Malartic Lagraviere is always recognisable for the sailing ship that adorns its label, a tribute to a prominent member of the Malartic family, a Comte Hippolyte, who a French governor and Admiral of the French Navy (hence the ship). The 73 hectare estate resides in Pessac Leognan (that's Left Bank, and within the Graves area) and as you'll notice from the bottle above that I'm holding (a slightly unusual white wine bottle) - it's one of only six estates that in Graves that's classified for both red and white wines! Of course the red wines of Bordeaux are well-established and remain the predominant wine category produced there, but there are some really spectacular whites as well, and hence we've got to try one of them!

Chateau Malartic Lagraviere.

The History

Alittle bit more about the chateau, it was originally known as Domaine de Lagraviere, but as mentioned sometime towards the end of the 18th century, it was acquired by the Malartic family, and by the 1850's the chateau would have a more modern touch to its name (you'll notice few Bordeaux estates remain known as "Domaine"). Through the next century and a half, the estate would change hands numerous times, yet fortunately, each time it was acquired by a (different) prominent winemaking family that continued to enhance the estate where the previous family left off. This includes the Ricard family and even the Champagne-producer Laurent-Perrier.

Finally, in 1997 the estate was acquired by the Bonnie family under whom it remains with today - the family made their money as producers of detergent and of course when you've got the bling, now you need a vineyard - under the Bonnie family, the estate received lots more financial resources for its upgrades. The estate underwent a $20m modernisation which saw the vineyards replanted, the vineyard holdings expanded, and even introduced amongst the first gravity enabled cellar (which reduces the need for pumping the wine, allowing it to flow naturally, producing softer, more elegant wines; today this has become the benchmark for all winemakers). The estate was also early to move towards sustainable farming, whilst also being more selective with their first labels, and also hired several well known consultants such as Michel Rolland and Eric Boissenot.

They've now helmed the estate for more than 20 years and have done well to continue to grow Malartic Lagraviere's already solid reputation. Today it remains one of the best performers of the Pessac Leognan area!

The Estate

The sizeably large estate, as mentioned earlier, produces both red and white wines, with about 90% of its vineyards catered for reds and 10% catered for whites. The reds follow a classic Bordeaux blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, whilst the whites are 83% Sauvignon Blanc and 17% Semillon. The reds are planted on limestone soils typified as being rich in gravel and clay, with the whites being planted on more limestone and clay rich soils under a part of the estate that has a slightly cooler microclimate. The vineyards are planted to fairly high density at around 10,000 vines per hectare, and on average the vines are about 25 years old, with some going up to 60 years old. 

A world class cellar.

Vinification is done in stainless steel vats and oak tanks, with the latter used for older vines; the estate vinifies parcel by parcel. The wine is aged in about 65% new French oak barrels for the reds and 50% new French oak barrels for the whites. The whites in particular are vinified with limited skin contact and aged on the lees, which is said to give it more richness and complexity; no malolactic fermentation takes place, and the it's aged for 12 months in barrels before going into bottle.

Today we're going to try the 2011 vintage of Ch. Malartic Lagraviere's Pessac Leognan Blanc - very excited for this, it's still alittle uncommon to have Bordeaux whites, and in our opinion they remain broadly very affordable and underrated. Let's go! 

2011 Chateau Malartic Lagraviere Pessac Leognan Blanc - Review

The 2011 Ch. Malartic Lagraviere Blanc is 80% Sauvignon 20% Semillon, characterised as a particularly dry season which resulted in early growth. It was aged on the lees in traditional oak barrels (50% new oak) for 12 months before bottling.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: An initial bit of rustic funk, some light notes of barnyard, hay and soft brie cheeses drizzled with honey - very nice freshness and this pastoral quality. As it starts to open up, we get a sense of the richness, along with some orchard fruit acidity, particularly pears and gooseberries. It's incredible rich and fresh, with a great purity. Alittle bit of horse fur and wet dough too - it's giving countryside vibes.

Taste: Fuller here, great richness, medium-bodied, it's much more giving, with more in the way of honey, green gooseberries that comes with a light acidity. It's brighter here and even fresher, it's very soft and plush, yet there's a firm structure to be had. It's got a good rich body, with a nice vibrance to it. 

Finish: Still bright into the finish, with some more honey, yellow raisins, soft cheeses and gooseberries. Ends on a clean note with not much acidity.

My Thoughts

A really lovely white Bordeaux - it's fresh, bold, fuller and at the same time rustic yet elegant. On the nose and into the finish, there's those lovely countryside barnyard flavours that feels pure and raw, whilst on the palate it's made much more approachable with a good amount of richness and honeyed sweetness alongside the fruits. Some white wines can get overly austere or funky, or sometimes thin and sharp with too much acidity, this is not one of them - it gives enough richness to make it appealing to the palate with all that freshness to go with it, with a lovely fuller body.

It leans more heavily towards those honeyed notes, with some gentler notes of barnyard and green fruits, just a slight acidity, and it's also got firm structure that holds it together without getting too flabby. A really enjoyable summertime white or even a post-meal digestif. If you've ever found white wines too dry, thin or with too much cutting acidity - this one's your answer. And I terribly enjoyed it.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot