### 1947 Carbonnieux Blanc

BY NEAL MARTIN | SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

Mature white Bordeaux is rarely discussed and, to be honest, rarely tasted. In my own experience, lunches or dinners commencing with a venerable Bordeaux Blanc are as regular as Halley’s comet. That’s a pity, because whenever they do form the opening act, they offer pertinent reminders of their quality. A bottle of **1947 Carbonnieux Blanc** was recently served blind in, of all places, a private supper in Beaune. In the postwar period, this Graves estate belonged to Monsieur J-J Chabrat. Certainly this bottle is my solitary encounter with a Carbonnieux from this era. It is difficult to find the blend, although with some digging around, I determined that it would have been around 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Sémillon. As seen in the photograph below, the bottle sported a small neck label with sage advice on how it should be served, indicating that it was distributed to merchants rather than for solely personal consumption like some Graves properties.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1568642229886-carbonnieux_1947_neck.jpg)

In the decanter you might mistake it for a red, so deep is its color. The bouquet is oxidative, nutty and arresting – no shy and retiring flower. The aromatics grab the olfactory senses by the lapels and demand attention, while a light acrid smoky note lies in the background. The palate is underpinned by razor-sharp acidity, which was why I was astonished when the vintage famous for its hot summer and low acidity was revealed. Again, the 1947 is oxidative but very complex, offering grilled walnuts, tobacco, sour lemon, Seville orange marmalade and a potent saline element. In some ways this is an uncompromising white Graves that doesn’t give two hoots whether it’s liked or not. On its own it might be too much, but partnered with delicious salmon and a white fish terrine, it makes a beautiful marriage. I would not leave this much longer, so if you do chance upon a bottle, just fetch a corkscrew and enjoy. **90** /Drink: 2019-2019.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1568642251717-carbonnieux_1947_bottle.jpg)



Cellar Favorite: 1947 Carbonnieux Blanc

Cellar Favorite: 1947 Carbonnieux Blanc (Sep 2019)

ConstantScore(-article_id:{312 381 422 466 735 1092 1114 1146 1208 1209 1210 1231 1235 1241 1242 1245 1249 1258 1261 1276 1283 1298 1302 1312 1321 1325 1338 1601 1734 1980 1998 2164 2193 2198 2268 2425 2529 2566 2825 2994 3120 3140 3371 3977 4341} #producer.id:3891 #article_id:[2326 TO 2326])

DocValuesFieldExistsQuery [field=_primary_term]

Carbonnieux

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social