Château Latour

Château Latour is a Premier Cru estate in Pauillac, in the Médoc region of Bordeaux's Left Bank. The oldest document mentioning Latour dates from 1331, an authorization granted to Gaucelme de Castillon by Lord Pons to build a fortified tower; the estate's own history page places this in the parish it calls "Saint Maubert," though the estate's current postal address is Saint-Lambert, Pauillac. Château Latour appears in Jean Froissart's Chronicles in 1378, when, during the Hundred Years' War, the fortress guarding the Gironde estuary was manned by Breton soldiers for the King of France before falling to an Anglo-Gascon army after a three-day siege. By the end of the 17th century the property had passed to the Ségur family; just before his death in 1716, Alexandre de Ségur acquired Château Lafite, and two years later his son Nicolas-Alexandre, dubbed the "Prince of the Vines" by Louis XV, added plots from Mouton and Calon. As English demand for Bordeaux grew in the early 18th century, Latour's wines commanded a growing premium: a barrel of Latour was worth four to five times an ordinary Bordeaux barrel in 1714, thirteen times by 1729, and twenty times by 1767. The estate's vineyard grew from 38 hectares in 1759 to 47 hectares by 1794. In 1842 the co-owners formed the Société Civile du Vignoble de Château Latour, made up exclusively of Ségur descendants until 1962. In 1855, Latour was ranked a Premier Cru (First Growth) in the official Bordeaux Classification alongside Lafite-Rothschild, Margaux and Haut-Brion, a rank joined by Mouton-Rothschild in 1973. The existing château building was constructed between 1862 and 1864.

• Oldest record: a 1331 authorization to build a fortified tower, granted to Gaucelme de Castillon by Lord Pons; Latour appears in Jean Froissart's Chronicles in 1378 during the Hundred Years' War
• Ségur family ownership from the late 17th century: Alexandre de Ségur bought Château Lafite just before his death in 1716; his son Nicolas-Alexandre added Mouton and Calon plots in 1718
• Classified a Premier Cru (First Growth) in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification alongside Lafite-Rothschild, Margaux and Haut-Brion; Mouton-Rothschild joined the rank in 1973
• The existing château building was constructed between 1862 and 1864

Ownership passed out of the Ségur family in the 20th century. Wine Cellar Insider reports that in 1963 the Ségur heirs sold most of their remaining shares to two British companies, Harveys of Bristol and Hallminster Limited, the latter a Pearson Group subsidiary holding more than half the shares; the estate's own history page describes the resulting split as Pearson at 53% and Harveys of Bristol, later bought by Allied Lyons, at 25%. In 1989 Allied Lyons bought out Pearson's stake to hold 93% of the property, with the remaining 7% still in Ségur family hands. In June 1993, François Pinault bought Allied Lyons' stake through his holding company Artémis; Wine Cellar Insider reports the sale price at $131 million, noting that the wine stock alone in the cellars was rumored to be worth close to $60 million at the time. Frédéric Engerer, who joined the estate in early 1995, was appointed Manager in 1998 and now holds the title President and CEO. Major renovation works ran from November 1999 to September 2003, covering the winery, vat room, winemaking facilities and storage areas and creating a new technical team; further work in 2012 enlarged the workspace and created a new ageing cellar following the decision to stop selling wines en primeur. The estate's team page lists Florence Rogers-Pinault as Board Member and Director of Public Relations, and Jean-Marc Pistre and Hélène Génin as Estate Directors; nearly ninety people work at the property. Château Latour is one of several Artémis Domaines properties, alongside Domaine d'Eugénie, Château-Grillet, Eisele Vineyard and Clos de Tart, per the château's own website.

• François Pinault bought Château Latour in June 1993 through his holding company Artémis, paying Allied Lyons $131 million, according to Wine Cellar Insider
• Frédéric Engerer joined the estate in early 1995 and was appointed Manager in 1998; he now holds the title President and CEO
• Team page (current): Florence Rogers-Pinault, Board Member and Director of Public Relations; Jean-Marc Pistre and Hélène Génin, Estate Directors; nearly ninety people work at the property
• Château Latour is one of several Artémis Domaines properties, alongside Domaine d'Eugénie, Château-Grillet, Eisele Vineyard and Clos de Tart

Château Latour sits in the heart of the Médoc, about 50 kilometres northwest of Bordeaux, with its prime L'Enclos parcel overlooking the Gironde estuary just 300 metres away; the proximity of the Atlantic and the estuary tempers extreme weather, including severe cold spells such as the 1991 frost. Most vines are planted on gravelly hilltops standing 12 to 16 metres above the estuary. The Enclos divides into two soil types: clayey gravel in the heart of the parcel, deposited less than two million years ago from material originating in the Pyrenees and the Massif Central, making up 50 to 80% of the surface depending on altitude; and gravelly sand around the edges, laid down less than 100,000 years ago and suited to Merlot. Roots, especially of older vines, reach down as far as three metres into marly clay layers that hold water even through dry years such as 2003 and 2010; a 19th-century drainage system serves the entire Enclos. The vineyard currently totals 96.5 hectares, including the 47-hectare Enclos that surrounds the château and is the only source for the Grand Vin; the roughly 50 hectares outside the Enclos include long-held plots such as Petit Batailley and Pinada, used for Les Forts de Latour and for the youngest vines destined for Le Pauillac de Château Latour. The estate is planted to about 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot across more than 900,000 vines. Since 2009 the estate has reworked its vine-growing practices toward greater biodiversity; horses were reintroduced in 2008 to plough the soil and reduce compaction. The entire vineyard has been farmed under organic principles since August 2015, and Ecocert issued full organic certification in August 2018, a certification that extends to the winery and the vinification process; biodynamic preparations, timed to the lunar calendar, are applied across the Enclos and on some outside plots.

• 96.5 hectares total, including the 47-hectare Enclos (the sole source for the Grand Vin); roughly 50 hectares outside the Enclos include Petit Batailley and Pinada
• Planting: about 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, across more than 900,000 vines
• Organic since August 2015; Ecocert certification issued August 2018, covering vineyard, winery and vinification; horse ploughing reintroduced in 2008
• Enclos soils: clayey gravel at the heart (50-80% of surface, Pyrenees/Massif Central origin), gravelly sand at the edges suited to Merlot; roots reach up to three metres into water-retaining marly clay

Château Latour makes three red wines. The Grand Vin comes exclusively from vieilles vignes averaging 60 years old within the Enclos, drawn from named plots such as Gravettes, Sarmentier and Pièce de Château; Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for more than 90% of the blend from the heart of the Enclos, and the wine typically needs a decade before it begins to be ready to drink, with great vintages developing over several decades. Les Forts de Latour, first labelled in 1966, takes its name from a historic plot within the Enclos and has grown to the level of a Médoc Grand Cru Classé in its own right; its fruit comes from the edge of the Enclos, from Enclos plots judged during blending not to meet Grand Vin standard that year, and from Cru Classé plots outside the Enclos that the estate has held for more than a century, such as Pinada, Petit Batailley and St. Anne (around 40 years average vine age), plus a seven-hectare block in Artigues acquired in 2005 and about five more hectares acquired in 2012. It is made with the same care as the Grand Vin; the notable differences are 50 to 60% new oak and a consistently higher share of Merlot (25 to 30%) than the Grand Vin. Le Pauillac de Château Latour has been made every year since 1989, developed primarily for the restaurant market, from younger vines on the vineyard's less prestigious terroirs and from wine that does not meet the selection criteria for Les Forts de Latour; it uses about 20% new oak and typically carries close to 45% Merlot in the blend, making it a generous, fruity introduction to the estate that can be enjoyed after four to five years.

• Grand Vin: exclusively from Enclos vieilles vignes averaging 60 years old; Cabernet Sauvignon over 90% of the blend; typically needs a decade before it begins to be ready to drink
• Les Forts de Latour: first labelled 1966; sourced from the edge of the Enclos, Enclos plots not selected for the Grand Vin, and outside Cru Classé plots (Pinada, Petit Batailley, St. Anne, plus Artigues acquired 2005 and further plots acquired 2012); 50-60% new oak, 25-30% Merlot
• Le Pauillac de Château Latour: made every year since 1989 for the restaurant market; about 20% new oak, close to 45% Merlot; drinkable after four to five years

The vat room, fully renovated in 2001, now holds more than 80 stainless steel vats ranging from 12 to 164 hectolitres, letting grapes of similar profile be vinified separately; Château Latour was one of the first Bordeaux properties to adopt stainless steel fermentation, in the 1960s. Harvest usually starts in the second half of September and often runs past mid-October, with around 200 temporary pickers, mostly from the Bordeaux region, hand-cutting bunches into 8-kilogram crates and sorting them in two stages before the grapes reach the vats by gravity. Fermentation runs about three weeks in temperature-controlled vats, followed by malolactic fermentation the following month, with press wine matured separately in barrels pending blending. From mid-January, Frédéric Engerer and the technical team, assisted by Éric Boissenot, taste through the batches to decide the blends for the Grand Vin, then Les Forts de Latour, then the Pauillac. The wines mature in French oak from central French forests, renewed every year for the Grand Vin: a first year in the barrel cellar with barrels topped up twice weekly (ouillage), then 10 to 13 months in a second-year cellar in hermetically sealed barrels. About a year in, the wine is fined with one to six egg whites per barrel and racked roughly 45 days later. Bottling begins in mid-June, starting with the Pauillac, then Les Forts de Latour, then the Grand Vin; bottles are hand-wrapped in white tissue paper bearing the Latour signature. Since the 2007 vintage, every bottle carries a Prooftag traceability code on the neck, with authentication for the Grand Vin. Since 2012, Château Latour holds its wines longer before release: the Pauillac is kept four to six years, Les Forts de Latour six to eight years, and the Grand Vin eight to ten years.

• More than 80 stainless steel vats (12-164 hl); one of the first Bordeaux estates to adopt stainless steel fermentation, in the 1960s
• Barrel maturing: first year with twice-weekly ouillage, then 10-13 months in a sealed second-year cellar; fined with egg whites, French oak renewed yearly for the Grand Vin
• Since the 2007 vintage, every bottle carries a Prooftag traceability code on the neck, with authentication for the Grand Vin
• Post-2012 release schedule: Pauillac de Latour 4-6 years after harvest, Les Forts de Latour 6-8 years, Grand Vin 8-10 years

Château Latour's own vintage archive, covering 1945 through 2019 on its website, gives a tasting note and vineyard account for each year, plus a release-availability note on three of its final four entries -- 2016, 2018 and 2019, skipping 2017 -- reflecting the estate's slow post-2012 release schedule. Its account of 1961 calls the wine clean-tasting, brightly coloured, very rich and full-bodied, phenomenal in the mouth, structured and perfectly balanced, adding that it has "barely reached its peak and will improve further." An imperial bottle of the 1961 sold for £135,000 at a Christie's Hong Kong auction on May 27, 2011, one of a series of record prices when the château consigned bottles directly from its own cellars. Les Forts de Latour's first vintage, 1966, is described on the estate's own account as having "plenty of substance and an intense finish." The estate's account of 2016 describes a growing season with the wettest first half in 20 years followed by the driest second half in 16; as of the estate's vintage archive, that page notes the 2016 vintage as "available only for Les Forts de  Latour and Pauillac de Château Latour," but Decanter's Georgie Hindle reviewed and rated the 2016 Grand Vin itself on its March 2025 release, giving it 100 points and calling it "a monumental wine from Latour," describing a blend of 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot that Decanter called part of "a benchmark for Bordeaux, widely considered one of the finest of the century." The estate's vintage archive carries the same release-availability note for 2018 ("available only for Les Forts de Latour and le Pauillac de château Latour," the estate's final year converting the vineyard to organic viticulture) and, more narrowly, for 2019 ("available only for le Pauillac de château Latour"); no fetched source confirms whether a 2018 or 2019 Grand Vin has since been released.

• 1961: an imperial bottle sold for £135,000 at Christie's Hong Kong auction, May 27, 2011, from bottles consigned directly from the château's own cellars
• 1966: first vintage of Les Forts de Latour
• 2016: the estate's vintage archive notes the vintage as available only for the second and third wines, but Decanter separately reviewed the 2016 Grand Vin (92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.1% Merlot) on its March 2025 release, rating it 100 points
• 2018: the estate's own vintage archive notes this vintage as available only for Les Forts de Latour and Le Pauillac de Château Latour as of the page's last update; this was the estate's final year converting the vineyard to organic viticulture

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/in-the-beginning/since-1331, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/in-the-beginning/the-land-of-pauillac, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/in-the-beginning/from-generation-to-generation, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/in-the-beginning/team, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/a-time-for-sharing/le-grand-vin-de-chateau-latour, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/a-time-for-sharing/les-forts-de-latour, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/a-time-for-sharing/le-pauillac-de-chateau-latour, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/a-time-for-sharing/vintages, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/identify-your-wine, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/friends-of-chateau-latour, https://www.chateau-latour.com/en/contact. Secondary sources: thewinecellarinsider.com (Christie's Hong Kong auction record, May 2011; full producer history and profile), Decanter (Château Latour spring releases, 2025). Last verified 2026-09-09. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.