2019 La Petite Tour de Bessan, Margaux, Grand Vin de Bordeaux – Medoc, France.
The pretty aromatic, dark berried and deeply hued 2019 La Petite Tour de Bessan Margaux by Marie Laure Lurton is wonderfully pure and ripe fruited with layers of earthy blueberry coulis, blackberry, currant, plum and black cherry along with classic Medoc loam, black olive, anise, a touch of iris and violet and a bit a raw tannin grip. Interestingly for a Margaux classified Bordeaux, Lurton uses no oak on this tank raised dark purple/garnet full bodied wine, made from mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with a touch of Petit Verdot, which adds color and spice to the background. I was very joyously impressed with this wine, the second wine to Château Tour de Bessan, which I had never had before, especially as I probably would have never had noticed it or picked on the shelf, so thanks to H. Mercer Imports for putting this one in front of me to try. The top wine, with much more Cabernet Sauvignon in the final mix, sees about 30% new wood and is matured quite a bit longer, and while under the radar, it should be a Bordeaux to look for, especially for the price, and this one even more so. This 2019 La Petite Tour de Bessan Margaux with its light perfume and raw transparency of form is wonderfully food friendly and will go nicely with hearty meat dishes and or just with a selection of hard cheeses.
The estate where Château Tour de Bessan sits was originally established back in 13th century, where a tower was situated, in Soussans, and it wasn’t for centuries later that this Château became noticed, and It was in 1972 that Lucien Lurton bought the tower and vineyards from the Clauzel family. To show intent to make this a serious property, Lurton, according to their importer, pulled out all the stops to rebuild this wine estate, all the while managing his other more famous properties. In 1992, his daughter, Marie-Laure took over, and progress continued, armed with a wine making degree in hand, and 6 years experience under her belt, this Margaux’s vineyards began producing some outstanding fruit. Marie Laure, who cut her teeth working on her father’s other domains, knows all the blocks here like the back of her hand, and she led this estate to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly place, raised the quality to new heights. The vineyard parcels here are set on classic Medoc Pyrenean gravel with clay underpinning, making a happy long time home for Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with Lurton adding Petit Verdot in more recent years starting in 2012. The typical cepage for the La Petite Tour de Bessan is about 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot and the wine is vat raised for close to 12 months, making it a wine to be enjoyed in its youth, rather than being a wine to hide in the cellar for a decade or more. The wine is a nice alternative to the oaky and flashy Saint-Emilion offerings and I recommend it to bargain Bordeaux enthusiasts.
($40 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive