Château La Tour Haut-Brion was a

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...

estate from the

Pessac-Léognan Pessac-Léognan () is a wine growing area and Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, in the northern part of the Graves region of Bordeaux. Unlike most Bordeaux appellations, Pessac-Léognan is equally famous for both red and (dry) white wines, altho ...

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

within

Graves A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

, and was ranked as a ''Cru Classé'' for red wine in the

Classification of Graves wine The wines of Graves in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified in 1953 by a jury appointed by Institute National des Appellations d'Origine, and approved by the Minister of Agriculture in August of that year. The selection was revised w ...

of 1953 and 1959. It was located in close vicinity of the city of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

, in the commune of

Talence Talence (, ; oc, Talança, ; ca, Talença, ) is a commune in the Gironde department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Bordeaux, and is adjacent to it on the south side. It is ...

, adjoining

Château La Mission Haut-Brion Château la Mission Haut-Brion is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, classed among the ''Crus Classés'' in the Graves classification of 1953. La Mission Haut-Brion is the sister property of the First Growth Château Haut ...

. The estate's final vintage was 2005, after the owners ( Domaine Clarence Dillon) decided to discontinue the label. Since then, the fruit from La Tour Haut-Brion has been used in the production of Château La Mission Haut-Brion.

History

Vines were first laid into the 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 La Mission Haut-Brion. At the onset of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

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. Not until the 19th century did the owners at the time, the Cayrou brothers, add the name of 'Haut-Brion'. Records show that by the 1850 '' Féret'', the full name of La Tour Haut-Brion was acknowledged. It was acquired by Louis Uzac in 1858 who made restorations 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 vineyards 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". In the 1953 classification of Graves, Château La Tour Haut-Brion was rated a ''Cru Classé'', and by the mid-1960s, the estate amassed and produced 1,000 cases annually. Following the death of the Woltner brothers in 1974, the property was under the administration of the Dewavrins, and it was suggested by

David Peppercorn David Peppercorn (born 1931) is a British Master of Wine, French wine importer and author, known for his books about the wines of Bordeaux and long experience in his field, having collected tasting notes since the late 1950s. He is married to fel ...

that they treated the estate as a

second wine Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or ev ...

for La Mission. They eventually sold their estates in 1983 to the Dillon Family, owners of

Château Haut-Brion Château Haut-Brion () is a French wine, rated a ''Premier Grand Cru Classé'' ( First Great Growth), produced in Pessac just outside the city of Bordeaux. It differs from the other wines on the list in its geographic location in the north of ...

since 1935, uniting four Haut-Brion chateaux under Domaine Clarence Dillon. Then caretaker Jean Delmas decided to again treat La Tour Haut-Brion as a separate distinct '' cru''.

Discontinuation

In April 2007 however, Domaine Clarence Dillon announced that beginning with the 2006 vintage, the grapes from the La Tour Haut-Brion vineyards would be blended into La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion, the second wine of La Mission Haut-Brion, and as the

vines A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

become older, potentially used for the ''grand vin'' of La Mission. The decision effectively made 2005 the final vintage of La Tour Haut-Brion, and rendered one of Domaine Clarence Dillon's oldest estates defunct.

Production

The vineyard area extended nearly with the grape variety distribution of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and 35% Cabernet Franc. La Tour Haut-Brion annually produced on average during its final period as a distinct estate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tour Haut-Brion, Chateau La Bordeaux wine producers