Château Latour 1958

Château Latour 1958: A Premier Grand Cru Classé from an underrated vintage

The Château Latour 1958 is a wine of remarkable historical depth – a Premier Grand Cru Classé from a vintage that long stood in the shadow of the legendary 1959 and 1961 vintages, yet produced wines of great elegance and longevity. It comes from one of the oldest and most renowned estates in the world and embodies the combination of power, structure and aristocratic finesse typical of Latour.

The estate: a history spanning over 600 years

The history of Château Latour dates backto 1378, when the chronicler Jean Froissart wrote of a two-storey tower called ‘La Tor de Sent-Maubert’, which was occupied by an Anglo-Gascon army during the Hundred Years’ War. The name ‘Latour’ – ‘the tower’ – derives from this original structure, which served as a watchtower at the mouth of the Gironde. The estate is situated in the south of the Pauillac appellation, just some 300 metres from the banks of the Gironde – a location that gives the wine its distinctive character. The vineyards cover 96.5 hectares, of which the historic Enclos – the heart of the estate – comprises 47 hectares. The vines, with an average age of 60 years, are planted in deep gravel soils that provide optimal conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon (76 per cent of the vineyard area).

In 1760, Latour passed into the ownership of the Ségur family and was already regarded as one of Bordeaux’s greatest wines at that time. In the official classification of 1855, Château Latour was ranked as a Premier Grand Cru Classé – a distinction that remains to this day. In his book *The Complete Bordeaux*, Stephen Brook wrote: “No other Médoc wine can rival Latour in terms of power, depth of flavour and grandeur.” Since 1993, the estate has been owned by the French entrepreneur François Pinault and is now managed by Frédéric Engerer.

The 1958 vintage: A wine of the post-war era

The 1958 vintage in Bordeaux was characterised by a late harvest, which brought the winegrowers a moderate yield following the devastating frosts of 1956. The weather conditions that year were characterised by a very rainy August and a hot, dry September, which allowed the vines to ripen under favourable conditions. The harvest began on 21 September under excellent conditions. Yields were very low due to the replanting carried outfollowing the frost of 1956 – a factor that enhanced the concentration of the wines. Wine journalist Michael Broadbent described the vintage as “soft, light and pleasant” – a vintage that was often overlooked between the best-selling 1957 and the legendary 1959.

Tasting notes: A wine of surprising youthfulness

The tasting notes for the 1958 Château Latour paint a picture of a wine that, even after more than six decades, has lost none of its fascination. Robert Parker awarded it90 points and described it as ‘remarkably youthful in colour, with only a slight tawny tinge at the rim’. A light, rather sweet nose with smoke and a hint of raisins. Medium-bodied on the palate, the tannins have mellowed but are still well-balanced, with admirable liveliness on the finish. Quietly impressive.” Neal Martin (Vinous) noted in a later tasting: “Remarkably youthful colour with just a hint of tawny at the rim”, thereby confirming the impression of a wine that has retained its youthfulness.

JohnKapon (Vintage Tastings) awarded 94 points and described the wine as “a ‘wow’ wine. 1958 wasn’t supposed to be this good! It was breathtakingly delicious, and its nose was intoxicating with peanut and cream soda aromas, not to mention its obvious richness. Its savoury cedar and peanut aromas perfectly underlined its meaty core, and there was great minerality in its tannins. This was the ‘Miss Congeniality’ of wines.” CellarTracker users describe the wine as “not much fruit, but a classic, mature Latour nose with plenty of cedar.” On the palate, the fruit had faded, but there was still a good balance of acidity and tannin, and a long, classic, mature Latour finish. It shows that Latour was (and probably still is) the king of the village when it comes to making age-worthy wine in good vintages.”

Tastingbook awards 92 points and describes the wine as “very fruity, supple and smooth” with a recommendation to drink it now. Idealwine describes the estate’s general style: “Latour’s wines display exemplary consistency, regardless of the quality of the vintage. In their youth, they are firm, tannic and concentrated, requiring long cellaring to reveal the full depth of their power and exceptional richness. When perfectly matured, the wine has an incredible bouquet of blackcurrants, hazelnuts and leather. A monumental wine.”

The condition of the bottles: historical artefacts

The bottles from the 1958 vintage offered at auction bear the typical signs of their age. Christie’s describes a lot of four bottles with liquid levels at ‘upper shoulder’, slightly oxidised capsules and heavily soiled labels, one of which was partially detached. A particularly remarkable lot was auctioned at Christie’s in 2020: an original wooden case containing twelve bottles, which had been delivered directly from the château to the uncle of the then-owner in the 1960s – a testament to the close connection between the estate and its customers. The case was initially kept in western France and was moved to a natural underground cellar in Paris in the early 1990s . All the bottles were in their original straw packaging with remnants of tissue paper; seven capsules were corroded, and the labels were soiled and stained, as is to be expected given their age. The fill levels ranged from five bottles at ‘top-shoulder’ to five at ‘upper-shoulder’, and one each at ‘upper/mid-shoulder’ and ‘mid-shoulder’ – an exceptionally good state of preservation for wines of this age.

At Bonhams, a lot of eight bottles was offered with fill levels ranging from ‘very top’ to ‘mid-shoulder’, with five bottles showingsigns of old seepage – a common phenomenon in wines of this age. At Sotheby’s, a magnum bottle with a ‘upper-shoulder’ fill level and a soiled label was auctioned; it originated from an underground, climate-controlled cellar on a continental estate. At Baghera Wines, a bottle without a label was offered , with the vintage printedon the cork – an interesting detail that confirms the bottle’s authenticity. These detailed descriptions of condition are of great importance to collectors: they provide insight into the bottle’s storage history and the expected quality of its contents.

A window into a bygone era

For the collector and connoisseur, the 1958 Château Latouris far more than a rare bottle – it is a piece of wine history. It was produced in a year when the vineyards of Bordeaux were being painstakingly rebuilt following the devastating frosts of 1956, and was vinified by a château that even then could look back on a tradition stretching back over 600 years. The estate’s wines are renowned for their longevity and their ability to mature over decades – qualities that are impressively confirmed in this 1958 vintage. Anyone who opens a bottle of this vintage holds not only a rare Premier Grand Cru Classé in their hands, but a liquid monument to a bygone era of Bordeaux – and a wine that, after more than six decades of bottle ageing, has retained remarkable depth, elegance and vitality.

Chateau Latour is one of the five 1er grand cru classé growths from the Bordeaux region. With 75 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, Chateau Latour is a Pauillac par excellence. It is described by wine connoisseurs and wine lovers as firm, with great tannins and very good ageing potential. Even in weaker years, Chateau Latour usually produces good, balanced red wines rich in finesse. Wine drinkers should therefore always keep Chateau Latour in mind when looking for a specific vintage wine as a birthday present. In addition, Latour is considered the most consistent wine among the Grand Cru Classé producers. The Chateau Latour estate lies close to the waters of the Gironde. It was Thomas Jefferson who honoured Chateau Latour as one of the best Bordeaux wines in the 18th century. The second wine, les Forts de Latour, is also a showpiece in its class and is not much inferior to the first wine. Especially in the outstanding years, one should switch to the Forts de Latour at Chateau Latour, it costs only a fraction of the Cru Classé and the pleasure is phenomenal. The estates at Chateau Latour were built in the early 14th century, whereby the properties were initially owned by the English. Chateau Latour probably takes its name from the fortress tower La Tour en Saint-Maubert, which was intended to serve as a place of defence for the Latour estate during the "Hundred Years' War". Unfortunately, this tower no longer exists today, but Chateau Latour built a similar, equally beautiful tower called La Tour de Saint-Lambert in 1620. The image of this tower has always been the trademark of Chateau Latour and can also be found on the label of every vintage of Chateau Latour wines. However, the Chateau Latour era would not take off until much later. In 1716, Alexandre de Ségur acquired Chateau Latour and two years later his son Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur followed him in the expansion measures by purchasing Chateau Mouton and Chateau Calon. As a result of these acquisitions, the quality of Chateau Latour rose considerably and the star of the tannin-rich Pauillac wine seemed to have risen. In 1860, the current chateau was built as the home and flagship of the then owners. In 1963, after several changes of ownership, the flagship estate passed from the hands of the Ségur family to the British companies Harveys of Bristol and the Pearson Group. The latter had set themselves the goal of challenging the supremacy of Chateau Lafite and reducing the gap to Lafite Rothschild and increasing the reputation of Chateau Latour through quality improvements and investments in the cellar and vineyard. Another change at the top of Chateau Latour took place in 1989, when Latour was bought by Allied Lyons for around 180 million euros. Only a short time later in 1993, the businessman and billionaire François Pinault acquired Chateau Latour and brought it back into French ownership.