Château La Tour du Pin Figeac (Moueix), later Château La Tour du Pin for a brief period, is a former

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) 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 broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

estate in the

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

Saint-Émilion Saint-Émilion (; Gascon dialect, Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southwestern France. In the heart of the country of Libournais (the area around Libourne), in a regio ...

which produced wine up until 2011. The estate was purchased by owners of neighbouring

Château Cheval Blanc Château Cheval Blanc (French for "White Horse Castle"), is a wine producer in Saint-Émilion in the Bordeaux wine region of France. Its wine received the highest rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) status in the Classification of Saint-Ém ...

in 2006, who managed the estate as a separate property up until 2011. The estate in effect ceased to exist after this, being absorbed into its grander neighbour.

History

Until 1879, this property was a part of the

Figeac Figeac (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Lot (department), Lot. Figeac is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Figeac is on the via Podiensis ...

estate, acquired to form

Château La Tour Figeac Château La Tour Figeac is a Bordeaux wine estate in the Appellation d'origine contrôlée, appellation Saint-Émilion AOC, Saint-Émilion, ranked ''Grand cru classé'' in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine, and is currently owned by the Ret ...

, half of which was further sold and divided into two parts, this property and that of

Château La Tour du Pin Figeac (Giraud-Bélivier) Château La Tour du Pin Figeac is a Bordeaux wine estate in the appellation Saint-Émilion, and is currently owned by the Giraud family. History Until 1879, this property was a part of the Figeac estate, acquired to form Château La Tour Figeac ...

. This estate, the smallest of the three, was bought in 1947 by Antoine Moueix, cousin of J. P. Moueix. The property remained in the hands of the Moueix family until 2006, when it was bought by the owners of Château Cheval Blanc, who adopted the name Château La Tour du Pin. The last vintage made was 2011. The best area of the vineyard (3.5ha) has been absorbed into the Château Cheval Blanc vineyard, and the remainder is currently used to make generic Saint-Émilion. The estate was rated ''Grand Cru Classé'' in the

Classification of Saint-Émilion wine In 1955, the Saint-Émilion AOC, wines of Saint-Émilion in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux wine, Bordeaux were classified. Unlike the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 covering wines from the Médoc and Graves (wine region), Grave ...

, but lost this status in 2006, only to have the verdict reversed in 2008. The estate did not re-apply for the 2012 classification.

Production

The

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s extended , and was considered the more

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

ly of the three La Tour properties, closer to the conditions of neighbours Figeac and Cheval Blanc. The ''Grand vin'' was typically a blend of 70%

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

and 30%

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

, as was the estate's

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 e ...

, Clos La Fleur Figeac.

References

External links

La Tour du Pin Figeac official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tour du Pin Figeac Moueix, Chateau La Bordeaux wine producers