A Cru Classé white from Pessac-Léognan, made at the estate whose reputation rests more on its whites than its reds, and named for the medieval tower standing in its courtyard.
Tasting Notes
Pale straw with green highlights. The nose is exotic and citrus driven, with grapefruit and lemon zest lifted by acacia blossom and a delicate note of white peach. Sémillon fills out the middle with a creamy weight while Sauvignon Blanc holds the line, and time in French oak adds a quiet toasted frame rather than anything showy. There is real tension here, a nervy freshness running the length of the wine that carries the richness through to a long, saline, lemony close. Built to drink well now and to reward a decade in the cellar.
Quick Facts
- Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, roughly 60/40
- Origin: France, Bordeaux, Pessac-Léognan AOC
- Classification: Grand Cru Classé de Graves, classified for both red and white in 1953
- Style: Dry white, barrel fermented and barrel aged
- Winemaking: Hand harvested in successive passes as each parcel ripens, fermented and aged in French oak with a portion of new barrels
- Alcohol: Around 13%
- Terroir: Günz gravel over a plateau above the village of Martillac
Food Pairing
Oysters and shellfish, turbot or sea bass in butter sauce, scallops, roast chicken, veal in cream, and aged hard cheese. Rich enough for lobster, fresh enough for a plate of raw fish.
Serving
Serve at 10 to 12°C. Worth decanting or at least a large glass while young, as the oak and the fruit take a little time to knit together.
About the Producer
Château Latour-Martillac takes its name from the tower in its courtyard, all that remains of a 12th century fortress built by ancestors of the philosopher Montesquieu. The estate was bought in 1871 by the Bordeaux merchant Edouard Kressmann, and the family still runs it today through brothers Tristan and Loïc Kressmann. Before the war close to three quarters of the property was planted to white varieties, and although reds were expanded afterwards, the whites remain what the château is best known for. The oldest plot, Grapecap, was planted in 1884 and is bottled separately only in exceptional white vintages.
