The 2013 Cos d'Estournel Blanc has quite a pungent bouquet, the Sémillon more expressive at the moment, with lime, fresh grapefruit, honeysuckle and just a hint of paw paw. The palate is well balanced with racy acidity, here the Sauvignon Blanc comes back with gooseberry and nettle notes, although I feel this needs more time to absorb the oak on the finish that feels a little disjointed at the moment. Give this another 2-3 years in bottle before broaching.

(76% sauvignon blanc and 24% semillon): Good pale color. Captivating aromas of stone fruits, lemon, iodine and sage. Very fresh on entry, then ripe and glyceral in the middle, conveying an impression of strong dry extract. Very sauvignon but the semillon gives it added complexity. Finishes juicy and long, with a repeating gooseberry nuance. Made at Goulée, this is the northernmost vineyard of white grapes in the Médoc. The vines were grafted onto 25-year-old cabernet sauvignon vines that already had a deep root system but that failed to ripen properly in this very cool microclimate. The estate likes the semillon here as it adds complexity depth and ageability but they also say their white wine is very hard to taste when young.