iDealwine Update: Tour of beauty

CHÂTEAU LATOUR’S estate lies at the south-eastern tip of Pauillac, bordering the vineyards of Château Léoville Las Cases in Saint-Julien.

While the vineyards for which Latour is now renowned were not fully established until the 17th century, its history proper dates all the way back to the 14th century. The château’s wines received early recognition for their superior quality, being mentioned in Montaigne’s Essays as early as the 16th century. As a result of successive marriages and inheritances, Château Latour became the property of the Ségur family in the late 17th century, the start of Latour’s golden age.

Its inclusion as one of the four first growths in the 1855 classification consolidated its already strong reputation and ensured its elevated prices – prices that endure to this day. Following a period of English ownership by the Pearson Group, then by Allied Lyons from 1989, in 1993 the estate was bought by François Pinault, French business magnate and founder of luxury brand empire Kering. Pinault appointed Frédéric Engerer to oversee the day-to- day runnings of the château, and has since undertaken a significant programme of investment that has seen Latour rise to its undisputed pre-eminent position in Bordeaux wine hierarchy.

Château Latour produces three wines: the grand vin, which comes from the vines immediately surrounding the château, a 43-hectare area known as L’Enclos; Les Forts de Latour, which was created in 1966, and is now considered a great wine in its own right; and Pauillac de Latour, a wine produced from the estate’s youngest vines. Every year Latour produced 16,000-20,000 cases of Latour, and 10,000-12,000 cases of Les Forts de Latour. Today the vineyard spans 74 hectares, split between the clay and gravel terroir of the historic L’Enclos and exterior parcels with a great diversity of soils. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates, making up 80% of the planted area, followed by Merlot (18%) and Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot (2%). The vines are very densely planted – 9,000 plants per hectare – the result of which is the production of smaller numbers of highly concentrated grapes per plant. Latour has shown a somewhat advanced vision of viticulture in comparison with the rest of Bordeaux, producing its own compost and ploughing by horse since 2008, as well as having converted the Enclos area to organic farming in 2015.

As one would expect from a wine of this calibre, every stage of the winemaking process is rigorously controlled. In the vineyard, only the healthiest fruit is selected; the grapes are destemmed and each parcel is vinified separately.

Maceration lasts for three weeks, followed by malolactic fermentation in vats. The wines are then matured in barrels, in 100% new oak for the grand vin, rather than the 50% new oak and 50% one-year-old barrels for Les Forts de Latour. The producer is in part renowned for its ability to craft very good wine even in tougher vintages. Unswervingly powerful and structured, the finest vintages also offer beautiful precision and depth, as well as incomparable ageing potential – the very best wines are able to last for more than a century.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

Perhaps the most important changes under Pinault’s stewardship has been the business strategy adopted. First, the proportion of the grand vin produced has gradually been reduced, making it significantly rarer than other first growths, and much focus has been placed on the development of the estate’s other two wines: Les Forts de Latour’s outstanding quality is testament to this work. Most significantly, Latour’s decision to leave the en primeur system after the 2011 vintage caused shockwaves throughout the wine world. The change was purportedly driven by a belief that wines are sold and consumed too young. Since 2012, Latour has released a number of back vintages of both the grand vin and Les Forts de Latour with success.

New releases have been greeted with enthusiasm and a readiness to pay a premium for ex-château wines.

What can be seen in part as a savvy business move from Château Latour has also been beneficial to the secondary market, having allowed consumers to access otherwise difficult-to-find vintages at attractive prices. Very old vintages find a particularly eager audience at auction – bidding is currently at €1,400 (£1,239) for the 1929 vintage – as do more recent ones, such as the 2010 and 2009, which consistently sell for at least €1,200 and €1,000 respectively. Incomparable is the success of the Latour’s landmark vintages of the past century: the 1949 reached a high of €2,300 in the spring of 2020; the 1961 €4,000. Les Forts de Latour is widely considered to have reached the level of a fifth- or even fourth-cru classé, requiring many years of bottle age to soften its impressive tannic structure. Its popularity with oenophiles and collectors is reflected in auction prices, with all vintages now selling for around €200.

Latour is a real pioneer in Bordeaux, both in its groundbreaking wines but also in its bold, trailblazing decision to leave the en-primeur system. Today, Latour is a case study in how to take the luxury sector’s scarcity principle and implement it in wine. Given the wine’s vast ageing potential, time will tell if this is a winning strategy, both for the château and its clients.