Produced on a total area of 40 hectares, the Chateau La Tour Blanche is a First Classified Growth produced in the Sauternes appellation. The blend for the 2011 vintage is 84% Semillon, 12% Sauvignon Blanc and 4% Muscadelle.
The Chateau La Tour Blanche 2011 has a straw-yellow color with golden highlights. The nose first expresses subtle toasty and vanilla aromas. With aeration, the wine releases complex notes of smoke and ripe fruit. It displays opulence and smoothness while being silky, with tasty touches of apricots, pineapple, vanilla and cinnamon. The palate offers a long finish with subtle flavors of praline and milk caramel.
Tasted blind at the Sauternes 2011 horizontal tasting. The Château La Tour Blanche 2011 has a more reticent bouquet compared to its peers: traces of wild honey, Clementine, hints of petrol and tree sap coming through reluctantly with aeration but never attaining what you might call full power, possibly due to hail damage during the growing season. The palate is medium-bodied, a little understated like the nose, with well-judged acidity and a tightly wound finish adorned with dried honey, mandarin and a touch of barley-sugar. The aftertaste is quite long, suggesting that it will contentedly repay 4-5 more years in the cellar.