Cellar Favorite: 1948 La Tour Blanche

BY NEAL
MARTIN | MARCH 31, 2025Some
bottles are more poignant than others, inextricable from the occasion, the
place and above all, the person associated with the wine. The 1948 La Tour
Blanche was donated by Bill Blatch during January’s Southwold tastings, his
botrytised contribution to our annual dinner. Blatch was feeling too fatigued
to attend after the day’s intense tasting, and even though 1948 was his
birthyear vintage, he insisted that we take it to the restaurant to enjoy. I
cannot help feeling that somehow he knew that had the 1948 gone unopened, it
would never be shared with his friends. It was, for all intents and purposes,
his parting gift. This is not an auspicious vintage for Sauternes. The autumn
was too dry to really incite botrytis infection. Nevertheless, this bottle was
further proof that it takes a really deplorable growing season to produce a
distasteful sweet wine.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1743429192452-CF_Mar312025.jpg">Deep
amber in hue, the bouquet does not explode from the glass, rather, it gradually
unfolds with scents of marmalade, quince and fig, hints of mandarin and
adhesive. Fine delineation. The palate is fresh with exquisite poise. Plenty of
marmalade notes emerge once again, while noticeable acidity lends this
Sauternes tension. The 1948 does not possess a sustained finish, so it scarpers
out of the exit door a little hastily. Nevertheless, this Sauternes continues
to give pleasure. 93/100 Drink: 2025-2040. © 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or redistributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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