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Wine Description
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
Wine Information
Recent Vintages:
2009 One of the greatest vintages of the last 60 years, and already a benchmark for its power and natural concentration
2008 Patience and perseverance were needed, with a wet and late start, an average summer, but a wonderful indian summer.
2007 A vintage of challenges, with a very warm spring, a wet and cool summer and a beautiful month of September.
The early maturing terroirs appear to have an advantage.
A reminder of the Mark Twain definition: “Climate is what you expect, Weather is what you get”.
2006 A vintage contrasted by an uneven summer with mixed results. An early, sunny and successful harvest for the Merlots.
2005 A vintage blessed by the gods. A superb summer, dry and hot, but not excessively so. Ideal harvest.
A general success for all the varietals and all the appellations.
2004 A rather successful vintage. The wines lack a bit of charm but their fine constitution makes them a bottle to keep.
2003 A vintage of climatic excesses. Some grapes were sun-burned, creating atypical wines.
Attentive and cautious wine growers succeeded in producing rich wines with great promise.
A particular success in Médoc and for the clay soils of Pomerol.
2002 A difficult climate allowed for the production of easily accessible wines which can be drunk young.
2001 A classic year under estimated after the fanfares of 2000.
The wines are remarkably balanced and already delicious.
2000 A banner year. Great, powerful, structured wines which are worth the wait.
1999 A year without excess. A beautiful abundant harvest having produced wines relatively easy to drink now.
1998 A particular success for the Right Bank thanks to sunny harvests after a very beautiful summer, some very great wines.
Personal comments by Christian Moueix
Vintage 2009
Much like 1947, 1961 and 2005, 2009 is a year of almost overly (for Bordeaux) flamboyant and opulent wines with high maturity and low acidity. The tannins are exceptionally ripe, while the wines are quite voluptuous in style. The Left Bank recorded more hours of sunshine than legendary vintages such as 1947 and 1982, and the grapes had higher sugar concentrations than in 2003 and 2005. The key was significant diurnal temperature variations that allowed the grapes to withstand hot daytime temperatures. An exceptional vintage on all levels.
