【Highly praised by new Chinese wine critic Alexander Ma】
【Top Pessac-Léognan white wine from Bordeaux, France】
【Grand Cru Classé de Graves】
【James Suckling 96 pts】【Jeff Leve 94 pts】
【Wine Spectator 93 pts】【Robert Parker 92 pts】
【Falstaff 92 pts】【CellarTracker 91pts】
ZTF080A - Chateau Malartic Lagraviere Blanc 2017
Special Price: $450/bottle
Region/Grade: France /Bordeaux/Pessac- Leognan
Grape Varieties: 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Semillon
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Flavor: The wine has a very beautiful color and outstanding aroma. It is brewed in 65% new oak barrels. It has a rich fruity aroma with lemon, lime, tropical fruit and vanilla aromas. It has a refreshing taste of fresh citrus, white peach, white flowers and mango, a little minerality, and a dense creamy taste at the end. It has been aged on the lees for 12 months and has a silky smooth taste.
【James Suckling 96 pts】
Attractive, fresh-lemon and grassy nuances with wild herbs and slightly flinty elements, too. The palate has such intense and fresh acidity. Fine lemons and limes and a thrillingly dry, long finish. Drink now, but better in three years.
【Robert Parker 92 pts】
The Malartic Lagraviere 2017 Blanc (a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Sémillon) features ripe apples, fresh hay and shaved almonds with dried herbs, preserved lemons and kumquat in the background. Medium-bodied, it is super intense and minerally in the mouth with a crisp line and long finish.
【Falstaff 92 pts】
Very pale yellow green, with silver reflections. Fresh white tropical fruit aromas, with delicate meadow herbs, and fine blossom honey, an attractive bouquet. Juicy on the palate, elegant, with a refined structure, discreet peach notes, balanced, with some minerality, and a salty finish. It is promising with certain ageing potential.
【Chateau Malartic - Lagraviere】
Built in the 18th century, it was named Domaine de Lagraviere. At the end of the 18th century, the winery was acquired by the Malartic family. One of the members of the Malartic family was the French admiral. He made great achievements in the battle. In 1850, Madame Arnaud Ricard purchased the estate. In order to commemorate General Malartic and the Malartic family, she added the name Malartic to the name of the winery. Since then, Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere has replaced the original name of the winery, and it has been used to this day. mark.
Until 1990, the Malartic winery was in the hands of the Ricard family. In 1901, the winery passed to Angele Ricard and then to his granddaughter Simone, who then married Jacques Marly, the manager of the winery. He managed the Malartic winery from 1947 to 1990 and was the last descendant of the Ricard family to manage the winery. In 1990, Malartic was sold to the Perrier family. In the seven years since purchasing Malartic, the Perrier family has not changed much. At the end of 1996, the winery changed hands again, this time to a Belgian couple, Alfred-Alexandre Bonnie and Michele Bonnie. With the addition of the Bonnie family, the winery has carried out further innovations under the condition of sufficient funds, the area of the vineyard has doubled, and all the winemaking equipment has been replaced with modern equipment. The winery also currently employs excellent winemaking consultants Michel Rolland and Athanase Fakorellis to work at the winery.
Malartic winery has a very representative soil of the region. The deep gravel layer originated from the fourth season of the Ice Age. Under the gravel layer is a limestone subsoil with ancient shells and marine fossils, as well as a small portion of clay. The winery has 53 hectares of vineyards. Like other Graff wineries, the winery also divides a small piece of 7 hectares of land to plant white grapes, and the rest to plant red grapes. White grapes are planted with 80% sauvignon blanc and 20% Semillon. The planting ratio of red grapes is 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 8% Cabernet franc.
In terms of brewing, the winery adopts full manual operation without exception. After the grapes are picked by hand, they are placed in large barrels for fermentation. The new owner, the Bonnie family, carried out a new round of investment and expansion of the winery, and designed by Bernard Mazieres, built a new fermentation room and wine cellar, and placed 20 stainless steel fermentation tanks and 10 oak fermentation tanks required for fermentation , the temperature of all fermentation processes needs to be strictly controlled. After alcoholic fermentation and blending, the red wine is aged in oak barrels, with 50-70% new barrels used every year, and the aging period of oak barrels takes 22 months. White wine uses 40-60% new barrels every year, and the aging period in oak barrels takes 15 months. Before bottling, it needs to be clarified with egg whites.
Like some Graves wineries, the white wines of Malartic winery have always been rated higher than the red wines. Regardless of the original wine or the second-brand wine, the winery produces corresponding white wines. Regardless of white wines or red wines, they are both With superior quality. Le Rose de Malartic is also produced here, mainly a blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. It should be noted that since 2007, the winery has changed the name of its second wine, from the original Le Sillage de Malartic to the current La Reserve de Malartic
