Aile d’Argent Bordeaux Blanc 2022 750ml Case of 6

96-97 So vibrant and minerally with salt and dried apple, peach and pears. Medium to full body. Creamy texture. Some phenolics. Dried fruit skin. Vivid acidity. 3.18 pH. 52% sauvignon blanc, 39% semillon, 8% sauvignon gris, and 1% muscadelle.

93-95 Another impressive Bordeaux Blanc from the Médoc, the 2022 Château Mouton Rothschild Aile D'Argent Blanc is based on 52% Sauvignon Blanc, 39% Sémillon, 8% Sauvignon Gris, and the rest Muscadelle. Still aging in 45% new oak, it has a ripe, tropical nose of minty herbs, exotic flowers, and assorted citrus and melon-like fruits. It's clean, vibrant, and medium-bodied, with bright acidity and a great finish.

Gorgeous tropical notes on the nose, pineapple, mango, lemon, fresh but ripe and lively with elderflower, acacia flowers, green apple and citrus fruits. Nicely weighted on the palate. A shot of bright mango and apple with flecks of lime and a creamy lemon yoghurt type texture, thick but enjoyable. Keeps its coolness, not so tense or necessarily streamlined but generous flavour all the way through. A citrus kick and lift at the end brings the freshness and tang back, with a salinity that is moreish. Joyful and really quite approachable still with weight and texture. Will be bottled in the first week of June. Very moreish. Harvest 22-31st August. A yield of 16.7hl/ha. 1% Muscadelle completes the blend. 3.18 PH. 3.8 g/l total acidity. Aged 45% in new barrels.

90-92 Harvested in the month of August, the 2022 Aile d'Argent bursts with aromas of gooseberries, white flowers, lime zest and mango. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, it's a bright, fleshy Sauvignon Blanc-dominant blend that concludes with a saline finish.

The blend is led by Sauvignon Blanc at 52%, the remainder 39% Semillon and 8% Sauvignon Gris with a 1% soupçon of Muscadelle bringing up the rear. The fruit was pressed directly into barrel, where it remained during both fermentation and élevage, and notably there was no malolactic fermentation this year, to maintain a fresher acid profile. I adore the aromatics here, all waxed orange and peach fruits, with a desiccated concentration that does not veer into anything confit. This lively character is reaffirmed on the palate, with lemon posset and orange flavours, set in a light-footed texture, with a remarkable sense of freshness for this warm and dry vintage. There is a little wrapping of warm-vintage phenolic grip to it, but on the whole this feels very controlled; surely one of the biggest successes in white in this vintage. Poured from standard bottle.