Château Latour-Martillac 2019

The elegance and power of a voluptuous and aromatic red Graves Grand Cru Classé

The estate
Château Latour-Martillac owes its name to a tower standing in the château’s main courtyard. This tower is in fact the vestige of a 12th century fort, once used to overlook the road from Bordeaux to Toulouse. Owned by the Kressmann family since 1871, Château Latour-Martillac achieved the title of Cru Classé des Graves in both red and white in 1953. Tristan and Loïc Kressmann continue to carry on the family tradition with passion and ambition, developing great red and white Graves wines.

The vineyard
The Château Latour-Martillac vineyard enjoys an exceptional location in the Pessac-Léognan appellation. The Martillac plateau is composed of a mosaic of gravel dating from the Quaternary, including flint, quartz, lydian and jasper. These soils constitute the terroir of choice for Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. The other main terroir of the property is located closer to the Garonne, where we find clay-limestone and gravelly soils on the surface. This is where the Merlot and the white grape varieties of the property are planted (Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon).

The vintage
A year marked by significant climatic contrasts, 2019 was a very technical vintage. After an early bud burst, spring 2019 was cold and rainy. By the end of June, summer set in with scorching temperatures. The rainy days at the end of July helped to avoid excessive water stress. The harvest at Château Latour-Martillac started on September 3 with the white grape varieties and on September 19 with the red grape varieties and ended on October 7.

The ageing
40% in new barrels.

The blend
Cabernet sauvignon (72%), merlot (20%), petit verdot (8%).

The tasting
Tasted en primeur, the Château Latour-Martillac red 2019 accurately reflects the identity of the terroir and of each grape variety used in the blend. The majority of the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, distinguished by its intense aromatic structure, with notes of black fruit and liquorice. On the palate, it reveals a deliciously velvety and powerful tannic structure, gently caressing the mouth. The roundness of the Merlot and its delicacy lends the palate a generous and smooth texture, while the Petit Verdot brings a lively tension and relief thanks to its spicy and black fruit notes. In a great vintage ending in -9, the technical team helped produce a fantastic Château Latour-Martillac red 2019, an elegant Cru Classé de Graves with a bright future ahead of it.