Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
This is solid, with a core of black currant, crushed plum and fig notes laced judiciously with sweet toast and graphite notes. Nice length.
Barrel Sample: 90-93 Points -
James Suckling
Ripe and fresh still with wet earth, stone and lovely basil and lemon grass undertones. Full-bodied, chewy and tannic now but shows plenty of leather, tar and dark fruit character. Extracted style. Better in 2017.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
An authoritative, rich, concentrated effort, the inky/purple-colored 2011 Latour-Martillac possesses graphite and black currant aromas as well as surprisingly full, powerful flavors that transcend the vintage character. This wine needs to be forgotten for 3-4 years, and drunk over the following two decades. This is clearly an overachiever in 2011.
Rating: 91+ Points
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Wine Enthusiast
Firmly tannic on the initial taste, this wine shows bell pepper and juicy black-fruit flavors. It is light and fruity, and finishes with dry tannins.
Barrel Sample: 88-90 Points
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
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.