Chateau La Tour Blanche

Records showed that Chateau La Tour Blanche had been in existence since at least the 18^th century, named after Jean Saint-Marc du Latourblanche, treasurer-general of Louis XIV. After the French Revolution the estate came into the ownership of Pierre Pecherie, and then under Frederic Focke during the 1855 classification.

Focke was of German origin, and credited by some with the introduction of sweet wine production to the region but this was erroneous, as evidenced by the example that by 18^th century d’Yquem was already well-established as a sweet wine.

It was placed at the top of all premiers crus in the 1855 classification, only behind d’Yquem. The estate then changed hands a few times to Daniel Iffla, known commonly as Osiris, in 1876. He later bequeathed the estate to the Ministry of Agriculture, and his name still appears on the label nowadays.

From 1911 onwards the estate served as both a wine-producing estate as well as for viticultural and agricultural learning. The Ministry later appointed Jean-Pierre Jausserand as director in 1983, and revitalized the estate, assisted by Jean-Pierre Faure, a graduate himself at the school of La Tour Blanche.

The estate has been managed by Corinne Reulet and then Alex Barrau afterwards, and the school now offered a partnership with a college in Beijing for Chinese students to study viticulture.

It covers 72 ha, with about 37 ha dedicated to vineyard. The soil is of gravel over clay at the upper end of the vineyard, and more sand and loess near the river. Planted with 83% Semillon, 11.9% Sauvignon Blanc and 5.1% Muscadelle, plus a very small area planted with red vines.

The vines are planted at 6200 vines per ha, with average age of 24 years. They are pruned in gobelet method, but the Sauvignon Blanc is mainly pruned using single Guyot, and each row is swapped every two years and left to grass.

Most processes are carried out manually, with pre-harvest clean up taking place before the onset of botrytis. Once the berries are succumbed to noble rot, picking is carried out in several tries, typically between 4-6 passes, taking 4-8 weeks to complete.

Ultimate yield is about 11 hl/ha, the wine is now increasingly fermented in oak, with the 1989 vintage onwards the whole harvest was put in new oak. The fruit is sorted and then pressed, and only those pickings with sufficient must weight is selected for the grand vin.

After the cold debourbage where the solids are settled overnight, the must is transferred into oak for fermentation using cultured yeast, but stainless steel is still used for the second wine. Cryo-extraction was practiced during the 1980s, with the fruit chilled to below -5 degC prior to pressing, to increase the must weight.

Once the desirable alcohol and residual sugar is reached, fermentation is arrested using sulphur dioxide and then refrigeration. The wine then undergoes elevage, with the time in barrel depending on the cuvee, up to 18 months for the grand vin. The wine is fined using isinglass, cold-stabilised and bottled.

About 4000 cases of grand vin is produced, with a second wine Les Charmilles de Tour Blanche also, with about 1250 cases, offering good value for money in good vintage. In some years there was no grand vin, with all the fruit going to the second wine.

I have recently tasted the 1998 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Very good quality Sauternes with light golden color and a pronounced nose of good complexity, showing lemon peel and orange marmalade, ripe apricot, honeysuckle, honey and cedar, resinous and caramel. The wine has a good balance, with the acidity supporting well the sweetness, making it highly refreshing and not cloying. Full-bodied, it has also a fairly intense palate showing apricot and pineapple, lemon peel and orange marmalade, honey, butterscotch and smoke, and walnut flavors. The only critic I have is the lack of a good long finish but still it is definitely a good sweet wine and value for money. Ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 5-8 years.