Château LaTour de Bessan – Margaux 2022
Bordeaux – France 🇫🇷
Overview
A cru bourgeois property in the heart of Margaux, LaTour de Bessan showcases the elegance and structure that define the Left Bank. The 2022 vintage, shaped by a warm growing season, highlights both concentration and finesse — a reminder of how Margaux balances power with perfume.
Aromas & Flavors
Expressive cassis, black cherry, and blueberry meld with notes of cedar, graphite, and violet. Subtle hints of tobacco leaf and spice linger in the background, adding Bordeaux’s signature complexity.
Mouthfeel
Medium to full-bodied with polished tannins and a vibrant core of acidity. Silky yet structured, showing poise on the mid-palate and a lingering, refined finish. Built to age, but already offering glimpses of charm.
Food Pairings
Ideal with classic Bordeaux fare — roast lamb, duck breast, or beef tenderloin. Also pairs beautifully with mushroom dishes and aged cheeses like Comté.
Verdict
A stylish Margaux that balances depth with elegance. While the 2022 is still young, its aromatic lift and refined structure promise rewarding evolution over the next decade. A Left Bank classic in the making. 🍷cheers! — a month ago
2018 vintage. Last tasted 8.26.22 (9.3) and 7.21.21 (9.3). Medium/medium-heavy body. Slightly less end palate lift than last two encounters and tasting like it is in that proverbial "state of confusion...er...transition." Would like to taste again and will give it 3-4 years before revisiting to do this justice. Pretty unified now without side projects and ancillary rabbit holes but something tells me this has another third act of mayhem and debauchery up its' sleeve. 07.09.25. — 3 months ago
@Simon Czamanski S. @DAD Wine Lover — 22 days ago
Birth year wine.
"Looks like a tricky one"... if I had a dollar for every time I heard that.
This is Chateau Latour Martillac, Graves, 1975.
This wine is slightly over the hill, but has survived 50 years. Just like me.
I'm assuming this is Cabernet, Merlot, and maybe something else. Fine, pale brick color. The nose is lively and generous with fruit, though there is a bit of grandma's basement.
The palette is driven by tertiary flavors. Mushroom, truffle, wet leaves, and pencil tend to drown out a bit of dark cherry. A little astringent. Maybe some Petit Verdot.
I wouldn't kick this out of bed for eating crackers, but I would prefer it with some lamb.
Hope you all are having an awesome Sunday!
Listening to Dexter Gordon. — a month ago
2017 vintage. — 10 days ago
Delicious Margaux Bordeaux blend, dark fruit and fine tannin, at the Hurricane, Kennebunkport — 8 hours ago
Pop and pour. A marvelous dark garnet color. Intense notes of dark fruit, tobacco, cedar, smoke, and worn leather. Taste: nicely done, but tight without a decant... dark fruit, currants, cedar, earth, tobacco, game, and a long pepper graphite dry finish. YUM! — a month ago
Stefan Dolhain
2022 vintage. One of the Castel family estates since 1973 ( before the estate was known as Domaine de Tartuguière). With 144 hectares of vines,this is the largest contiguous vineyard in the Médoc. Vanessa Trouy has been in charge since 2002. Dark red colour. Needs a bit of time to open up, give it 15 minutes to release attractive aromas of strawberries, flowers, nutmeg and oak. Good fruit concentration in the mouth, with a solid tannic structure,fresh acidity and nice length. This will need a few years to show all its potential, and has serious ageing potential. For now decanting is recommended, pair with a good steak. Another terrific Bordeaux value. — 17 days ago