Château Latour

Château Latour, situated at the southern end of the Pauillac appellation, is one of the Left Bank's five first growths and is consistently one of Bordeaux's greatest wines. Even in tough Bordeaux vintages Latour manages to create wines that put many of its Bordeaux neighbours in the shade, and in doing so, has justly earned its reputation as one of the Médoc's finest wines.

Latour's gravelly vineyards comprise 78 hectares, 47 of which (known as L'Enclos) surround the château and are used for the main wine 'Château Latour' itself. Latour's second wine is Les Forts de Latour, which is made from the same vines each vintage, rather than being a dumping ground for rejected fruit. Third in the pecking order is the generic Pauillac de Latour made from young vines.

Latour was acquired in 1670 by the Segur family whose dynasty ran it for almost 300 years. There was originally no grand château on the Latour site because the Segur family owned fine houses and felt no need to build another, but in the mid-19th century the present château, a modest villa in comparison to its neighbours, was eventually completed. Latour's iconic fortress-like tower was built in the 17th century (as a pigeon coup).

In 1967 Latour passed into British ownership, but soon reverted back to French in 1994, bought by the business tycoon and wine connoisseur Francois Pinault. M. Pinault purchased ‘the estate that made his favourite wine’ and his passion and perfectionism is matched by his Estate President Frederic Engerer, for whom nothing less than perfection is permitted. Under Pinault Latour has been an impeccable and classic model of consistent excellence with a reputation for making Bordeaux’s best wine in mediocre or poor vintages.