Château Latour

Château Latour is a French wine estate, rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, owned by Groupe Artemis.

The best of the best wines were assigned the highest rank of Premier Cru; only four wines, Château Latour, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux and Château Haut-Brion were deemed worthy.

Château Latour is a French wine estate, rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, owned by Groupe Artemis. In 1989 Latour was purchased by Allied Lyons for around £110 million, but in 1993 returned to French ownership when bought by businessman François Pinault for £86 million when it became part of his holding company Groupe Artemis.

Groupe Artémis is a French holding company owned by François-Henri Pinault, which owns the fine arts auction house Christie's, winery Château Latour, Le Point, Stade Rennais F.C., and Théâtre Marigny.

Château Latour is a French wine estate, rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, owned by Groupe Artemis.

In addition to its Grand vin (LWIN 1012316), Latour has also produced the second wine Les Forts de Latour (LWIN 1010309) since 1966, and a third wine, simply named Pauillac (LWIN 1013821), has been released every year since 1989.

Château Latour is a French wine estate, rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, owned by Groupe Artemis.

This is primarily a red wine region, famous for the wines Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Mouton-Rothschild, Château Margaux and Château Haut-Brion from the Médoc sub-region; Château Cheval Blanc and Château Ausone in Saint-Émilion; and Château Pétrus and Château Le Pin in Pomerol.

In 1718 his son Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur added Château Mouton and Château Calon-Ségur to his holdings and began producing wines of great quality.

Nicolas-Alexandre, marquis de Ségur (1695–1755) was a Bordeaux wine maker who during his lifetime was known as the "Prince of Vines" due to his ownership of some of the most famous Bordeaux chateaus-including Château Lafite, Château Latour, Château Mouton and Château Calon-Ségur.

Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, at its border with Saint-Julien, and only a few hundred metres from the banks of the Gironde estuary.

The commune consists of only 3000 acre of vineyards in the Haut-Médoc between the villages of Saint-Julien to the south and Saint-Estèphe to the north, but is home to 18 Grands Crus Classés (classification of 1855) including three of Bordeaux's five first-growth wines: Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, and Château Mouton Rothschild.

In 1989 Latour was purchased by Allied Lyons for around £110 million, but in 1993 returned to French ownership when bought by businessman François Pinault for £86 million when it became part of his holding company Groupe Artemis.

Controlled 100% by Pinault and his family, Artémis controls through its subsidiary Artémis Domaine the French vineyard Château Latour (Bordeaux), the Clos de Tart (Bourgogne), the Domaine d'Eugénie (Vosne-Romanée), Château Grillet (Rhône Valley), Eisele Vineyard (Napa Valley).

In 1718 his son Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur added Château Mouton and Château Calon-Ségur to his holdings and began producing wines of great quality.

By marriage, the estate came to be owned by Nicolas-Alexandre, marquis de Ségur who also owned Chateau Latour and Chateau Lafite.

The composition of grape varieties is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, and 2% of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

The First Growth estates of Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Latour are noted for regularly producing wines with some of the highest percentage of Cabernet— often around 75%.

Henri Martin and Jean-Paul Gardère were appointed as managers which brought about substantial innovations.

In 1963, Martin was also appointed manager, along with Jean-Paul Gardère, of the premier cru Château Latour when foreign investors gained control of the estate, and Martin became a driving force of innovations in research and investments of restorations and vineyard acquisitions as well as replanting.

The Sunday Times speculated that among the interested parties were wine mogul Bernard Magrez, with actors Gérard Depardieu and Carole Bouquet, in a transaction which would bring one of the five first growths under the control of a resident Bordelais for the first time in several decades.

In December 2008 it was reported that the investment bank Lazard was offering Château Latour for sale, and Magrez was suggested as the likely buyer.

Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, at its border with Saint-Julien, and only a few hundred metres from the banks of the Gironde estuary.

Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, at its border with Saint-Julien, and only a few hundred metres from the banks of the Gironde estuary.

Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, at its border with Saint-Julien, and only a few hundred metres from the banks of the Gironde estuary.

Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, at its border with Saint-Julien, and only a few hundred metres from the banks of the Gironde estuary.

Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Bordeaux, at its border with Saint-Julien, and only a few hundred metres from the banks of the Gironde estuary. A garrison fort was built 300 metres from the estuary to guard against attack during the Hundred Years' War.

In addition to its Grand vin (LWIN 1012316), Latour has also produced the second wine Les Forts de Latour (LWIN 1010309) since 1966, and a third wine, simply named Pauillac (LWIN 1013821), has been released every year since 1989.

An impériale (six-litre bottle) of Château Latour sold for £135,000 in 2011.

A garrison fort was built 300 metres from the estuary to guard against attack during the Hundred Years' War.

A garrison fort was built 300 metres from the estuary to guard against attack during the Hundred Years' War.

The tower, the name mutating with time to La Tour en Saint-Mambert and Saint-Maubert, gave its name to the estate around the fortress and was in English hands until the Battle of Castillon in 1453, and its complete destruction by the forces of the King of France.

The original tower no longer exists, but in the 1620s a circular tower (La Tour de Saint-Lambert) was built on the estate named after Simon Ledwidge and though it is actually designed as a pigeon roost, it remains a strong symbol of the vineyard.

Vines have existed on the site since the 14th century, and Latour's wine received some early recognition, discussed as early as in the 16th century in Essays by Montaigne.

Near the end of the 16th century, the estate's several smallholdings had been accumulated by the de Mullet family into one property.