Winemaker Notes
Blend: 55% Sauvignon Blanc, 45% Sémillon
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From the Kressmann family, this is packed with ripe fruits and textured acidity. It is still young, with its edge of yeastiness and spice from the wood aging. Drink this fine wine from 2026.
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Decanter
A crystalline aspect to the nose, real clarity and freshness. The palate is striking, zesty and alive, sharp yet also with density that gives a push-pull from the acidity and succulence. This is characterful, certainly full of life and flavour with a touch of sherbet sourness and honeyed sweetness. Lots to like here, with a directness on the palate and a certain tension despite the range of flavours. This will have fans!
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James Suckling
The flinty undertone to the lemon rind and cooked apple with pear character is very attractive. Medium to full body, fresh and lively, with a brightness and real Pessac flavors. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Clean citrus, honeyed lemon zest, and some minty, floral notes all emerge from the 2021 Château Latour-Martillac Blanc, another fresher, vibrant, medium-bodied white in the vintage. It has bright yet integrated acidity, beautiful overall balance, and outstanding length on the finish. The blend is 57% Sauvignon Blanc and 43% Semillon, aged 15 months in barrel.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Blanc possesses a fresh, minty bouquet with aromas of white fruits, citrus, herbs and spring flowers, followed by a medium-bodied, satiny and supple palate with a fleshy core of fruit and bright acids and concluding with a saline, long finish. The significant presence of Sémillon grapes ensures a large potential for aging.
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Wine Spectator
Features a fresh mix of Key lime pith, honeysuckle and chamomile notes backed by yellow apple accents. Lingers on the persistent finish. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.
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.