2023 Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux

The 2023 Malartic-Lagravière Blanc is a seriously beautiful wine. Explosive aromatics meld into a core of orchard and citrus fruits. Bright acids pull it all together. I especially admire the wine's inner perfume and balance. This is one of the better dry whites of the year. A kiss of French oak lingers. Tasted two times.

Drink 2025 - 2033

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.

Drink 2025 - 2027

A beautifully structured and complex white with pristine, bright citrus fruit and an exotic touch. There’s a mineral character to it, too, with oyster-shell and crushed-stone notes. It’s medium- to full-bodied with racy acidity that adds energy and tension. Very long finish with fine tannins that frame it nicely.

Bright and steely, serious; upright with vertical lift, smoked oak fairly evident, with a little more present oak than some of them; there is some leafy mint quality steely, will age.

Drink 2025 - 2038

Mulled pears, subtle tropical fruits, classy oak, and subtle charcoal notes all shine in the 2023 Château Malartic-Lagravière Blanc, a gorgeously textured, medium-bodied white that has flawless overall balance, notable depth, and outstanding length.

The white Malartic Lagraviere 2023 bursts with notes of honey-drizzled peaches, fresh Golden Delicious apples, and grapefruit oil, leading to touches of mandarin peel, crushed stones, and beeswax. The medium-bodied palate has impressive tension and texture framing the intense orchard fruit flavors, finishing long and perfumed.

Drink 2026 - 2036

The 2023 Malartic-Lagravière Blanc has a taut, correct and, in some ways, conservative bouquet that takes time to unfold in the glass. But, I appreciate the tension and mineralité. Hints of petrichor and Granny Smiths eventually take control. The palate is very well balanced with a fresh lemon sherbet-, orange pith- and lemongrass-tinged opening. There's a very appealing texture and impressive weight on the finish. Overall, this is a superb white Malartic to drink over the next 20 years.

Drink 2026 - 2046

The 2023 Malartic Lagravière Blanc, a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Sémillon matured for 50% in new oak barrels, reveals a lemony, citrusy bouquet with aromas of lime tree leaves, pear and herbs. Medium-bodied to full-bodied, textural and layered, it’s framed by bright acids and a long, elegant and mouthwatering finish.

Drink 2025 - 2035