Grand Vin

Grilled and roast lamb with garlic and rosemary.

he winter was dry and cold. From March onwards, temperatures were much milder. Indeed, summer effectively began in April, with average monthly temperatures of more than 5°C above average and 83% less rain than seasonal norms. In June, rainfall was relatively frequent but light though the amount of sunshine and temperatures were normal for this period. However, a heatwave from June 26th to 27th, with temperatures exceeding 40°C, caused heat damage to the most exposed berries, especially the Cabernet-Sauvignon. The exceptional spring conditions produced an early budding which then accelerated as the soil warmed up very quickly. Unlike the spring, the summer was fairly cool with normal rainfall. September was hot and mainly dry.

The production of the new wine is a period that literally bubbles with acidity. The winemaking team monitors, tastes, analyses, takes samples. Respect for the fruits is essential and we do everything possible to treat it with enormous care at every stage in order to create great wines. The vat room was fully renovated in 2001. It now consists of 66 stainless steel vats of various sizes (from 170hl to 12hl) enabling each plot to be made into wine separetely and for all the experiments to be carried out that are necessary for a better understanding of the subtleties of the terroir. Château Latour was one of the first Bordeaux properties to adopt stainless stell tanks for vinification in the 1960s.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century Chateau Latour started to be highly recognized around the world thanks to the reconquest of the British market and the development of the wine business in Northern Europe. The aristocracy and other wealthy groups of consumers became very enthusiastic about a few great estates of which Latour was one. And that was how Thomas Jefferson ambassador of the United States in France and future President discovered this wine in 1787. At that time a cask of Chateau Latour was already worth twenty times as much as one of ordinary Bordeaux wine. The reputation of Chateau Latour was consolidated during the 19th century. It was confirmed in 1855 when the government of Napoléon III decided to classify the growths of the Médoc and the Graves for the International Exhibition in Paris: Chateau Latour was classified as a First Growth. The existing chateau was built during this Golden Age between 1862 and 1864.