Château Latour 1958

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.