Acidity and noble rot, qualitative partners for a great vintage of La Tour Blanche.
One of the beauties of our profession is that each year we write a new story, with its joys and obstacles. We could mention the incredible difficulties we encountered in 2023: historic downy mildew pressure, a heatwave at the end of August, drastic selections due to sour rot for our Sauternes and the many sleepless nights trying to figure out how to bring a technically challenging vintage to fruition.
But in the face of all these difficulties, the DNA of the winegrowing profession and of a Grand Cru is to face up to them, to honor our status and our history, and to remember only the pleasure of another exceptional year.
Because this new vintage is great! 2023 has noble rot, passerillage and acidity, characteristics that guarantee aromatic complexity and magnificent balance. This is reflected in an atypical blend of 90% Semillon, 10% Muscadelle. A historically high acidity, expressed by our limestone terroirs, accompanies a higher-than-usual concentration thanks to our clay terroirs. All this makes Tour Blanche 2023 different.
The 2023 vintage is above all the culmination of 4 years of conversion to organic farming. Our 2023 will therefore be labelled organic. But at what a price! The 2017, 2019, 2021 frosts, the 2022 drought, and the organic conversion launched in 2020 have altered the production potential of our vineyard. It has suffered, and suffered a lot. We could have stayed with conventional viticulture, that would have been simple. We opted for difficulty, to face the challenges of tomorrow. The price of all these efforts is low yields! It means finishing at 3 hl/ha! An economic folly, a priceless passion.
Every year, we're proud to produce a bottle of Tour Blanche, the first of the Sauternes premiers grands crus classés. 2023 is one of the estate's proudest achievements, for the bottle is large, immense even.
In a world where human folly is expressed on a daily basis, the meaning of our profession could be called into question. But wine remains and will remain a pleasure, a moment of sharing, eternal memories in front of a large open bottle. I'm convinced that 2023 is one of those great bottles from La Tour Blanche that will leave a lasting impression on you too.
To the eye, the color is straw-yellow in color. The nose is complex, with hints of yellow fruit compote mixed with very fresh, citrus-like notes. Full-bodied and spherical on the palate, it is accompanied by notes of candied grapes, peaches and pineapple, which, as the wine evolves on the palate, are complemented by notes of candied lemons, giving the wine a tangy profile and great depth. The aromatic finish is long and lingers on fresh notes reminiscent of eucalyptus.
Enjoy.
