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Château Cantelys Blanc 2018

To Pessac-Léognan this week, an appellation which draws me back again and again for several reasons. Looking beyond the high quality of the red wines from Haut-Brion, Smith-Haut-Lafitte, Haut-Bailly, Domaine de Chevalier and the like, this is also the first port of call for any wine drinker looking for the white wines of Bordeaux. It is also a rich source of value options, with many Pessac-Léognan châteaux outside the 1959 Graves classification (not to mention those left in the Graves appellation itself) selling their wines at more pocket-friendly prices than their more glitter-studded neighbours. This is despite the fact a number of them offer wines of very smart quality.

This is certainly true of this week’s wine, which obeys one of the bargain-hunters golden rules; when looking for value in Bordeaux, look to a minor property – sometimes in a less prestigious appellation – run by a team in the famous château just down the road. There are numerous examples; Moulin-Riche and Léoville-Poyferré, for example, Montlandrie and L’Église-Clinet, or Puygueraud and Pavie-Macquin, to name just three among many. In the case of Cantelys, the property was for many years – as the label below helpfully informs us – a possession of Daniel and Florence Cathiard, proprietors of Smith-Haut-Lafitte.

This of course means that, prior to the sale of the property to the Helfrich family (who own Grands Chais de France and a smattering of interesting Bordeaux châteaux) in 2022, the wines were made by the talented Fabien Teitgen, and they benefited from the investments put in place by its capable owners. It was the interminable threat of frost to which the vineyards of Cantelys, which are surrounded by humid woodland, were particularly sensitive, meaning the returns did not always reflect the efforts made, which eventually induced the Cathiards to sell.

Château Cantelys Pessac-Léognan Blanc 2018

The vintage in question here is 2018. It is not, being frank, my go-to vintage for the white wines of Bordeaux. Climate change has resulted in Bordeaux experiencing exceptionally dry and warm weather in a number of recent vintages, conditions very favourable for the region’s red wines but making life difficult for those looking for balance in the white wines.

It might be useful to recap recent vintages with regard to the white wines, rather than the reds, for a change. The first vintage I would turn to in preference to 2018 is 2024. Although I have so far only tasted these wines as barrel samples during the primeurs in April this year I was impressed by the harmonious combinations of texture and freshness I found. It is easy to find texture in warm vintages, and it is easy to find acidity in more Oceanic vintages marked by cooler temperatures and rain, but to find the two in balanced combination is less common than you might think. I look forward to revisiting the 2024 whites late in 2026.

Next I think I would look to 2023. Having just completed my first round of tastings of the 2023 now it is in bottle – with the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux last week – I was impressed by the whites, which showed nice aromatics, substance and freshness. One or two wines stood out as really impressive. I will taste more when I head to Bordeaux in a couple of weeks for a deeper dive into the vintage, with second and third tastes of many of the wines before I publish an in-depth report on the vintage early next year.

After that, the choices are more limited. The youthful 2021 vintage received some favourable comments from acid-hunters both during the primeurs and when revisited after bottling, but for me this vintage went too far down this line, and too many wines displayed sour fruit and shrill acidity. I suspect ten years from now these will be eye-watering glassfuls (rather like many white Bordeaux from the 2013 vintage taste now), although I am sure there will be exceptions to this rule.

The 2019 and 2020 vintages were on the warm side too. If shopping from young vintages, stick with 2023 and 2024 is my advice.

This brings us to the 2018 vintage, and this wine, the Pessac-Léognan Blanc from Château Cantelys. In the glass it presents a pale lemon-yellow hue which is immediately reassuring, and the nose follows suit with a more classical expression than I was expecting from this warm vintage on the nose, being rich in sandy minerals and smoky oak, which comes layered with lemon peel, green apple and white pepper. This is a fresher profile than I was expecting, although the confident expression does speak of a ripe and benevolent vintage. The palate opens with juicy and delicious veins of crystalline citrus pith and waxy fruit, underpinned by a fine and bitter phenolic grip. The dry heat of the vintage shines through in the acidity through the midpalate, where it has only a modest presence. It finishes fresh, bitter, bright and granular, long and pithy. It holds together well for the vintage, but the acidity is a little low-key. I would have liked to see more. If you prefer a riper style in white, however, this could be the one for you. Drink now. The alcohol is 13% on the label. 89/100 (10/11/25)

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