5% alcohol; from 50 year old vines on a distinctive and exceptional terroir of flint and clay; aged for 24 months on its lees in French oak and then for a further 6 months in bottle before release; an exclusivity of The Wine Merchant). This is richer, fuller and a little more ample and more serious in a way – and this is a wine that probably does really need a decanter at this stage (though, once again, to fully appreciate the complexity it helps first to taste this before decanting). Candlewax, frangipane, grated almonds and a panoply of fresh herbs. Eucalyptus too. A little mimosa. Then, just as you start to take all of that in, the fruit starts to arrive – pêches de vignes, confit fruits, white pear, lime and a little lime zest, with a hint of Mirabelle plums. And then the florality establishes itself with gorgeous notes of fresh rose petals and rosewater filling the glass. Intensely saline and flinty in its minerality, this is a fabulously exquisite wine – with just as much in common with a Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru or even a fresher Corton-Charlemagne than with many of its appellation neighbours. 95.
White – US
| Californian releases (white) | Vintage | Region | 1st release? | Rating |
| Flowers Chardonnay | 2023 | Sonoma | Yes | 92 |
| Inglenook Blancaneaux | 2023 | Napa | No | 94 |
| Quintessa Illumination | 2024 | Napa & Sonoma | No | 95 |
Flowers Chardonnay 2023 (Sonoma Coast; 100% Chardonnay; pH 3.3; indigenous yeasts; aged in French oak barrels, 18% of them new; 13.5% alcohol). Beeswax. A little wild field honey. Heather and wild herbs. White pear and a little peach. Lime zest. Nicely done but not the most complex of the Chardonnays in this year’s line-up. Glassy, sapid and juicy on the finish. Quite racy. Good value. 92.
Inglenook Blancaneaux 2023 (Napa Valley; 40% Viognier; 33% Marsanne; 27% Roussanne; 13.5% alcohol). Glassy, glossy, rich and refined. Quite punchy too. Linden. Lime zest. Grapefruit. Peach, even a little fig, apricot and maybe some exotic fruit notes – guava and star fruit. There’s a pleasing freshness on the finish that just about succeeds in reining this in before it gets too full and fat. 94.
Illumination (Quintessa) 2024 (Napa Valley and Sonoma County; 58% Sauvignon Blanc; 28% Sauvignon Blanc Musqué; 14% Sémillon; 14% alcohol). Very lifted and aerial. Glossy but with incredible vertical range. Dense and compact. Quite intense. Racy with lots of viscerally animating acidity. A little peach skin and peach kernel. White grapefruit. Passionflower. Lovely in its sapid juiciness. 95.
White – Argentina
| Argentine releases | Vintage | Region | 1st release? | Rating |
| El Camino de las Flores (Zuccardi) | 2024 | Mendoza | Yes | 96 |
El Camino de las Flores (Zuccardi) 2024 (Medoza; 100% Chardonnay planted on limestone soils in the dry Fina Las Cerrilladas in the Gualtallary sector of the Uco Valley at 1400 metres of altitude; no malolactic fermentation; 13% alcohol; just 2000 bottles produced). Another excellent new release. As the absence of malolactic fermentation on the technical sheet suggests this is all about purity, focussed precision and terroir typicity. It is brilliantly floral and fresh with a very vivid herb and delicate white flower encased pear, peach and crisp white apple-core aromatic profile. Acacia flowers, mimosa and a wonderful flint and chalky minerality. On the palate, this is if anything fresher, crisper and brighter still with a very well-defined linear spine and lots of forward thrust and energy. Vibrant, racy and brilliantly crystalline, I am an instant fan. 96.
White – Australia
| Australian releases (white) | Vintage | Region | 1st release? | Rating |
| Giaconda Chardonnay | 2023 | Victoria | No | 98 |
| Yattarna Bin 144 Chardonnay | 2023 | Australia (various) | No | 98 |
| Cloudburst Chardonnay | 2023 | Margaret River | No | 98 |
| Jim Barry Florita Riesling | 2015 | Clare Valley | Yes | 95 |
| Jim Barry Florita Riesling | 2005 | Clare Valley | Yes | 97 |
| Arras Grand Vintage | 2015 | Tasmania | Yes | 93+ |
Giaconda Chardonnay 2023 (Beachworth, Victoria; 100% Chardonnay; around 10k bottles produced with the production reduced by difficult fruit set in the spring; indigenous yeasts, basket presses, 100% malolactic; vinification entirely in small barrels underground; low in pH without being high in total acidity, bringing great balance; aged in small French oak barrels, 30% of them new). Crystalline in its purity with a generous sweet nuttiness and a butter-tinged richness that really impress. White flowers and angelica, a little candied fruit alongside the yellow plum, Mirabelle and white pear. Struck match. Confit and fresh melon. Sesame seed and a hint of sesame oil – hand-crushed. Almonds and toasted almonds and a little frangipane. Buttercup. A little saffron and perhaps also a scratch of mace and a grating of lime zest. There are also yellow blooms and a hint of ginger which reappears on the finish. Svelte, quite glossy in texture and lithe and lithesome. There’s a saline note – soy to go with the yuzu. And despite the considerable viscosity there’s plenty of lift here, rendering this impressively aerial. Very shapely and very pure with the sense of purity reinforced by the slightly flinty minerality. 98.
Yattarna Bin 144 Chardonnay 2023 (100% Chardonnay; the fruit sourced from Tumbarumba, Tasmania and Adelaide Hills; pH 3.11; barrel fermented and aged for 8 months in French oak barrels, 44% of which were new; 12.5% alcohol). Melon, confit melon, 50 shades of lime and lemon, fresh ginger, a hint of ginger ale. A wine of great purity and precision. Wow! Fresh and lifted and with a very visceral and tactile sense of freshness. Dynamic and energetic. Vividly brilliant. 98.
Cloudburst Chardonnay 2023 (Margaret River; 100% Chardonnay; 13% alcohol; pH 3.64; biodynamically farmed and from a tiny vineyard of just 1.25 hectares; 4888 bottles produced; tasted with Will Berliner at the end of a vertical of each vintage produced). Almond skin. Peach flesh and kernel. Molten patchouli-scented candlewax. A very tactile touch of tannin. Very grippy and wonderfully fresh with the gentle grip of tannin and the zesty citrus notes almost massaging their way from the exterior into the heart of the wine, breaking up the surface tension and bringing vivacity and dynamism to the deep dark rich core of the wine in the process. Very impressive. Very mineral too, as if the citrus picks up and underscores the natural minerality. Ethereal and quite intellectual. Will Berliner has made another great wine. 98.
Jim Barry The Florita Riesling Cellar Release 2015 (Clare Valley; 100% Riesling; 12.3% alcohol; just 300 bottles). Brilliantly glassy and crystalline. Gracious. Fluid, lithe and surprisingly crunchy in its fruit signature. Viscous at the top of the palate, but the acidity almost breaks this up from below releasing the petrol-y notes as the citrus engages. Dynamic and energetic as great Riesling should be. Fabulously fresh on the finish. 95.
Jim Barry The Florita Riesling Cellar Release 2005 (Clare Valley; 100% Riesling; 12.3% alcohol; just 60 bottles – make that 59!). Wonderful. Richer, fuller, more intense still than the 2015. Tarte au citron and a little wild floral honey. A little peach and the crunch of apple skin. Vivid and vibrant, racy, almost electric in it sense of energy. A little white pear and confit melon. Much less petrol-y than the 2015, with the fleshy fruit always the star of the show. 97.
Arras Grand Vintage 2015 (Tasmania; 67% Chardonnay; 33% Pinot Noir; dosage of 2.6 g/l; pH 3.16; 13.1% alcohol). Arras’ first release on la place with a late release (of an earlier vintage) to come next year. Vertical. Lifted. Structured. Tight and racy. Sprightly despite the viscosity. A vertical column charged with sapid and juicy fresh citrus notes. Pear and peach, grapefruit and a little honey and honeycomb. Maybe a hint of nougat too and with a suggestion of almond patisserie. Very fine. I like very much the salinity bringing an intriguing note of toasted salted pecans to the finish. 93+.
A note on the tasting notes: As regular readers will know, I am the Bordeaux and la place de Bordeaux correspondent of The Drinks Business. My specialism is Bordeaux, in particular, and northern Europe (especially Piedmont and Tuscany), secondarily. This should perhaps be born in mind when it comes to my tasting notes for other regions with which I am less familiar and which I encounter primarily through la place. My notes, as ever, are those of an enthusiast and a wine-lover and, for these regions above all, they are best read as such. All of the following wines were tasted either in Bordeaux at the offices of the courtiers or négociants bringing these wines to the international market, at trade tastings in London, at the property itself, or in Paris, from samples sent directly from the property – and, in many cases, multiple times.
NYT – not yet tasted (with tasting notes to appear in a later article).
For the tasting notes on this year’s Hors Bordeaux campaigns, see here: Italy and Spain (reds); France (reds); USA (reds); Chile & Argentina (reds); Australia and New Zealand (reds); Germany; the whites; Champagne; sweet wines.
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