The château Latour

History

Traces of château Latour are visible from the 16th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, a wealthy bourgeoisie developed in the United Kingdom. This bourgeoisie was a great consumer of good wines. Very quickly, the wines of the best estates like Latour stood out for their quality and price. In 1714, a barrel of Latour was worth four to five times a barrel of Bordeaux wine. In 1729, it was worth thirteen times more and in 1767, twenty times more.

The château was classified 1er Cru in 1855 alongside Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, Haut Brion and Mouton Rothschild.

Renovation and innovation

Until now, the Pearson financial group became a 53% shareholder and the Lyons group a 25% shareholder. In 1989, Allied Lyons bought back Pearson’s shares and therefore held 93% of the shares alone, the remaining 7% belonged to the heirs of the Ségur family. In 1993, Mr. Jean François Pinault bought back Allied Lyons’ shares.

With its arrival, the complete renovation of the cellars, the vat room, the winemaking systems and the storage areas allow for even greater precision in the production of wines.

The terroir

This château is in the heart of the wine-growing Médoc, about 50km from Bordeaux. The location of the château gives it its particularity and tempers the climatic excesses and especially the cold and frost waves. Atlantic is at proximity and it brings the generous character of the oceanic climate and the proximity of a body of water protects against the cold.

The terroir is composed of a combination of layers of gravel on the surface and clay in depth. These characteristics imply that the root system of the vines is particularly deep. This allows the vine to conserve water and not experience water stress or drought.

The grape varieties

The grape varieties are approximately 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot.

Winemaking

The cellar team works day after day by vat, by barrel and by test from tastings, samples and analyses. château Latour is one of the first to adopt stainless steel vats for winemaking.

The wines of the château are powerful and energetic, allowing for long aging. Their bouquet and tastes evolve and become more and more complex. The château is recognized for its ability to produce very good quality wines in difficult years.

Second label : Les Forts de Latour

The wine was first released in 1966. It is aged with the same care as the Grand Vin. The blend of the Forts de Latour can vary from one year to the next. There is a higher proportion of Merlot (25-30%) compared to the proportions in the Grand Vin.

The great vintages

The château’s great vintages are the château Latour 1961 and the château Latour 1982. We can also note the château Latour 1959, the 1970, the 2003, the 2009 and finally the château Latour 2010.