Chateau La Louviere Blanc 2015
- Decanter
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
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Decanter
Aromas and flavours of fresh citrus, chamomile and primrose reveal a smooth and refined wine. Well integrated 30% new oak from the aging contributes to a creamy texture, revealing good balance with floral, white stone fruit and touches of kiwi on the long finish. Tasted on three occasions with consistent positive feedback. Owner Jacques Lurton explained how cooler temperatures in the vineyard, compared to those higher on the plateau, and clay soils accentuating vine vigour (and more leaf covering) proved ideal for the warm 2015 vintage. 'If I can find it, I am buying it,' said Stéphan Maure of the Strasbourg wine bar Ill Vino. Try with cod in a lemon sauce. Drinking Window 2020 - 2030
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James Suckling
The clean and fresh sauvignon blanc character jumps out of the glass here with sliced pineapple, grapefruit and orange peel aromas and flavors. Full to medium body, lively acidity and a bright finish. Very pretty.
Barrel Sample: 92-93 Points -
Wine Spectator
A racy style, with delicious yellow apple, white peach and verbena notes leading to a long, straw-accented finish. The underlying richness is tantalizing for future development.
Barrel Sample: 90-93 Points -
Jeb Dunnuck
The white from Château La Louviere is where it’s at. Notes of Meyer lemons, caramelized orange peel, and brioche emerge from the 2015 Château La Louvière Blanc and it’s a medium-bodied, fresh, vibrant Graves Blanc I’d happily drink anytime over the coming 3-4 years, and it will probably keep longer. While I wasn’t able to get the retail price, I suspect it’s a smoking value.
Other Vintages
2022-
James
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Jeb
Dunnuck
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James
Suckling - Decanter
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Jeb
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Robert
Parker
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Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast
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Wine
Enthusiast -
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Spectator
However, the vineyard as we know it today dates from the early 16th century. In 1620, the Carthusian monks who inherited the estate contributed their experience and expertise to producing wines that acquired an international reputation. Jean-Baptiste Mareilhad, a rich negociant, purchased the property during the French Revolution and built the present-day chateau in a pure neoclassical style. It is now listed as a historic monument. Andre Lurton became the owner of La Louviere in 1965 and has worked tirelessly to restore the estate's former splendour.
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.