Chateau Latour
(Château) Latour was already mentioned in a document from 1331. But it became more or less famous when Alexandre de Ségur acquired the domaine in the late 17th century, as a result of successive marriages and inheritances.
Alexandre and later on, his son Nicolas-Alexandre purchased various important plots of vineyards throughout the Médoc, including Lafite and Mouton. In the beginning of the 18th century, the English aristocrats developed their interest, especially for fine wines. The wines from the best estates in the Médoc, including Château Latour stood out in terms of price and quality. (In fact, the wines from Château Latour were worth up to twenty times more than a barrel of regular Bordeaux wine!)
The wine was already very famous and highly appreciated by the connoisseurs. The vineyards were more and more expanded and in 1855, the château received the first growth or premier cru status in the official classification. Until 1962, Château Latour was exclusively in the hands of the descendants of the Ségur family. However, the large number of heirs resulted in the sale of most of the shares by the British Pearson and Allied Lyons group.
In 1993 François Pinault bought 93% of Château Latour, while the remaining 7% stayed in the Ségur family. Mr. Pinault brought the state to an even higher level by renovating the winery, the barrel room, the wine-making facilities and even the storage rooms. In his quest for perfection, he created a new aging cellar in 2012 as well. He also decided not to sell the wines “en primeur” anymore.
The majority of the vineyards at Château Latour has been planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (75%), but there is also Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The wines are year in, year out of outstanding quality with and are meant to last a lifetime. Full bodied, concentrated and rich are the keywords. There is also a second wine called “Les Forts de Latour” and even a third wine named “Pauillac” (made from the young vines). The average age of the vines is over 50 years old.
Great vintages are especially: 1893, 1899, 1990, 1928, 1945, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1982, 1990, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 & 2016.
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