Bordeaux 2022 Vintage Diary: Château Latour-Martillac

by Daniel Airoldi

When a calendar note reminded me that my Institute of Masters of Wine deferral was ending and I had to resume the program, this reality check was just what I needed to prompt me to approach some of my Bordeaux contacts to see if I could get hands-on experience at their châteaux. This would prove an invaluable experience to help me assimilate all the theory I learned through our long Melburne COVID lockdowns, while also giving me opportunities to spend weekends catching up with family members living in the area, many that I hadn’t seen in many years.

Edouard Kressmann of Château Latour-Martillac in Pessac-Léognan and his family were kind enough to welcome me at their château, which I chose because I wanted to experience both white and red winemaking and I have liked both their wines for several years now.

Being aware of the very hot and dry summer that France was going through, and as I was packing my suitcase to arrive over the August 15th long weekend, I sent Edouard a message jokingly saying that I hoped to bring some of our southern hemisphere’s winter rain with me and hopefully ‘help save the vintage’.

Following the ten days after my arrival and as I began work on August 16th, some 50mm of rain fell and another 20mm the first week of September. This much needed rain brought a smile to everybody, and saw stressed vines resume ripening process. Taking a close look at bunches on the estate over the weekend of my arrival and another look after the rain was a stark contrast. That rain did save the vintage!

Viticultural choices
In such a hot year, vineyard managers had to be very sensible in their canopy management and cover crop approach. AOC derogations were put in place for extraordinary-but-unhelpful irrigation measures. Indeed, in Bordeaux irrigation isn’t usual practice and vineyards do not have the necessary systems established, unlike in most New World vineyards.

During my evening walks through the Pessac-Léognan appellation, the vast array of viticultural practices was easily noticeable. Some favoured the outdated approach of de-leafing on both sides of the vines and exposing bunches to the harsh sun and resulting in shrivelled, dehydrated grapes. Some did partial de-leafing and some, sensibly did not do any, resulting in better looking, healthy bunches.

In the cellar from August 16th, as most staff members returned from their summer holidays, plans were being made to start harvesting Sauvignon Blanc later that week. This would prove to be as early a vintage as the frightfully hot 2003, but key viticultural factors discussed above rendered 2022 quite different in quality.

To get the cellar vintage ready, a large list of tasks needed to be done.

• Cagettes used for carrying bunches washed one by one.
• Vats sanitised by washing with a caustic solution then rinsed with a citric acid solution to neutralise the former.
• Barrels sterilised by steam and rinsed with hot water. This also ensures the oak expends to avoid leakage.
• All pumps, presses, pipes, and small equipment high-pressured cleaned and sanitised.
• Finally settling vats were re-assembled after cleaning.

The cellar was ready.

In the vineyard, last minute maintenance works were carried. A light work to the soil between rows with tractor and rotor to flatten the ground for workers safety as well as to open the ground slightly should further rain episodes happen. Un binage vaux deux arrosages (a tilling is worth two watering) they say here. After long periods of no rain, a light tilling opens the ground to absorb rain and help vines access it quicker.

First pickings
On August 18th, the first cagettes of Sauvignon Blanc arrived in the cellar for pressing. While bunches weren’t as big as wanted, due to the lack of rainfall through summer, the pungent flavours were present and brought to life by a moderate acidity, which some time needed adjusting due to the hot vintage.

The onset of harvest started slowly for the first few days but gathered pace in the second week when the first bunches of Sémillon arrived.

Early-morning-picked bunches went straight to the press in whole bunches to allow the initial pressed juices to run freely. Bunches picked later in the day went into a cool room to ensure only cold grapes were pressed to limit oxidation and keep the lovely fruity characters the juices already had. Think fresh red apple, mandarin rind, and shaved fennel on the Sémillon, while Sauvignon Blanc carried the trademark lemongrass, lemon and freshly cut grass notes.

Lightly pressed free run juices went into cold settling tanks at 8°C and as soon as press was rising in pressure and pH went above 3.6 to 3.7, the pressed juices went into a separate settling tank and destined for the second label wine.

The following morning, sediments had time to sink to the bottom of the vats and clear juice was transferred to fermenting vats. A further two days of rest followed to allow juice to come back gently to cellar temperature. The juice was then inoculated with selected yeasts and yeast nutrients to ensure a healthy yeast population would kickstart fermentation swiftly.

Meanwhile sediments were gathered and kept together each day further pressings happened. Once enough sediments were collected, they would go through a fascinating filtering process with diatomaceous earth through a plate filter. The juice coming out was crystal clear and would be blended to the juice destined for second label wine.

Beginning the ferment
Once fermentation had started, the must was transferred to barrel for fermentation as is general practice in Grand Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan. A mix of new barrels with second and third fill ones are used across a range of coopers to give a wide pallet of options to blend later and create a complex and balanced wine.

About a week later, fermentation slowed down and concluded and barrels were topped up and closed tightly. A cycle of weekly batonnage followed, which is a practice of stirring each barrel with a stick (baton) to ensure lees are kept in suspension. Lees stirring gives the new wine texture and protects it from oxidation.

Harvest for whites concluded on August 29th and following a traditional Entrecôte lunch with the entire team, our attention quickly turned to the reds. Much like the preparation for the whites, equipment and vats had to be sanitised and sorting equipment set up.

Maturity tests were carried thoroughly by the team including consultants to map out the upcoming harvest parcel by parcel, a real jigsaw! A long month was awaiting us with many long days.

Red wine harvest
The first Merlot bunches came in on September 2nd, and as is usual practice for most Bordeaux producers, bunches go through a de-stemmer. Here the destemmed grapes are then sorted on a table by hand to remove matters other- than-grapes, then go through a fouleuse (crusher) to be lightly crushed and sent in fermenting vats by gravity.

After juicy Merlot, Petit Verdot followed, with flavour of violet and blue fruits and halfway through September, three weeks earlier than usual, Cabernet Sauvignon reached the cellar. Cabernet this year had tiny berries with thick skins loaded with colour pigments and ripe tannins that would bring balance and complexity to the sweet, juicy earlier ripening varieties. By September 29th, all red grapes were in. Not often does Bordeaux see the entire production in before October!

Each variety is fermented separately, and each vat is inoculated with selected yeasts and yeast nutrients best suited to the variety. To ensure a good onset of fermentation, yeasts need air, but also to extract colour from skins and keep the cap moist, remontage (pumping over) was done twice a day then frequency reduced as fermentation was coming to an end about a week later. A maceration period lasting about twenty days followed, which is shorter than for cooler vintages.

After maceration, tastings were done alongside consultants to ensure wines were ready to be separated from skins by écoulage (emptying of the vats). This task is done across a two-day period and at Latour-Martillac it took most of October to carry through. Free-run wine is transferred to a clean vat to undergo malolactic fermentation, while the following morning the marc (skins) are sent to the press and pressed wine isolated into separate vats to undergo same process.

Écoulage is a physical process as one person needs to be inside the vat to shovel out the skins and once finished, to clean vats with high-pressure water. A task I was glad to put my hand up for, as often as possible for some much-needed exercise!

On October 28th all écoulage were done with the three last vats emptied and cleaned, I was exhausted but so happy to have experienced three months completely immersed in a property. It certainly gave me even more appreciation for all the work that goes into making a bottle of wine. From all the properties I have spoken to and visited during my time in Bordeaux, vintage 2022 has brought back smiles after a complicated 2021. I can’t wait for en primeur tasting in April 2023!

With thanks to Daniel Airoldi and Château Latour-Martillac