Today we have a statement piece that belies the fact that Bordeaux Blanc is still one of the most criminally underrated categories in the world. Take this 2020 Graves Blanc from Château Auney L’Hermitage, a sumptuously textured, flower-laden cornucopia of golden fruit that sings with the region’s trademark crushed-rock minerality. In terms of complexity, depth, and nuance, it stands alongside the best $40-and-unders of the Loire and Burgundy.
In its micro-scale production at an organically farmed and family-run estate, it represents a side of Bordelais winemaking that’s become all too rare. Yet, only the most tuned-in would know to reach for it. That’s a shame. But it’s also a blessing for us—this genuinely moving bottle doesn’t even cross the $35 mark! If there’s any justice, someday the rest of the world will catch onto the magic inside a bottle of “L’Hermitage” Graves Blanc. For now, grab all you can!
NOTE: This limited gem will be arriving at our warehouse during the week of January 9th.
The little stretch of Bordeaux’s Left Bank known as Graves may not be a household name, but it’s home to some of the most famous white wines in the world. With Pessac-Léognan at its north end and Sauternes to its south, this band of gravel and clay soils is in the easy running for some of the most important terroir on Earth for white varieties. The varieties, climate, and soil are totally different, but you can think of it almost like the Mosel—while only a few villages here have achieved international name recognition, the entire zone is a surefire bet for white wine profundity. Graves Blanc is, like almost all great Bordeaux, a blend of varieties, in this case, Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. The raw materials might be different, but that sense of mineral depth evident in a bottle of great red Bordeaux is also present in a wine like “L’Hermitage” as well.
The truth of Bordeaux is that there just aren’t very many small family domaines left anymore. This is, after all, perhaps the most famous winemaking region in the world, and it’s seen decades and decades of international investment and consolidation. Château Auney L’Hermitage is different though. Christien Auney and his wife, Sylvie, have assembled the estate by purchasing vineyards planted by small-scale growers around the village of La Bréde. Many of these were almost or entirely abandoned, and as a result, the Auneys have worked diligently to bring them back into productive health.
The vineyards break down to roughly 65% Sémillon, 20% Muscadelle, and 15% Sauvignon Blanc, a blend reflected in the final wine, and their holdings now amount to 8.5 hectares. For reference, the First Growths on the Left Bank are generally around 75-100 hectares. In 2012, the Auneys achieved organic certification, also exceedingly rare here. And Sylvie and Christien are the only producers in La Bréde to harvest their fruit by hand. This is truly artisanal viticulture in a region where that simply isn’t how things are done.
The 2020 “L’Hermitage” Graves Blanc was fermented with indigenous yeasts in 400L demi-muids and aged 9 months before bottling. It pours a radiant yellow with flecks of straw and leaps from the glass with glorious tones of pomelo, creamed apple, green pear skin, white peach, grapefruit zest, straw, honey, acacia flowers, and hints of nutmeg spice. The palate is a textural wonder, lush and mouth coating, with a vibrant throughline of pulverized rock minerality and a jolt of vibrant acidity. The finish is all gravel intensity, that rare white that smells of fruits and flowers yet tastes like the earth it came from. It’s a white wine experience you’ll only ever find here in Bordeaux, and there’s no better $30-something encapsulation than “L’Hermitage!”
