Château La Tour Blanche

Here is a short report on the Château La Tour Blanche winery:

📜 History & specialities

Château La Tour Blanche can look back on a long tradition dating back to the 18th century. Legend has it that it was even the first winery in the Sauternes region to produce noble sweet wines. A special feature is that the estate now belongs to the French state. The last private owner, Daniel Iffla, bequeathed it to the state on the condition that a free school of viticulture and oenology be established there. For this reason, the château is now home to the renowned "La Tour Blanche School of Viticulture and Oenology".

🌿 Viticulture & philosophy

The vineyardcovers 40 hectares of vines on a gravelly hill with a subsoil of clay and limestone . The terroir and the special microclimate along the river Ciron favour the development of noble rot (Botrytis cinerea), which is crucial for the region's unique sweet wines.

The vines are made up of classic Sauternes varieties, mainly Sémillon, but also Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. During vinification, the wine matures for around 20 to 24 months in new barriques. The winery is committed to a sustainable environmental strategy and has receivedorganic certification.

🍇 The wines

Château La Tour Blanche is known for its noble sweet white wine, which was categorised as "Premier Cru Classé"in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification and thus as one of the best vineyards in Sauternes.

Main wine: A full-bodied and elegant wine with great complexity and a long ageing potential . The grapes are harvested by hand in several elaborate stages in order to select only the noble rotten berries.
Second wine: "Les Charmilles de La Tour Blanche".
Other wines:The range also includes dry white wines ("Duo de La Tour Blanche", "Les Jardins de La Tour Blanche") and a red wine ("Cru du Cinquet").

Around 30,000 to 40,000 bottles of the main wine are bottled each year. In weaker years (such as 1992, 1993 and 2000), production is cancelled for quality reasons.