It’s got a 12th century tower, and it’s near the village of Martillac – the name of this Pessac property is virtually the address. This being Pessac, there’s both a red and white wine. The red vines are mostly planted across the gravelly soils of the Martillac plateau, while the white vines and the Merlot are planted across a clay-limestone outcrop. In reds, the vineyard is split 55% Cabernet Sauvignon/40% Merlot/5% Petit Verdot, and in whites 60% Sauvignon Blanc/40% Semillon. There are some venerable Semillon vines that date all the way back to 1884.

Latour Martillac is synonymous with the Kressmann family, who arrived in Bordeaux from the Baltics in the 19th century and founded a wine merchant business. By 1930, after many years of selling the wines of Latour Martillac, they bought the entire property. It remains in the family to this day. Fourth generation brothers Loic and Tristan front the business, with Loic as the viticulturalist and Tristan as the oenologist, but many more family members are involved – more than most properties, Latour Martillac is very much an extended family affair. (NT 05/08/25)