Château-école for more than 100 years, the castle la Tour Blanche is a must-see property but also a driving force in the renaissance of this beautiful appellation.
History
When you want to talk about the history of a property, the first question is: Where do you start?
The Sauternes terroir has always been full of gems. Château La Tour Blanche is no exception. Over time, the different owners pass and leave their mark on the indelible.
It all began in the middle of the 17th century, when Monsieur de Saint-Marc, called the Marquis of the White Tower, acquired the land and the beautiful chartreuse built on it. Clerk at the Court of Parliament in Bordeaux, his financial largesse will allow him to invest in the property, but above all to develop it. At the same time, he will rename the castle to "La Tour Blanche" and build a white tower to illustrate the whole.
The second owner who will mark the destiny of the castle is none other than Frederick Focke. This German, convinced of the benefits of late harvests and multiple tries, will develop and make this technique widespread, in the company of castles that already use it (Yquem, Suduiraut, etc.), throughout the appellation. Precursor, it will mark the history of Bordeaux liqueur wines.
In 1855, when the classification of wines from the Médoc was established by Napoleon III, the people of Sauternes had the chance to take part, proof of the greatness of this terroir and its wines. Anecdotally, the castle La Tour Blanche will be selected first, within the first classified wines. Unfortunately, Frederick Focke died that same year.
In 1876, Daniel Iffla, known as Osiris, took over the castle and left his mark on it forever.
True philanthropist, he is one of the great patrons of his time. Unfortunately, he has been widowed to his wife Léonie since 1855, at the age of 30, and will never remarry. Unconditional lover of elegance and refinement in the French style, he will make the castle his standard and will come, moreover, to settle there at each harvest period. Having no descendants, on his death in 1907 he bequeathed the castle to the French state, wishing that a school be created there. His wish will then be granted since in 1911, the first class of students will make its return. Since then, every school year sees the arrival of many young students who come to tread the cobblestones and the Sauternes terroir in search of learning.
The Bordeaux oenologist Michel Rolland will be, surely, the most famous student.
Today, the property is run by Miguel Aguirre. Arrived in 2016 from the Lycée Agricole d'Orange and its Mongin castle (AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape), he will bring all his experience and energy to complete the renaissance of Sauternes wines.
A wonderful terroir with an environment-friendly culture
Si le terroir de l’appellation n’est plus à présenter (cf previous publication), celui de la Tour Blanche, à l’image de ses voisins, est exceptionnel.
Composed of gravel with clay-limestone and sandy subsoil, the vineyard is located on a croup, whose highest point culminates at 60 meters above sea level. Such exposure is not trivial, since it allows for ideal drainage, but also perfect exposure to winds throughout the year.
When the mist of Sauternes settles at dawn, the winds come to dissipate it and the heat comes to settle. The Botrytis Cinerea will then have the ideal conditions to develop, but that is when everything is going well in the best of worlds.
The 3 iconic varieties are grown there: 83% of semillon, 12% of sauvignon and 5% of muscadelle.
The technical teams of the castle take great care of their terroir, using growing techniques that are increasingly respectful of the vineyard and its environment.
Inputs and passages within the plots are reduced, in particular to allow vegetation cover to develop. The goal is to put land back on the map. An entire ecosystem will take its place (ants, spiders, worms, etc.) in order to bring life on and in the soil. A real wealth that the vines will use throughout their cycle.
In winter, the vegetable cover is grazed by sheep from the travelling farm.
This commitment to the environment has enabled the castle to be certified organic farming since 2023.
A greater respect for its vineyard, which aims to better combat climate change. Dedicated winegrowers or true masochists, the terroir of Sauternes reserves its share of surprises and disappointments for the different technical teams of the properties.
Work in the cellar
When the end of summer is clear, at the beginning of autumn, when Mother Nature shows herself generous, a mist typical of Sauternes settles in the vineyard. It will allow the proliferation of Botrytis Cinerea, this mushroom nicknamed noble rot, which will give the berries all the complexity necessary to produce the great wines of Sauternes. The technical teams will therefore go through the vineyard to decide the most appropriate moment to ring the beginning of the harvest.
When the decision is made, an average of 3 to 6 tries (one sort = one pass in the plot) are made to harvest the riper berries. The harvest is manual, tiring and can last for long weeks.
Once harvested, the berries arrive on sorting tables. The most concentrated will be reserved for the production of the great wine, the others will serve for the 2nd and 3rd wines. They will then be pressed and placed in thermo-regulated vats to carry out their vinification. This is where the grape juice will turn into wine.
For the great wine, the ageing of the semillion will be carried out in French oak barrels for a period of 16 to 18 months. The other varieties are aged in thermo-regulated vats. The barrels are completely renewed every year. The elders will either be used for the breeding of semillons from the dry white of the castle, or given up to be used for the production of spirits.
The other wines of the estate are aged in thermo-regulated vats, to keep the freshness and fruity aroma of the grape varieties.
A demand both in the cellar and in the culture that is felt in the tasting.
Wines
Renowned for its great wine, the castle La Tour Blanche also produces 3 other (white). Small presentation of the different wines of the property starting with the liquoreux to finish on a white dry detonating.
Let’s start with the 1st cru classé. Château La Tour Blanche, classified in 1855, is a wine that is fresh, powerful, balanced and of crazy complexity. Young, it develops very nice notes of apricot, citrus, exotic fruits but also white flowers. As you age, you can enjoy honey notes, candied fruit and delicious spicy notes, mainly saffron. Typically the kind of meditation wine that is appreciated, in my opinion, after a minimum of ten years. I imagine it very well in agreement with a nice roast chicken and its potatoes, however, with a certain age, the wine can more than suffice to itself as a sweet end of meal.
The 2nd wine, Les Charmilles de La Tour Blanche, is a wine that allows you to discover the wines of Sauternes with brio. Fresh, fruity, balanced with a beautiful aromatic richness, it is the image of its elder, while being more affordable, from his young years. It can be desired in the cellar for about ten years.
The 3th wine, Les Brumes de La Tour Blanche, is a wine that is decidedly lighter, with less sweetness, with all the aromatic markers of the appellation. In the image of 1st and the 2nd wines, there is all the requirement of the property. Full of vivacity, it can be tasted from the aperitif with a disconcerting ease. The most daring will use it in the preparation of cocktails.
Finally, the castle produces a wonderful dry white wine, Léonie. Named after the wife of Osiris, last owner before his bequest to the state, it is a cuvée that signs the letters of nobility of the dry white wines of the appellation. The bunches come from plots reserved for sweet wines, but also from their own plots. With a wonderful aromatic richness, the attack on the palate is very lively, full of freshness and balance, with superb minerality at the end of the mouth. Will enjoy with beautiful oysters of the Arcachon basin in his youth.
A dynamic and committed castle-school, like its appellation, which produces wines whose reputation is no longer to be made but that must be maintained and kept going. Sauternes is back, and the castle La Tour Blanche will prove it!
