Château Malartic Lagraviere
– the Home of the Brave and Bold
As Lord Byron once said, “Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, and makes weariness forget his toil”.
Wine certainly does something to those of us who are connoisseurs, with every drop we appreciate the taste, colours and characters that are in the bottle, but I am uncertain that we fully appreciate just how the character of a good wine is perfected and what occurred for it to become the wine that quenches our thirst.
With so many stories of ambition, passion, determination and of course weather driven conditions, it is interesting to learn about the history of your favourite chateau and once you have learned this, only then will you understand what it is that is actually in the bottle that we sometimes keep for years or open and sip very slowly as there is far more to it than that.
The History
In the 1700’s the estate Domaine de Lagraviere was bought by the Malartic family who had a famous son who was a French Naval officer that fought against the English at sea in 1756, serving the armies of the King of France.
In 1850 Madam Arnaud Ricard bought the property and changed the name to Malartic Lagraviere as a tribute to the previous owners.
The Ricard family was also well known as they already owned vineyards in the region.
After land reorganisation and the purchase of smaller plots in the area, the estate began to take shape and this family kept it until 1950’s.
The last ancestor of the Ricard family, the Marly family took over the estate with Jacque Marly as the estate manager from 1947 to 1990 when they sold the chateau to a champagne producer Laurent – Perrier who sold it to the Bonnie family in 1997.
This already established chateau was one of six properties to enter the 1953 Graves classification for both red and white wines and with the Bonnie family taking over the chateau reached new heights by entering into a modern era and having no experience in the wine industry.
The Vineyards and Winery
They took the challenge head on and invested obscene amounts of money in order to perfect their production at the chateau.
They were one of the first estates to use gravity in their winemaking.
With the octagonal shaped vat house featuring conical stainless steel tanks for the vinification process and their restructuring of the vineyards, the Bonnie family soon began to get the chateau onto another level.
Vineyards were moved to sustainable farming methods and stricter selections took place with most of their harvest going into the production of their second wine, which led to a better quality wine.
Chateau Malartic Lagraviere is situated on a terrace that has been rewarded by the Eau Blanche stream, sitting on 8 metre deep deposits of gravel soil dating back centuries and the soils of this vineyard are rich in mineral content and the location is well known in Leonac for the perfect terroir.
The gravel makes an excellent drainage system whilst the limestone subsoil made up from fossils from the seas and clay, store vast amounts of water.
With the wonderful soil content and the perfect amount of sunshine as well as the meticulous methods of managing the vines, the wines here have a chance to be great.
53 hectares of their estate consist of both red and white varietals and planted there is 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.
7 hectares are reserved for the white varietals consisting of 80% Sauvignon and 20% Semillion.
2012 Chateau Malartic – Lagraviere is a dark red wine with sweet, ripe, dark, smoky berries that linger in your mouth and aromas of truffle, cocoa powder and blackberry
2011 Chateau Malartic Lagraviere Blanc has citrus, peach, grapefruit and vanilla aromas with a lemon and lime filled finish
2009 La Reserve de Malartic Rouge is the second wine of the most consist cru classes in Pessac with an intense black fruit and creamy oak aroma and finishes on a well defined black fruit note
The chateau produces 16000 cases of red and 2000 white in the Chateau Malartic Lagraviere range and they also have a second wine which changed names to La Reserve de Malartic in 2007 and it also has both red and white wines on offer.
Wine Reviews for Château Malartic Lagraviere
Château Malartic Lagraviere - Malartic Rouge
Château Malartic Lagraviere – La Réserve Blanc
Château Malartic Lagraviere – La Réserve Rouge
Château Malartic Lagraviere – Malartic Blanc
Contact Information
Château Malartic Lagraviere
Website: http://www.malartic-lagraviere.com/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +33 5 56 64 75 08
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Address
Château Malartic Lagravieres
39-67 Avenue de Mont de Marsan
33850 Léognan Bordeaux, France
Michael Bredahl
Wine Writer
Michael is an online enthusiast, with a lot of knowledge about online marketing. Traveling around the world to hunt for the perfect wine. Latest on Sicily, where Etna has a huge impact on the taste, which is strong with a bitter aftertaste for the youngest wines, but older wines are fantastic. Drinking wine, and writing about them, are one the passions. Remember to drink responsibly 🙂
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