@ waitrose: Currently 25% off = £10.49

Toasty, smokey Oak dominates both on the nose and palate.. But where is the fruit ? Everything seems to be cloaked by all that oak
I know this is French SB so wasn't expecting the rich fruit notes I know MSB delivers but I found this unbalanced even for me as a fan of oaky whites.
This is not to say I didn't enjoy it but if tasted blind I wouldn't have been able to identify the grape variety
The oak mellowed a little on day 2 showing its ability to age but my concern would be taking the gamble on whether the fruit will evolve or fade.

This is a food wine, well suited to roast chicken (and even fish n chips for me)
As a stand alone slurper, it is a white for autumnal weather (so appropriate for drinking now with the current cold snap)

I tend to have a preference for an oak element in most wine (I will often return a bottle of red to a shelf if it confirms it's spent less than a year in oak)
In this instance though I think I may be a little heavy handed even for me

Hmnnn.

How dry is this wine ? To my mind / palate / feel, this style should not be overly dry, if it is to be beautiful.

Shez, TBH, that oak would be too heavy for me with a very dominant sauvignon blanc or a / 5% Sem in the mix.

Ch. Clos Floridène, had much more ancient vine Semilion (80 plus years) in the mix and much less oak. I don't remember Smith Haut Lafitte having so much oak in the cuvee' but that was a very long time ago, and at £60 + a bottle these days, I'm not able to check my fleeting memory of this notable Pessac. The SB fruit lift could fade as the wine evolves - Have you drunk any Te Koko recently ?

I dont remember Lurton's La Louviere' being oaky per se, and the last one we had, we drunk as an appero, as you would a very light fino appetiser.

It is as well to know, the level of oak in a wine, and we all have our preferences, and ways of qualifying our opinion.

For me Chardonnay, Semilion and Chenin make happier bedfellows with oak, But I hold ole fashioned experience, with an ole fashioned palate, so I'm way off beam with these wines today.

I can't afford good Pessac anymore, so I don't know recent developments in the style that Roquefort is trying to emulate

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Duncan

Its not at all dry Dunc. Rather than making it dusty, the oak adds a slight vanilla sweetness to it.
There is potential for the oak to blow off
I was hoping for the oak to be slightly more subtle creamy element, more cloudy bay te koko-esque
This to me was like new world Chardonnay of old

Not good last night - That's a shame, I /we like to discover whites (I'm steeped in france) I can't drink Chablis all-of-the time just because good white burgundy has gone thru the roof recently !

Pessac Leognan went astro a long time ago, and one hoped that Bergerac blanc, Blaye blanc and EDM would try and fill the gap in the affordable market. Particularly now that the climate and "cleverness" there, is satisfactory for making these wines as they are on the posh slopes and vineyards on the left bank.

Mr Bacchus has a bottle - So, lets see what he makes of this wine.

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Duncan

I'll be interested to see what Ba says about this

I'm tempted to buy a couple to see how they evolve. This could could be make a decent (slightly cheaper) alternative to a burgundy

With the disco as well.....A lot cheaper !

Talking subtle creamyness & nuttyness and finesse, Have you taken one of your Fontaine-Gagnard "Les Vergers" 1er yet ? Err - Sorry, you've done a TN, not quite ready, but nearly delicious.

Enjoy your sunny week-end - at last, the sun.

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Duncan

This gets more interesting by the moment. I'm not in the mood for it tonight as my insurance renewal has come through. They've put the premium up by a factor of 2.3 and nearly doubled the excess.

Makes I mad it do. Nice people eh!
Not my fault bike was nicked. Am going elswhere and have obtained a few much more reasonable quotes.

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.

Well... not awe-inspiring. Had this a while ago and was not too keen. Just me I suppose. Some others will enjoy it I'm sure, but it's not to my fine palate, but then not many Bx SBs are.

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Four wheels move the body - 2 wheels move the soul.