Wine Advisor
Latour Martillac, Blanc 2013
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Description
The best lots from the best parcels are chosen each year to integrate into the blending of the first wines for both red and white wines. This stringent selection is driven by the direction of Loic Kressmann and our winemaker, Valerie Vialard, with the help of one of the most renowned consultants in Bordeaux, Professor Denis Dubourdieu.
Winter and spring were cool, wet and humid, with double the average rainfall in January (151mm vs 86mm on average). The first buds appeared in April with a 15-day delay and the flowering, in June, took place even in the rain… Fortunately, July was dry and hot (July was the warmest on record in the last 14 years). Our teams worked throughout the summer in the vineyards removing leaves and rigorous green harvest in August and September. Despite the law yields, we sacrificed green clusters to allow the plants to focus their energy on the remaining clusters in order to homogenize the harvest as much as possible. Late leaf removal later facilitated additional ventilation clusters thereby reducing the risk of rots. The harvest took place 2 weeks later than average. Just bottled, the wine reveals generous aromas of white fruit and citrus. The palate is lively, elegant and balanced with lovely white peach. The complexity and controlled acidity of this 2013 are sure to be a great vintage to age
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Lime, grapefruit, white flowers and crushed rocks are some of the notes that emerge from the 2013 Latour Martillac Blanc. The bracing, energetic finish is quite appealing. There is a lot to like here.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
Bright straw yellow. Sauvignon-dominated aromas of white flowers, grapefruit and sage. Then slightly austere in the mouth, with grapefruit and sage flavors lifted by lively acidity and complicated by a strong wet stone quality. Finishes saline and long, with bracing acidity. This should age extremely well, and I think it will need at least eight to ten from the vintage to show its best.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2013 La Tour Martillac is a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillon picked between 16 September until 30 September. It has a crisp gooseberry and lime flower bouquet, the Sauvignon expressive and vigorous. The palate is well balanced with a lovely white peach entry. This feels very harmonious and composed with well judged acidity on the elegant finish. Lovely! Tasted April 2014.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2013 LaTour Martillac Blanc has a grassy, lime and gooseberry-scented bouquet, the Sauvignon Blanc in charge and driving the aromatics. The palate is crisp and fresh on the entry with a pleasant saline entry, a touch of bitter lemon and a vibrant, quite sustained finish that just attenuates slightly, though I suspect that will be addressed with bottle age. Bunker this in your cellar for 3 or 4 years before reaching for the waiter's friend.
About the Producer
A small fortified castle from the 12th century existed until the French Revolution, leaving only behind the tower that gives the estate its name. Viticulture first began in the 19th century when the land was attached to the estate of Château La Brède, birthplace of Montesquieu. Under the ownership of Monsieur Charropin, the estate took the identity of Latour-Martillac, but the wine it produced was not noted as remarkable until the involvement of Edward Kressmann. A German wine trader, he became gradually more involved in the vinification from when he first began distributing Latour-Martillac, until he acquired the estate in 1929. Following the death of the owner, Kressmann faced the risk of losing a wine that had been a favourite of his clients for generations, and bought it outright. Already in 1884, Edward Kressmann had planted white grape varieties, and in 1892 launched their wine Graves Monopole Dry which was successful. The estate was eventually passed onto Alfred Kressmann, followed by his son, Jean, in charge since 1940 but inheriting the estate in 1955, who acquired adjacent land expanding the vineyard area to 30 hectares. Currently the estate is under the management of the following generation of the Kressmann family, the brothers Tristan and Loïc, working with the consultants Denis Dubourdieu from 1986 and Michel Rolland between 1989 and 2005. The vineyard area extends 42 hectares (100 acres), of which 33 ha (82 acres) are dedicated the red wine varieties, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Petit verdot, and 9 ha (22 acres) for white wine production of the varieties 55% Sémillon, 40% Sauvignon blanc, and 5% Muscadelle. The annual production averages 20,000 cases of the red Grand Vin and 11,000 of the dry white. Of the second wine Lagrave Martillac made from the estate's youngest vines, there are produced 4,000 cases of red and 2,000 cases of dry white.
