Chateau Malartic Lagraviére Blanc Grand Cru Classé Pessac-Leognan 2020 i trækasse

Bettane et Desseauve

The Wine Cellar Insider - Jeff Leve

Mango, white peach, lemon, flowers, an array of spices and a gentle touch of almond make a beautiful perfume. Lush, creamy and loaded with sweet, fresh, bright, yellow citrus, green apples, grapefruit and a drizzle of pineapple are found on the palate. This is so good now, it is going to be hard not to open it on release. But patience is a virtue. So give it at least 5 years in the cellar and it will be a much more complete, complex wine.

Bettane & Desseauve

Decanter

Fragrant blossom aromatics give way to more concentrated waxy lemon and juicy lemongrass attack. Barrel fermented, with careful extraction. The warm summer comes through in traces of cumin spice and white pepper, and in the concentration of the flavours through the mid palate, but this is measured and deft, and extremely easy to recommend. Second year with Eric Boissenot as consultant, 65% new oak. A yield of 31hl/ha. Drinking Window 2022 - 2030

Terre de Vins

Vinous

James Suckling

Lots of dried-apple and lime aromas and flavors with some green melon. It’s full-bodied and creamy with a nice combination of fruit and intensity. Phenolic and structured.

Anthocyanes Yohan Castaing

Wine Enthusiast

Barrel Sample. While its rich, this wine has fine poise and intensity. The wine's green fruit flavors are lifted beautifully by the tight texture, the subtle interplay of spice from the wood and luminescent acidity. The wine is sure to age well.

Robert Parker

The 2020 Malartic Lagraviere Blanc leaps from the glass with invigorating notes of lime blossoms, lemon meringue pie and green mango, followed by hints of wet slate, green apples and wild sage. The medium-bodied palate has a racy backbone and loads of citrus and mineral layers, finishing with a peppery kick. The tentative blend is 71.8% Sauvignon and 28.2% Sémillon. Only 30% of the total production will be bottled as grand vin, representing just 7,500 bottles. The alcohol is 14% this year. The estate has chosen a new bottle for the grand cru and second vin, highlighted by an engraved ship, the symbol of the estate. The 2020 vintage will be the first one in this brand-new bottle.

Falstaff

Medium yellow-green, silver relfections. Delicate aromas of gooseberry and grapefruit, a hint of ginger, tangerine zest, floral understones and nuances of peppermint. Substantial, pronounced fruit, guava, fine acidity, elegant and persistent, mineral-chalky finish. Good ageing potential.

Le Figaro Vin

Chris Kissack, The Wine Doctor

"This white wine from the Bonnie family is a blend of 71.8% Sauvignon Blanc and 28.2% Semillon, picked at a yield of 28 hl/ha, from 9 hectares of vines. It starts with a rather polished hue in the glass, before the nose gets going with a firmly reductive style, all smoky flint and matchstick, above some intense aromatics of pithy citrus peel, mint, sage and green apple. The palate carries all this green, apple sorbet character – it reminds me a little of the wines of Henri Bourgeois, aromatically at least, at this point – before in the middle it diverges to produce a more polished texture with crème patisserie and cherimoya which contrasts sharply against the fresh and zippy acidity. Piles of energy in the finish, and great acidity too (hurrah!) keep this going on the palate. If you like substance and zip combined, this is the wine for you. The alcohol is 14%, higher than its peers, although it has no impact on how this feels."

Alexandre Ma

Less expressive than previous vintages but more sophisticated on details. Slides of ginger spice up sweet nectarine and William pear on the nose. The oily body is lightened by tingling white pepper and lively freshness. A touch of salty mineral note toward the finish is very delightful, providing both complexity and length. This is exactly the excellent wine Bordeaux that I am waiting for.

Jancis Robinson

71.8% Sauvignon, 28.2% Sémillon. Fermented and aged in oak. Cask sample. Rich nose with Sémillon evident, floral and broad. Pear juice, grip and nuanced. A really interesting wine. Long and exciting.14% Drink 2022– 2027