Château Malartic-Lagravière 2023

With 50% new oak, it is still, at this stage, shaped by its ageing: ripe exotic fruit and peppery spice; the palate is creamy and juicy, with crunchy fruit, well-balanced acidity, white peach and citrus notes on the finish, ending on a saline note. Very successful!

Livelier and more harmonious than it appeared at the en primeur stage, the 2023 Blanc from Malartic Lagravière reveals aromas of herbs, white flowers, confit citrus and kumquat. Medium-bodied, juicy and tensile, it is precise and well-defined, structured around a lively core of fruit and concludes with a bright, citrus-inflected finish. Readers drawn to incisive, classically proportioned dry white Bordeaux will find this rendition particularly compelling.

Lovely aromas and flavors of white ginger, jasmine and lemon curd flow through, with a brushstroke of salted butter carrying the finish. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Drink now through 2028. 1,120 cases made.

96-98. Barrel Sample. With an intense citrus flavor, spiced with toast from wood aging, the wine has a tropical-fruit aroma. A majority of Sauvignon Blanc in the blend, gives the intense wine layers of citrus and pineapple, spice, apricot and peach flavors.

Green herbs, white flowers, floral and scented with wet stones, limes and green apples apples on the nose. Lovely energy and vibrancy, forward and lively, but so well balanced and harmonious. Oyster shell, salt, lemon balm and green lime skin. Scintillating, succulent and juicy in the best way. Just feels very welcoming with licks of stone on the finish. This has flesh and chew and power but is hidden by the acidity and raciness. I love this because it’s calm and hands off, nothing too much or too little. Great stuff. One of my favourites! Ageing 50% new oak. 3.25pH. Yield of 49.48hl/ha.

80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Sémillon. Cask sample. Grassy aromas and flavour, the Sauvignon Blanc thiol character quite marked. Chewy finish. Something not quite right. Needs retasting. (JL)

Showing even better from the bottle than it did in the barrel, the wine pops with its aromatic display featuring honeysuckle, white peach, almonds, waxy, candied lemons, and pineapple notes that are all over the place. The palate is equal to its task with its sweet, juicy, vibrant, and fresh citrus, pears, and green apples topped with a dash of chalk on the backend. The wine blends 80% Sauvignon Blanc, with 20% Semillon. Drink from 2025-2037.

Pale yellow green, silver reflections. Delicate herbal savouriness, fine wood notes, yellow tropical fruit, hints of vanilla and lanolin. Medium body, fine texture, white pome fruit nuances, fresh structure. Salty and lemony in the finish, lingers long, shows good ageing potential.

Easily one of the leading white wines of Pessac Léognan, this is one to seek out in 2023. Expect lime leaf, pear, elderflower, citrus, cloves, white truffles, liquorice root, white peaches and plenty of switchback between tension and creamy texture. Great stuff. 50% new oak for ageing. Bonnie family owners.

Score: 91–93. Aromas of ripe yellow citrus and white flowers entice on the nose. On the palate, a creamy texture balances the wine’s vibrant acidity. A hint of oak emerges on the finish.

Pale yellow colour. Intense, fruity and mellow nose, becoming a little restrained when swirled, yet still showing ripe fruit. Precise on the attack, very fruity through the mid-palate with a rich, oaky undertone, the wine unfolds as perfumed, pleasant and silky, taking its time on the palate. Lovely finish—hard to spit out.