2017 Château Latour-Martillac Blanc Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

Following a dry winter, this vintage was hit by late frosts on the 27^th, 28^th and 29th of April which badly affected our vines, notably the white grape varieties. The parcels, which escaped the frost started a very early cycle of vegetation, leading up to a quick and uniform flowering. The month of June was hot and sunny. Fortunately, the temperate climate of July and August allowed the acidity and the freshness of the fruit to be preserved. “The veraison” was as equally early around mid-July. The harvest started on the 21^st of August for the whites (one of the earliest harvests to date!) and finished mid-September with the grapes reaching optimum ripeness. Before the harvest, in the partially frost hit parcels, considerable work was undertaken to identify the unaffected vines and to select which first generation, non-frost damaged bunches to pick.

Alcoholic fermentation in oak barrel and aged for 15 months on lees. 11 months of those in French oak barrels (25% new).

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The estate takes its name from the tower which stands in the main courtyard of the château; it is the remnant of a fort built in the 12th century by the ancestors of Montesquieu. The structure occupied a strategic position and controlled the route between Bordeaux and Toulouse. The stones of the fort were used to build the existing château at the end of the 18th century.

In 1871, the estate attracted the attention of Edouard Kressmann who had just founded his wine merchant business in Bordeaux. He was seduced by the quality of the white wines grown on a remarkable gravelly hilltop with marked relief and outstanding exposure.

To this day one can still find in the plot grafted in 1884, the entire collection of Edouard Kressmann’s selection of grape varieties for his « Grave Monopole Dry », as baptized by the Diva, Adelina Patti. Enhanced by their great age these vine stocks embody the breed, verve and essence which still characterizes this wine.

Alfred Kressmann, eldest son of Edouard, acquired the property in 1930. He changed the name: to avoid confusion with its illustrious namesake in the Medoc: Château Latour became Château LaTour-Martillac.
There then followed a long period of reconstruction. The vineyard consists of a dozen hectares of which the majority was planted in white wine. Without touching the oldest plots, Alfred Kressmann added Cabernet Sauvignon to the merlot already in place. Interrupted by the war, the reconstruction was continued after by Jean Kressmann, who succeeded his father in 1954.

Jean finally achieved the family dream to acquire the gravel slope, which separates the property from the village. Thus the vineyard was gradually extended to nearly 30 hectares.

Jean Kressmann was a passionate winemaker and produced some excellent red wine vintages; 1959, 1961, 1966, 1970, 1975, 1982 and his favorite, the 1983.