Wine Advisor
Latour Martillac, Blanc 2017
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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.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The Latour Martillac 2017 Blanc sings of warm apples, fresh nectarines and green guava with touches of coriander seed and fresh ginger. The palate is medium-bodied, crisp and intense with a long finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 Latour-Martillac Blanc is powerful and quite dense in the glass, with tons of structure that gives the wine its distinctive, almost phenolic feel. Orchard fruit, citrus and floral notes develop with air, but it is the wine's sheer power that stands out most.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 Latour-Martillac Blanc is a powerful, intense wine that carries with it quite a bit of structure as well. Sauvignon Blanc gives the wine its bright, focused aromatics, while the Sémillon is felt in the wine's mid-palate depth and creaminess.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 Latour-Martillac Blanc has a well defined bouquet, quite effervescent with scents of orange blossom, citrus lemon and subtle granite aromas. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, fresh and saline in the mouth with a precise, not flamboyant but "correct" finish that should evolve into something even more interesting with bottle age. This is the insiders' choice - just superb.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 Latour-Martillac Blanc has a lifted linden, Granny Smith apple and nettle scented bouquet that opens nicely with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity, fresh and focused with a satisfying sense of tension. It is a subtle Pessac-Léognan Blanc, unfolding in the glass to reveal light nectarine and stone fruit notes towards the finish. This is a strong performance from Latour-Martillac and it comes recommended.
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.
