Château Marjosse : Anthologie de Marjosse Cuvee Palombe 2018

A Smooth and Round White Wine, bearing the signature of Pierre Lurton

The property
Built in 1782, Chateau Marjosse is located in Entre-deux-Mers on the right bank of Bordeaux. Initially owned by the wine merchant Bernard Chenier, Chateau Marjosse was acquired by the Deleuze family, who in 1990 ceded a few plots for rent to Pierre Lurton. In 1992 Pierre Lurton, who grew up in Chateau Reynier, right next to this magnificent Chartreuse, moved into a second home at Chateau Marjosse and over the years successively purchased several rooms from the Deleuze family. In 2000, Pierre Lurton constructed an ultramodern cellar containing more than 40 cement vats, and in 2013 he became the sole owner of the entire vineyard, as well as the Chartreuse.

The vineyard
Spanning 40 hectares, the Chateau Marjosse vineyard is planted in exceptional clay-limestone soils. Home to both young and old vines, some of which are centuries old, the vineyard is planted with several grape varieties, including Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, used to produce the Chateau Marjosse red wine. The vineyard dedicated to the production of the white wine of Marjosse covers 12 hectares, and is home to vines aged 25 to 75 years.

The wine

The Anthologie Cuvee Palombe bottling of Chateau Marjosse is part of the sub-brand "Anthologie", a new venture by Pierre Lurton aimed at producing exciting single-vineyard expressions of estate's magnificent terroir. In 2017, Lurton and his newly hired winemaker Jean-Marc Domme created their very first micro-vinifications of small-batch wines from carefully selected parcels of the property. 2018 was the first commercial vintage of these wines. The Cuvee Palombe blends grapes harvested from old, gnarled vines of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris planted in clay-limestone soils. The age of the vines is between 40 to 75 years. This wine is aged for a period of 12 months in 300-liter barrels, 400-liter barrels and 600-liter demimuids, none of which are made with new oak.

The blend
The Anthologie Cuvee Palombe 2018 by Chateau Marjosse is made from a blend of Semillon (1/3), Sauvignon Blanc (1/3) and Sauvignon Gris (1/3).

The tasting
Nose

The first nose of this Bordeaux white wine reveals fine toasted notes, evolving into gingerbread as the glass is swirled.
Palate
On the palate, this wine is smooth and round, its texture balanced with a fine acidity. Tropical fruit aromas come through on the finish, which lingers with a pleasant persistence.