Château Bonnet Entre-Deux-Mers 2024: Sauvignon Blanc Takes Charge in a Difficult Vintage
Bordeaux has a reputation for expensive reds and magnificent sweet wines, but its dry whites deserve considerably more attention. Château Bonnet Entre-Deux-Mers 2024 is a particularly persuasive example: brisk, fragrant, citrus-driven and lively enough to make the first glass disappear rather quickly.
Sauvignon Blanc dominates the blend, bringing grapefruit, passion fruit and a crisp herbal edge. Colombard adds further aromatic intensity, while a small proportion of Sémillon lends a little flesh to the palate. There is no oak to complicate matters, just four months on the lees to give the wine a rounder texture.
This is not a grand, contemplative Bordeaux Blanc. It is a spirited, refreshingly uncomplicated white that knows precisely what it wants to be.
The Basics
- Producer: Château Bonnet – Vignobles Famille André Lurton
- Wine: Château Bonnet Blanc
- Vintage: 2024
- Appellation: Entre-deux-Mers AOC
- Region: Bordeaux, France
- Location: Grézillac, Entre-deux-Mers
- Grapes: 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 14% Colombard, 6% Sémillon
- Soils: Clay-limestone and clay-siliceous
- Average vine age: 19 years
- Harvest: September 9 – October 4, 2024
- Harvesting method: Mechanical
- Vinification: Skin contact before fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks
- Ageing: Four months on the lees in tanks
- Alcohol: 12% ABV
- Bottle size: 750 ml
- Serving temperature: 8–10°C
- Drinking window: Best enjoyed young, within two to three years of the vintage
The Estate and the Terroir
Château Bonnet stands in Grézillac, in the rolling countryside between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers. The estate has been associated with the Lurton family since 1956, when André Lurton inherited the property and began transforming it into one of the family’s most important wine estates.
Entre-deux-Mers is often treated as Bordeaux’s unglamorous neighbour, overshadowed by the illustrious vineyards of Saint-Émilion, Pomerol and the Médoc. Yet its clay-limestone hillsides have long been capable of producing excellent dry whites, particularly when Sauvignon Blanc is given the leading role.
The soils at Château Bonnet contain clay, limestone and silica in varying proportions. The estate’s vineyards are well suited to producing aromatic white grapes, while careful harvesting helps retain the acidity essential to this style.
The 2024 vintage was particularly demanding. Heavy rainfall, cool temperatures and limited sunshine complicated vineyard work throughout the growing season. Flowering was irregular, disease pressure was intense, and producers had to watch their vines closely.
August brought more favourable conditions, allowing ripening to progress before the September harvest. The resulting Château Bonnet is unmistakably Sauvignon-led, with lively acidity and a distinctly fresh aromatic profile.
How It’s Made
The blend is quite different from the familiar Sauvignon-Sémillon formula of many traditional Bordeaux whites. Sauvignon Blanc accounts for 80%, Colombard contributes 14%, and Sémillon makes up the remaining 6%.
Colombard is an interesting addition. Often associated with Gascony and the production of Armagnac, it can also produce remarkably vivid dry whites, with citrus-driven aromas and naturally energetic acidity.
After harvesting, the grapes undergo a period of skin contact before the must is clarified and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks.
The wine then rests for four months on its lees. This adds a little texture and breadth to the palate, tempering Sauvignon’s sharper edges without obscuring its exuberant aromatic character.
The absence of oak is entirely appropriate. There is little point in dressing a lively, youthful Bordeaux Blanc in heavy timber when its greatest attraction is precisely that bright, incisive fruit.
For a broader comparison, the cool-climate whites of the Loire Valley show how acidity can define an entire wine style, although the grapes and aromatic profiles are different.
Tasting Notes
Colour: Pale straw yellow with delicate green reflections, brilliantly clear and youthful.
Bouquet: An exuberant opening of grapefruit, passion fruit and lemon peel, followed by fresh herbs and a subtle floral accent. There is a faint suggestion of gooseberry and freshly cut grass, but the green notes remain discreet. The aromatic profile is vivid, precise and unmistakably Sauvignon.
Palate: Crisp and animated from the first sip. Citrus fruit gives the wine a sharp, refreshing opening, while the short lees ageing introduces a modest but welcome roundness. There is a pleasant contrast between the juicy fruit and a slightly bitter grapefruit note, with sufficient acidity to keep everything taut and appetising. At 12% alcohol, the wine feels light on its feet without becoming thin.
Finish: Dry, clean and pleasantly persistent, with lingering grapefruit zest and a subtle herbal bitterness. The acidity leaves the mouth refreshed rather than stripped.
Our Verdict
Château Bonnet 2024 is an excellent everyday white, full of aromatic energy and blessed with the sort of acidity that makes another glass difficult to resist. It has no great ambitions beyond freshness, fruit and a little texture, but it delivers all three with admirable conviction.
Compared with an unoaked Chardonnay, it is more aromatic, more herbaceous and decidedly sharper. Anyone looking for the creamy complexity of a mature Chablis should look elsewhere. At this price, however, Château Bonnet makes a strong case for the youthful, invigorating side of white Bordeaux.
Price
€13.00.
Food Pairings
Paella, vitello tonnato, chicken curry, pulled pork, empanadas, hamburgers.
