Château Closiot : C de Sec 2020

Dominated by Sémillon that's picked late, just before botrytis really takes off in the vineyards, Guffens's 2020 Le C du Sec du Château Closiot is very promising, exhibiting inviting aromas of stone fruit, orange oil, beeswax, ripe melon, vanilla pod and nutmeg. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with racy acids, chalky structuring extract and a long, penetrating finish, it's one of the most interesting dry wines being produced in Bordeaux today.

Exotic and toasted yellow and white fruit aromas on the nose, expressive and immediately open, with a vivid golden-yellow colour in the glass. Supple and generous on the palate with a clean, clear texture. The tropical fruit — pineapple, mango, peach and lemon — shows spiced edges and soft acidity from the vintage, giving this a serious feel despite the lovely overall purity. A combination of punchy power and tension, with oak still evident on the palate providing the frame. The length is impressive and there is freshness on the finish. One to have with food. A blend of Sémillon (more than 90%) with Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle from Barsac on shallow red clay soils over limestone bedrock. Grapes were vinified in barrels (25% new) before the Sémillon and Sauvignon went into barrels for 14 months and Muscadelle into concrete vats.

Bacon and smoke on the nose – very reduced and stylised. Not at all what you might expect from white bordeaux (but then again, it's made by a Mâconnais man). Smooth palate, soft acid, a touch of honey character. Intense and lengthy, and perhaps a bit of a misfit for traditional white bordeaux. (RH)

The 2020 Le C Sec du Chateau Closiot leaps with intense notes of freshly squeezed lemons, lime zest, orange blossoms, and struck flint, giving way to suggestions of yuzu and shaved almonds. The medium-bodied palate is charged with energetic citrus and mineral flavors, supported by a crisp backbone and satiny texture, finishing long with a saline lift. Produced by Jean-Marie Guffens from Burgundy, this is a very different style Bordeaux blanc with clear Burgundian influences and I love it!