The area which would become the Château Latour estate was first cultivated in the thirteenth century, with the construction of the village of Tor à Saint-Lambert. The famous tower on the label of the Château Latour bottle draws its inspiration from this period and the garrison fort built there to guard against the attacks during the Hundred Years’ War. Up until the Battle of Castillon in 1453, the area was in English hands and was completely destroyed when the French recaptured it. To replace the original tower, another tower was built in 1620, called the La Tour de Saint-Lambert, which now gives its name to the estate.
At the end of the 16th century, the small holdings of the area were accumulated into one property by the de Mullet family and work began on laying out a park and building the present château. The Château Latour is now one of Bordeaux’ Grand Cru Classés wines, with its own AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) status. The Château Latour estate was passed to Alexandre de Ségur in 1716 and has remained under the Ségur ownership until 1963. From that point onwards is when Château Latour’s prestigious reputation was truly established; it became one of Bordeaux’ Grand Cru Classés wines in 1855 under Napoleon III. As with many of the best wines in Bordeaux, it is classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé A wine.
The property was decided as a result of the French Revolution when many aristocratic families had their land distributed to the local population, but the family managed to collect it again through a series of auctions in 1842. The de Ségur family made further acquisitions throughout the 19th century, building up an estate of 200 hectares (500 acres), which they were able to retain until they sold three-quarters of the Château Latour shares to the Pearson Group. Currently, the estate has returned to French ownership, having been bought by businessman François Pinault as part of the holdings of Groupe Artemis.
The vineyard has been classified as a Premier Cru Classé since 1955 and was listed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007 for being “an outstanding example representing significant stages of human history”. It produces about 40,000 bottles annually.
