Château Latour-Martillac, previously Château La Tour-Martillac and known as Kressmann La Tour, is a

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

from the Pessac-Léognan

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

, rated a ''Cru Classé'' (Classed Growth) in the 1953 Classification of Graves wine. The

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

is located in the central part of France’s Bordeaux wine region Graves, in the commune of Martillac. The winery has produced a red

second wine Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or e ...

named Lagrave Martillac since 1986, and a dry white since 1990.

History

A small fortified castle from the 12th century existed until the French Revolution, leaving behind only the tower that gives the estate its name.

Viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

first began in the 19th century when the land was attached to the estate of

Château de la Brède The Château de La Brède is a feudal castle in the '' commune'' of La Brède in the '' département'' of Gironde, France. The castle was built in the Gothic style starting in 1306, on the site of an earlier castle. It is surrounded by water-f ...

, birthplace of

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...

. Under the ownership of Monsieur Charropin, the estate took the identity of Latour-Martillac, but the wine it produced was not noted as remarkable until the involvement of Edward Kressmann. A German wine trader, he became gradually more involved in the vinification from when he first began distributing Latour-Martillac, until he acquired the estate in 1929. Following the death of the owner, Kressmann faced the risk of losing a wine that had been a favourite of his clients for generations, so he bought it outright. Already by 1884, Edward Kressmann had planted white grape varieties and, in 1892 launched the wine Graves Monopole Dry which was successful. The estate was eventually passed on to Alfred Kressmann, followed by his son, Jean, in charge since 1940 but inheriting the estate in 1955, who acquired adjacent land expanding the vineyard area to 30 hectares. Currently, the estate is under the management of the following generation of the Kressmann family, the brothers Tristan and Loïc, working with the consultants Denis Dubourdieu from 1986 and Michel Rolland between 1989 and 2005.

Production

The vineyard area extends to , of which are dedicated the red wine varieties, 60%

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

, 35%

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

and 5%

Petit verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

, and for white wine production of the varieties 55%

Sémillon Sémillon () is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in French wine, France and Australian wine, Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea, botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region S ...

, 40%

Sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

and 5% Muscadelle. The annual production averages 20,000 cases of the red Grand Vin and 11,000 of the dry white. Of the second wine, Lagrave Martillac made from the estate's youngest vines, there are produced 4,000 cases of red and 2,000 cases of dry white.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Latour Martillac, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers