Chateau Marjosse Pierre Lurton Bordeaux Blanc 2020 - Bordeaux, France

91/100 James Suckling
91/100 Decanter
89-91/100 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate
88-90/100 Anthocyanes - Yohan Castaing
15.5/20 Vinum Wine Magazine
14.5/20 La Revue du Vin de France

Owned by one of the world's most famous winemakers, Pierre Lurton - president of two of Bordeaux's best-known chateaux, the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) owned Château Cheval Blanc and Château d’Yquem.

James Suckling "Plenty of sliced-apple, peach and lemon character with a medium body, fresh acidity and a clean, vivid finish. Energetic and ready for the beach!"

Decanter "Well placed and perky fruits, not overly high in acidities but instead given focus by slate texture and a point of bitterness on the finish. Bright fruits keep things mouthwatering. 3% Muscadelle completes the plantings (I don't have the specific 2020 blend). This is an enjoyable Bordeaux Blanc with personality; a successful wine in the category."

Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate "Comes skipping out of the glass with vibrant notes of lime leaves, grapefruit and crushed rocks, giving way to emerging notions of green apples, dill seed, and fresh hay. The medium-bodied palate delivers a great intensity of herbs-laced citrus flavors, supported by a racy backbone and finishing long and chalky."

Vinum Wine Magazine "Particularly refreshing and drinkable with its notes of acacia and mint, its slim but well-structured build, the noticeable minerality. Enjoy young..."

Château Marjosse is owned by French 'wine royalty', Pierre Lurton - president of two of Bordeaux’s best-known châteaux; the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) owned, Château Cheval Blanc and Château d’Yquem, Château Marjosse. Pierre Lurton comes from two of the great Bordeaux families. His father Dominique was the youngest son of the paterfamilias François Lurton; his uncle André Lurton who founded the eponymous wine company; his many cousins run châteaux from Pauillac to Pomerol. His mother is from the famous Lafite family.

The influential Club Enologique asserts that Pierre is the most accomplished wine personality of his famous family. Trained as a doctor but swapping his studies for wine making after four years. At 23 he took over Clos Fourtet in St Emilion, one of the fine Lurton properties, and in 1991 he was appointed head of Château Cheval Blanc (it was bought by Bernard Arnault of LVMH in 1998); in 1999 he took on Château d’Yquem, which had just been added to the Arnault portfolio.

Club Enologique describes Pierre Lurton as having the world’s most corporate wine job. "However he divides his time between two of the world’s most exalted wine properties, but comes down to earth in Entre-deux-Mers, the leafy, unpretentious appellation to the east of Bordeaux at Château Marjosse."

The Château Marjosse estate is located in Entre-deux-Mers, on the right bank of Bordeaux. Initially owned by the wine merchant Bernard Chénier, Château Marjosse was acquired by the Deleuze family, who, in 1990, gave some plots to Pierre Lurton to rent. In 1992, Pierre Lurton, who grew up in Château Reynier, neighbour to this magnificent Chartreuse, moved to a second home in Château Marjosse and, over successive years became the owner of the entire vineyard, as well as the Chartreuse in 2013.

Decanter "Since Lurton bought Château Marjosse in 1994, the estate has improved beyond recognition. Pierre's father, Dominique Lurton, also made over a further 30ha so that, under the Château Marjosse label, Lurton now exploits 42ha of vineyard, six hectares of white and 36ha of Bordeaux red – a total of 300,000 bottles a year. Pierre insists his wine is Bordeaux and not Bordeaux Supérieur because ‘my wine is only supérieur in the bottle’. His objectives are ambitious. As the quality of the terroir with clay-limestone soil is similar to some of the better areas in Saint-Emilion, he hopes to prove that wines from this area can rival those from more prestigious regions."

Sommeliers International "At Château Marjosse the land possesses yet another specific feature, known locally as “la Boulbène”, a silty-clayey texture that has developed on ancient alluvions. The fertility of these soils no longer needs to be proved, because, by chance, they are also found in Saint-Emilion, a terroir that is extremely familiar to the man who manages “Cheval Blanc” …. Pierre Lurton. Assisted in this transformation by Consultant-Oenologist Pascal Poussevin, whose recommendations range from vine growing to wine-making, Pierre Lurton’s estate has now reached its cruising speed … Beyond the fabulous adventures he experiences in his role as manager of Châteaux d’Yquem, Cheval Blanc, as well as estates in South Africa, Latin America and in Australia … it is undoubtedly with “the salt of this land here in the Entre-deux-Mers” that his years of quest for perfection will be revealed. It is clear that this region needs winegrowers of such calibre, those who possess a sixth sense and, using techniques that almost resemble intentional alchemy, transform the grapes they touch into wines that exude the unique character of a specific area."

45% Semillon, 35% Sauvignon-Blanc, 15% Sauvignon Gris, 5% Muscadelle

The Entre-deux-Mers region, nicknamed by wine experts as “Little Tuscany”, is unique and jealously protected by its inhabitants. "There are fifteen appellations that constitute the Entre-deux-Mers. The most well-known of them all, reputed for its dry, lively white wines, is certainly the one which bears the name of this region! The Entre-deux-Mers cultivates a certain speciality in producing white wines, due to its basic geological assets, possessing gravelly-limestone soils, upon which Sémillon, Sauvignon, Muscadelle and even Ugni Blanc grape varieties are planted. But the variety of soils and sub-soils associated with such a complex landscape provides a diversity of terroirs … These are favourable for producing red wines, that are regrettably not sufficiently well-known, but highly prized for the complexity of their aromas, their deep, vivid colour, as well as the concentration and elegance of their tannins." Sommeliers International.

Bordeaux, in the southwest of France, needs little introduction as one of the world's most famous, prestigious and prolific wine regions. Its three trump cards are diversity, quality and quantity. The majority of Bordeaux wines (nearly 90 percent of production volume) are the dry, medium- and full-bodied red Bordeaux Blends that established its reputation. The finest (and most expensive) of these come from the great châteaux of the Haut-Médoc and the Right Bank appellations Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. The legendary reds are complemented by high-quality white wines, both dry styles (particularly from Pessac-Léognan) and the sweet, botrytized nectars of Sauternes.

The Sauvignon Blanc taste is one of the most identifiable in the world of white wines for a few reasons. First, it always has crisp, high acidity. Second, it has a chemical compound called pyrazine which gives grassy, herbal or bell pepper flavors. When grown in cooler climates or picked early, the herbaceous green character is most prominent. In warmer climates or allowed to hang longer on the vine, the pyrazine character diminishes in favor of riper fruit flavors ranging from grapefruit, to passion fruit and guava.