Chateau Carbonnieux Pessac-Léognan Blanc 2021

The 2021 Carbonnieux Blanc has a relatively spicy bouquet, very slight touches of muscat filtering through the citric fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with a spicy entry and good weight. Persistent in the mouth, leaving behind a long, saline aftertaste. This is another excellent dry white Bordeaux.

Lots of ripe melon, which peach, and some citrus fruits, as well as a touch of floral nuances, emerge from the 2021 Château Carbonnieux Blanc, another bright, fresh, focused white in the vintage. The 2021s can at times lack a touch of volume and richness, but this has good mid-palate depth and rock-solid balance. I'd be happy to drink a glass, and it should be ready to go right out of the gate.

Notions of citrus zest, fresh mint, peach, pastry cream and Sauvignon botanicals introduce the 2021 Carbonnieux Blanc, a medium-bodied, satiny wine that's ample and precise. It's an attractive example of the modern school of white Bordeaux, even if anyone who has tasted older vintages from the 1960s or 1970s-when the wines were less Sauvignon-driven and aromatic but more textural and sapid-will inevitably be disappointed.