De Fieuzal Blanc 2019 (RP92)

A terrific effort, the 2019 de Fieuzal Blanc offers up inviting aromas of nectarine, confit citrus fruit, white flowers and subtle hints of pastry cream. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless, with an enveloping core of fruit, lively acids and a saline finish, it’s a charming, beautifully balanced wine that punches well above its weight.This 90-hecatre estate in Pessac-Leognan is undergoing a renaissance in the hands of winemaker Stephen Carrier and consultant Thomas Duclos. Readers who have tasted old wines from Fieuzal will know that there’s potential here, but Carrier feels that the estate lost 20 years due to the viticultural mistakes of the late 1980s—20 years he’s determined to catch up. Today, replanting is at high density (9,000 vines per hectare versus 6,000 in the estate’s older plantings), and the varietal balance has been adapted to the soils (some 60% of the vineyard, incidentally, is gravel, with more sandy-clay soils to the southwest). Today, that means around 35% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and fully 10% Petit Verdot. Organic farming has been pursued, but it had to be abandoned in 2018, as the necessary doses of copper to control mildew were becoming too high. Today, reds are fragrant and pure, with discreet tannins and lively fruit tones. Whites (less than 10% of the production) are making obvious progress too: less varietal and more textural, they’re waxy and incisive, well worth seeking out. In short, de Fieuzal is an estate to watch.