Chateau Latour

Château Latour is one of Bordeaux's – and the world's – most famous wine producers. It is situated in the southeast corner of the Pauillac commune on the border of Saint-Julien, in the Médoc region. Rated as a First Growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, it has become one of the most sought-after and expensive wine producers on the planet, and produces powerfully structured Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wines capable of lasting many decades.

The site has been occupied since 1331 with a fort and garrison to guard the estuary. Several smallholdings began to grow vines, and wine from the site gained recognition from Montaigne as early as the 16th Century. The original tower no longer exists; the famous tower featured on the label was designed as a pigeon roost and built around 1620.

Latour's development as a single property came with the beginning of a long unbroken period of connected family ownership, based around the de Segur name, also associated with Mouton and Calon-Ségur. This began in 1670 and lasted 290 years, although after the French Revolution Latour was divided up and not fully reunited until 1841. The château is currently owned by Francois Pinault and is part of his Groupe Artemis.

Typically for the region, Cabernet Sauvignon dominates in the vineyard, accounting for around 80 percent of plantings. Merlot makes up most of the remainder, and there are also small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The grand vin is only made from the vineyard plots surrounding the chateau and shown on the 1759 plan of the domaine. Latour makes two other wines: Les Forts de Latour and Pauillac de Latour, both of which are made from younger vines.