Château Tour Renaissance Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 1986

Château Tour Renaissance Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 1986: A testament to the Mouty tradition

The Château Tour Renaissance Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 1986 is a wine from one of Saint-Émilion’s most traditional family-run estates and a rare testament to a vintage that is often overshadowed in the public eye by the great Bordeaux vintages. The estate, which has been part of the Vignobles Mouty portfolio since 1982, is situated on the limestone plateau of Saint-Émilion and comprises a small plot of just 2 hectares – a size that reflects the estate’s artisanal character.

The Mouty family’s history in Bordeaux began in 1923, when Donat Mouty acquired the Château du Barry. His son Noël continued to run the estate, and in 1973 Daniel Mouty and his wife Françoise took over the management. In 1982, Château Tour Renaissance – the very plot from which the 1986 vintage described here originates – was added to the estate, having belonged to Françoise’s family. The vineyards are situated on clay-limestone soils and are 100 per cent planted with Merlot, with an average vine age of 35 years. The grapes are harvested by machine; vinification takes place in concrete and stainless steel tanks, followed by 16 months’ ageing in barriques, 50 per cent of which are new. Average annual production is a modest 14,000 bottles.

The 1986 vintage in Bordeaux was characterised by a cool, damp spring and a mixed summer. The harvest was uneven, and many wines initially displayed a austere, acid-driven structure. In Saint-Émilion, however, where the Merlot grown on warm limestone soils was less severely affected by the cooler weather, wines of remarkable balance were produced. After almost four decades of ageing in the bottle, the 1986 Château Tour Renaissance is now at the peak of its maturity: the primary fruit has long since receded into the background, replaced by the typical tertiary aromas of a mature Saint-Émilion – notes of leather, undergrowth, tobacco and dried plums, underpinned by a delicate minerality and silky, well-integrated tannins. The estate’s bouquet is described as elegant, with black fruits and toasted oak; on the palate, it is harmonious, supple and round, with a long finish.