2016 Chateau Latour-Martillac Pessac Leognan

Imagine standing before a towering symbol of Bordeaux’s rich history—a château that has stood since the 12th century. That’s Château Latour-Martillac, where the iconic tower in front of the estate gives it a commanding presence and a sense of timelessness. From this very spot, the Kressmann family has been crafting exceptional wines for generations.

The Kressmann name is woven into Bordeaux’s winemaking history. Edouard Kressmann, a well-known Bordeaux wine merchant, began shaping this estate in the late 1800s. In 1936, the family’s label design made its debut on a bottle that would go on to be part of a significant moment in history. The legacy continues to this day with Edouard’s grandsons, Tristan and Loic, managing the estate and ensuring the Kressmann name stays synonymous with exceptional Bordeaux.

The 54-hectare vineyard at Château Latour-Martillac is split between red and white wine grapes, with 45 hectares devoted to reds and 9 hectares planted to whites. The reds—55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and a touch of Petit Verdot—create wines that are bold, structured, and full of life. The white wines, made from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, reflect the cool climate of the Garonne River and the clay-limestone soils, producing a wine that’s crisp, refreshing, and beautifully balanced.

The vines here are old, and by that, we mean the Semillon vines are over 130 years old. That’s a history you can taste with every sip. The combination of gravelly slopes for the reds and the clay-rich soils for the whites gives the wine depth and complexity that’s unique to this terroir.

2016 was en epic year for the Left Bank in Bordeaux. Vinous Media awarded this year with a 98 point review and said, "The 2016s are absolutely remarkable wines. The word that comes to mind, unfortunately so often overused, is balance. The best 2016s are absolutely harmonious, with the tannins barely perceptible at all. The 2016s also have tremendous energy and bright, acid-driven profiles, with many wines playing more in the red-fruit area of the flavor spectrum."

Aging: The wine is aged for 16 to 18 months in 40% new French oak barrels.

The 2022 Château Latour-Martillac reveals an aromatic bouquet of cassis, blueberry, raspberry, licorice, menthol, iris, and violet. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied, offering a perfectly balanced experience with a fleshy mid-palate and seamless texture, culminating in a moderately concentrated and elegant finish.

A superb vintage all over Bordeaux, and absolutely one that you should be searching out with the Crus Classés de Graves. You can wait for this to soften for sure, because the tannins are pretty racy right now, squaring up to the blackcurrant and blackberry fruit rather than cradling it, but there is such a charm to its confidence that I am pretty tempted to say go for it now with a few hours in a carafe. Liqourice, cocoa beans, crème de cassis, espresso and a ton of brambled autumnal fruits. 40% new oak ~95 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

This is very perfumed with blackberry and blueberry aromas, but shows a hot-stone and blanched-almond undertone. Medium-to full-bodied with tight and silky tannins that are extremely polished and beautiful. Love the length and balance to this. Try after 2022. ~94 James Suckling

~94 Tim Atkin, Master of Wine

The 2016 Latour Martillac is medium to deep garnet-purple in color with warm plums, kirsch and redcurrant jelly on the nose with touches of bay leaves, iron ore and black soil. Medium-bodied with a well-sustained mid-palate of muscular fruit, it has a firm backbone of fine-grained tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing very long. ~93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2016 Latour-Martillac offers classic Pessac-Léognan scents on the nose: black fruit, black olive and a touch of sage, plus hints of blue fruit that emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit and fine acidity. A little compact toward the finish, but with good persistence. My feeling is that this will close down quite soon after bottling, but there is a great wine here. ~93 Vinous Media

A structured wine backed by plenty of black-currant fruits, this is initially austere. Its richness needs time to develop and turn into the classically structured wine that this estate does so well. Drink from 2025. ~93 Wine Enthusiast

This is a successful wine, firmly extracted, and erring on the side of dark chocolate and rich, ripe black cherry flavours. With extremely soft and elongated tannins, this is a great 2016 that brings out the best of the vintage and displays a sense of joyousness.  ~92 Decanter

The 2016 Château Latour-Martillac is also terrific and has a structured, medium-bodied, firm style that’s going to benefit from cellaring. Blackberries, graphite, new leather, and a kiss of tobacco all emerge from this nicely textured, pure, layered Pessac. Give bottles 4-5 years and enjoy over the following two decades. ~91 Jeb Dunnuck

Solid, with a juicy yet restrained core of dark currant and blackberry compote flavors that should unwind nicely with modest cellaring thanks to nicely embedded brambly grip and dried tobacco leaf, anise and tar notes that run through the gutsy finish. Best from 2021 through 2026. 11,800 cases made. ~90 Wine Spectator