Château La Tour Haut-Brion
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Château La Tour Haut-Brion is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation within Graves, ranked among the Premiers Crus for red wine in the Classification of Graves wine of 1953 and 1959. The winery is located in close vicinity of the city of Bordeaux, in the commune of Talence.
The estate's final vintage was 2005 after the owners Domaine Clarence Dillon decided to discontinue the label.
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[edit] History
Vines were first laid into this ground by the Rostaing family in the 16th century, when the estate was called La Tour de Rostaing, or La Tour d'Esquivens, who also cultivated the vineyards of Arrejedhuys, which became Château La Mission Haut-Brion. At the onset of the French Revolution the estate belonged to the Saige family. Despite the execution of the estate's heir, his mother the widow Saige refused to evacuate the château, and expropriation of the estate was avoided. It was acquired by Louis Uzac in 1858 who made restaurations and several modernising changes, and in 1890 it was sold to Victor Coustau. After Coustau's death in 1924, the Woltner family, proprietors of neighbouring vineards Château la Mission Haut-Brion and Château Laville Haut-Brion, ran the wine production for the widow Coustau, and after her death in 1935 she left them the estate in her will.
The brothers Fernand and Henri Woltner were known for innovative methods, and the latter was described as a "wine-making genius".[1] In the 1953 classification of Graves, Château La Tour Haut-Brion was rated a Premier Cru, and by the mid-1960s, the estate amassed 10 acres and produced 1,000 cases annually.[2]
Following the death of the Woltner brothers in 1974, the family eventually sold their estates in 1983 to the Dillon Family, owners of Château Haut-Brion since 1935, uniting four Haut-Brion chateaux under Domaine Clarence Dillon.[3]
[edit] Discontinuation
In April 2007, Domaine Clarence Dillon announced that beginning with the 2006 vintage, the grapes from La Tour Haut-Brion's vineyards would be blended into La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, the second wine of La Mission Haut-Brion, and as the vines become older, possibly used for the Grand vin of La Mission.[4] The decision effectively made 2005 the final vintage of La Tour Haut-Brion, and rendered one of Domaine Clarence Dillon's oldest estates defunct.
[edit] Production
The vineyard area extends nearly 5 hectares with the grape varieties of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and 35% Cabernet Franc. La Tour Haut-Brion produced on average 2,000 cases a year, or 24,000 bottles, during its final period as a distinct estate.
[edit] Sources
- Footnotes
- ^ Johnson, Hugh (1971). The World Atlas of Wine. London: Mitchell Beazley Ltd., p.86.
- ^ Lichine, Alexis (1967). Alexis Lichine's Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits. London: Cassell & Company Ltd., p.315.
- ^ Barnes, Laura, Caterer (January 1, 2007). Premier Chateau. itp.net.
- ^ Kakaviatos, Panos, Decanter (April 7, 2004). Haut Brion drops La Tour.
