Beschreibung:

Château Latour--Vintage 1964
1 impériale per lot
CHATEAU LATOUR Christie's has had a long association with Château Latour. Indeed, the first named sale by Mr. James Christie was in London on August 1, 1792, when a "hamper containing 50 quart bottles of the growths Latour and vintage 1785" were sold. Even in those days the wine's great reputation had extended to the hopeful shores of an emerging America. Thomas Jefferson following his first visit to Bordeaux in May 1787, described Château Latour as one of the '4 vineyards of first quality', La Tour de Segur, as it was then known has a very long and distinguished history. It's famous tower and vineyards are in full view - albeit at some distance - from the ships plying the broad Gironde and are close to the small town of Pauillac. It's recent history, but not the quality of the wine, has been a bit chequered, the de Beaumont Family selling in 1962 its majority stake, to Lord Cowdray's family and Harveys of Bristol who considerably later sold to Allied Domecq. It's current proud owner is Mr. Francois Pinault who also, coincidentally, now owns Christie's. Presently, the Estate consists of over 192 acres of vineyards. The 116 acres which surround the Château, the heart of the estate, are called l'Enclos . Only the grapes from these 116 acres make the Grand Vin de Château Latour . The Enclos benefits from a very unique terroir that combines an optimized sub-soil nutrition for the vines, the Gironde river which mitigates between extreme weather conditions, and a typical Médoc climate, largely influenced by the Atlantic ocean, which allows the grapes to reach maturation under favourable conditions. This combination is a true gift of Nature and consequently determines the personality and the characteristics of the wine of Château Latour. It also imposes, almost naturally, a selective choice of grape varieties. There is, first of all, a perfect association between the Cabernet Sauvignon and this terroir, as it represents around 80 of the total planted. Merlot represents 18 of the Grand Vin, and plays an important role in regulating and softening the Cabernet Sauvignon. It is planted mainly on the lower parcels of the Enclos , where the gravel layers are a little less deep, and where the marls and clay layers can be reached more easily by the vines. This will bring roundness and power to the final wine. Two other grape varieties, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot combine for 2 of the total planted vineyard, and are in most cases mixed in with the parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Property of a Gentleman Lots 54-55, 57: Recently removed by Christie's from a temperature and humidity controlled, private, below ground level, home cellar. Château Latour--Vintage 1964 Pauillac, 1er cru classé Level: into neck; damp stained label, slightly wrinkled label Richly textured and saturated color. Tremendous aromatics! An intoxicating mixture of cedar and tobacco leaf, all of which was dominated by fruit aromas. A very youthful and if served blindly, deceptive, evolution. A classic Latour attack: masculine structure. Excellent balance, rich extraction. Flavors follow through with leather, cedar spice. It is so good! In time, eucalyptus pops up to meet the nose and savor on the finish. Best version ever tasted. As Clive Coates would say, "Bags of life." From magnum, October 2003. ST 1 impériale per lot