In 1803, a man by the name of Pierre de Malartic bought Domaine de Lagravière in a region south of the city of Bordeaux known as Graves. He rechristened it Château Malartic-Legravière, and for the emerging AOC of Pessac-Léognan, it would be a bellwether estate even in the presence of such icons as Haut-Brion and Pape Clément. That’s because the estate would be one of the few in Pessac-Léognan to place an equal emphasis on white wine.
Trends only matter so much when you are dealing with a 222-year-old estate, but this focus on white wine is worth noting at this moment.
Trends only matter so much when you are dealing with a 222-year-old estate, but this focus on white wine is worth noting at this moment because globally there is a marked decline in sales of red wine, which is the engine of Bordeaux. Yet who among your friends is familiar with Bordeaux’s white wines? And are they worth investigating? Could they be on the “up and up?”
I am not a Bordeaux specialist (for that, subscribe to Jane Anson), but several of my subscribers are passionate about the region, and having visited it in 2017, I can say it is a wonderful destination. All of this piqued my curiosity when I was offered a taste of Château Malartic-Legravière’s white wine, a Pessac-Léognan Blanc made from Bordeaux’s two signature white grapes, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. The former has never lit my rocket when it comes to tastings (unless we’re talking Sauternes), and I would have said the same thing with Sauvignon Blanc if it weren’t the boom in quality I’ve been seeing from such places as Friuli’s Collio, Austria’s Styria and even the rather vanilla icon of Sancerre (a first-taste guide is on the way for that).
What surprised me about this wine was how fun and jolly it was. On the one hand, I have always had difficulty ignoring the sternness conveyed on the labels of Bordeaux wines, and this one follows suit (that grand schooner ship is a reference to an ancestor of Pierre de Malartic, Count Hippolyte de Maurès de Malartic, who was a decorated admiral in the French navy). But that one-fourth Sauvignon Blanc really adds a nice element of play to this wine. It’s bright, very fruity yet perfectly dry: a feeling of peaches and honeydew carry through to the finish.
I will caveat all of this by noting that the wine costs around $70, according to wine-searcher.com, which might be seen as high for many readers. Value is a funny thing with fine French wines. Many would gladly pay that for a finely etched white Burgundy, even at Village level, and certainly some wines from benchmark estates in the Loire — both in Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc territory — can command such prices. So why not white Bordeaux?
It comes down to what you plan to do with it. If you are after a playful white wine for a weeknight, this wine might feel exorbitant. If you are a Bordeaux enthusiast looking for something to lay down for a few years, then the math looks like a different equation. It’s up to you.
2019 Château Malartic-Legravière Pessac-Léognan Grand Cru Classé Blanc
Pessac-Léognan AOC (Bordeaux )
Grapes: Semillon (76%), Sauvignon Blanc (24%)
Alcohol: 13.5%
Opinion: ★★★★ 1/2 (out of five)
Food-friendliness: Impeccable
Value: A Little Pricey
A beginner might like … to know that Château Malartic-Legravière was one of six Crus Classés estates in Graves classified for both red and white production. Today, that dual emphasis remains a rather important aspect of this section of Bordeaux: the gravel and sand found throughout Graves — but more specifically in Pessac-Léognan — fosters a very precise acidity.
A wine obsessive might like … noting that this wine was the 2019 vintage, which is not the current release (2023 is). The wine still feels fresh and new, and I just didn’t see any traces of aging yet. It would be fascinating to taste it five to 10 years from now.
Note: This wine was provided as a sample by Château Malartic-Legravière’s PR firm in the United States. Learn more about our editorial policy.