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Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
This charming château, embellished by a small tower, is located close to the church in the village of Pomerol. Acquired in 1917 by Mrs. Loubat, the then famous proprietor of PETRUS, the vineyard was owned by her niece, Mrs. Lacoste, for 40 years before she donated it to the Fondation de Foyers de Charité de Châteauneuf de Galaure in 2002.
The vineyard, with an average age of 35 years, is characterised by its soil diversity: rather loamy soil around the château itself and more gravelly and clayey on the best blocks near the church.
Farming the property since 1962, Ets. Jean-Pierre MOUEIX brings the usual care and expertise to the vineyard - entirely replanted after the 1956 frost - and to the cellar. After a gentle fermentation in concrete tanks, the young wine is aged in 33% new oak barrels. Between elegance, power and smoothness, the wines of Château LATOUR show a perfect balance.
Production : approximately 30,000 bottle
Planted acreage : 20 acres
Grape varieties : 90% Merlot - 10% Cabernet Franc
Type of soil : 2/3 gravel with clay - 1/3 clay loam
Vuosikerta 2003
2003 was the hottest vintage ever seen in Bordeaux. The most successful châteaux have passed their exceptional 2000s and some claim to have made their greatest wines in living memory.
Very dry and extremely hot summer days and nights (16 days > 95°F compared to 2 in 2000, 6 in 2005, 4 in 2009). Need to eliminate the superscript here. I can't figure out how to do it.) The deeply colored reds, low acidities and high tannins are a departure from the classic Left Bank profile. St.-Estèphe and Pauillac are the most successful. The reds have largely reached their peak. It remains a controversial vintage, with opinions sharply divided as to its intrinsic quality. The white grape harvest began in mid-August. Rich, fatty whites, some acidified, not for long storage.
The extreme summer heat presented winemakers with a significant challenge. Sugar levels increased dramatically in late summer as some growers took the plunge and harvested early to preserve acidity. However, winemakers who waited until their grapes were fully ripe were rewarded with rich, concentrated, dark-colored wines displaying astonishing depth of fruit and plenty of complexity.
Generally speaking, the great wines of 2003 come from the northernmost communes of the Médoc: and in particular from Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe. Highlights include Lafite, Latour, Pichon Baron, Montrose and Cos d’Estournel. Quality was more uneven in the south of the Médoc although Château Margaux, true to form, produced one of the wines of the vintage.
The right bank properties of St Emilion and Pomerol, where temperatures were even warmer, produced inconsistent wines and volumes were massively reduced. Vieux Château Certan, which usually produces 4,000 cases per year, only produced 800 last year. Estates that have resisted this model and produced exceptional wines include Figeac, Ausone, Fetyit Clinet and Angelus.
Graves and Pessac-Lèognan fared better, but many châteaux produced wines that were alcoholic and expansive, but lacked the fresh, linear fruit core that distinguished the best of 2003. The exceptions are Haut-Bailly, the powerful and concentrated Domaine de Chevalier, and of course the thoroughbred stable of wines from Haut-Brion and La Misson Haut-Brion.