Château La Gabarre Bordeaux Blanc 2016

The tiny production of 2016 Château La Gabarre Bordeaux Blanc is a classic full-flavored blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Vinified in stainless steel for maximum freshness, it offers the taster a delightful draft of traditional Bordeaux Blanc. The preponderance of Sauvignon Blanc gives the wine its attractive aromatic profile, while Semillon provides additional body, texture, and a smoother, longer mid-palate and finish. Redolent with savory notes of ripe melon, citrus and white peach, the 2016 La Gabarre Bordeaux Blanc captures the nose with its enticing bouquet. The wine’s sensual appeal continues in the mouth, where deep drafts of melon, citrus and minerals combine to embrace the palate. If you are looking for an innocuous white wine with a fade-away finish, you will want to look elsewhere; the 2016 Château La Gabarre Bordeaux Blanc is anything but a wallflower. It embodies flavor, freshness, and vivacity. For optimum enjoyment of the 2016 Château La Gabarre Bordeaux Blanc, we suggest only moderate chilling (40°-45° F) before serving. Enjoy!

Château La Gabarre’s 2016 Bordeaux Blanc provides an ideal accompaniment to seafood, especially broiled scallops and flaky white fish served in a beurre blanc sauce. It pairs beautifully, too, with smoked salmon, sautéed oysters, grilled shrimp and most seafood specialties, including sushi. Heartier fare won’t cause this balanced, flavorful Bordeaux Blanc to fade either. Consider Cajun Shrimp and Grits with roasted peanuts and Baby Bella mushrooms, a chicken and vegetable stir fry, or a spicy Thai dish. Soft and crusted cow’s milk cheeses such as Brie, Camembert and Comté offer tasty pairings, too. And for those of us who enjoy crisp, refreshing, terroir driven white wines, a glass of Château La Gabarre’s 2016 Bordeaux Blanc offers the ideal way to begin any evening or festivity. Just be prepared to refill the glass, often. Consider yourself forewarned. Bon appétit!

Château La Gabarre is located in the commune of Galgon within the greater Fronsac district of Bordeaux, very near Lalande de Pomerol. Château La Gabarre is very much a Right Bank estate (meaning the property sits north of the Dordogne River, along with St. Émilion and Pomerol) where the region’s fine terroir consists of clay and stony soils that are ideal for the production of first rate white and red Bordeaux. The estate’s vineyards have been in the Gabard family since the 1800s and are now being exploited by Stéphane and Paola Gabard, a delightful young couple who took charge of the château in 1999. The Gabards have previously labeled Château La Gabarre under the name Château La Croix de Queynac, a common practice among Bordeaux châteaux where multiple labels for the same property and wine abound. In the case of these two names, the two wines are indeed one and the same.

Château La Gabarre operates as a true family enterprise. Stéphane oversees the vineyards and the cellar, while Paola takes charge of the administration and marketing while keeping an eye on the couple’s young daughters. The château produces very fine Bordeaux Blanc and Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge as well as small amounts of Bordeaux Rosé and, most recently, sparkling Crémant de Bordeaux. Stéphane's wines have won numerous medals at major Paris and Bordeaux competitions and have been cited for distinction in the Guide Hachette and Gault et Millaut, France’s two most prestigious food and wine publications.

The undisputed king of France's wine regions, Bordeaux sits amidst and astride the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers. The sprawling Bordeaux region accounts for some 800 million bottles of wine each year. Bordeaux has built a reputation on quality, as many of the world's most sought-after wines are crafted along its river banks. Bordeaux boasts over 10,000 winemakers working in the region’s 57 appellations. Known mostly for red blends made primarily from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc, Bordeaux also enjoys great notoriety for its excellent dry and sweet white wines, comprised mostly of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, which emanate primarily from the central regions of Bordeaux between the area’s two great rivers.