Château Latour
Le Pauillac de Chateau Latour Red Bordeaux Blend
Pauillac, Médoc, Bordeaux, France
In looking for some older photos, I ran across photos of the 14 En Premier. Since I wasn’t using Delectable then, I thought I’d take the opportunity to share a story and some key Bordeaux history. One night during the En Premier, we went to dinner with the Director of Chateau Latour, Frédéric Engerer at Lion d’ Or. Frédéric reached into their library cellar and pulled; a 78 & 90 Grand Vin, 99 & 03 Forts De Latour and a Mag of 67 Grand Vin. Overall score is an aggregate of the evenings wine. Certainly one of the best nights of food & wine in my life. However if you go to Lion d’ Or, read the menu carefully as they cook with every part of an animal. Oh...the menu is all in French. So, ask for assistance if you struggle with French. While remembering this night, it got me thinking about another piece of Bordeaux history I thought I’d share for those that might be unaware. Did you know we have the Dutch to thank for making these wines possible? Here are my historical and producer notes... the earliest history of Bordeaux dates back to the Romans in 60 B.C. They were the first to plant, cultivate and make Bordeaux wines. They referred to the area as Burdigala. The Bordeaux appellation was perfect for cultivating grapes for wine. It offered the unique combination of the right soil for growing grapes used in the production of wine coupled with easy access to the Garonne river, which was needed to help ship the wines. The marriage between King Henry and Eleanor made sure Aquitaine, which included Bordeaux, was owned by England for over 300 years, coinciding with the conclusion of the hundred years war; which really lasted 116 years and ended in October 1453. By the time the Hundred Years War had finally concluded, Bordeaux wine had already been discovered by British wine lovers! In fact, Richard the Lionheart, the son of Eleanor and Henry II made Bordeaux wine his everyday beverage. The Bordeaux wine buying public agreed saying, if Bordeaux was good enough for the King, it was good enough for all loyal British wine lovers. From that moment forward, the Bordeaux wine trade began expanding. Bordeaux wine continued taking on more importance in trade with England. Twice a year, just prior to Easter and Christmas, several hundred British merchant ships sailed to Bordeaux to exchange British goods for wine. The next major event for the Bordeaux wine trade took place when the Dutch needed to build roads to make it easier to transport goods/wine throughout the region. The Dutch, along with the British were major purchasers of Bordeaux wine. They needed their Bordeaux wine to be delivered more quickly, before it spoiled. Their short-term answer, the Dutch merchants came up with was to burn sulfur in barrels, which aided the wines ability to last and age. However, more needed to be done. By the 1600’s, numerous Bordeaux vineyards were already planted, cultivated and producing wine. However, much of the region still consisted of unusable, swamp land and marshes. Dutch engineers came up with the idea to dredge and drain the marshes and swamps. This allowed for quicker transportation of their Bordeaux wine. And suddenly, there was a lot more vineyard land that was perfect for growing grapes and making more Bordeaux wine. Yes, we have the Dutch to thank for creating Pauillac. For this post, specifically Chateau Latour. Had the Dutch not dredged and drain it, many great Chateaus might not exist today. The man in charge of the project was Dutch engineer, Jan Adriaasz Leeghwater. He changed the face of Bordeaux forever. At the same time they dredged, new water channels were created. This helped improve the drainage, so the swamp like conditions would not develop again. Many of the original water channels are still in existence all over the Medoc. So, the next time you drink your Medoc (Pauillac) Bordeaux wine, drink a cheers to Dutchman...Jan Adriaasz Leeghwate. Photos of; our dinner bottles, the Latour library cellar, stainless steel tanks, barrel room and the iconic and majestic 17th century tower the property takes it’s name. The Latour cellars are so clean and pristine, you could eat off the floors.
In looking for some older photos, I ran across photos of the 14 En Premier. Since I wasn’t using Delectable then, I thought I’d take the opportunity to share a story and some key Bordeaux history. One night during the En Premier, we went to dinner with the Director of Chateau Latour, Frédéric Engerer at Lion d’ Or. Frédéric reached into their library cellar and pulled; a 78 & 90 Grand Vin, 99 & 03 Forts De Latour and a Mag of 67 Grand Vin. Overall score is an aggregate of the evenings wine. Certainly one of the best nights of food & wine in my life. However if you go to Lion d’ Or, read the menu carefully as they cook with every part of an animal. Oh...the menu is all in French. So, ask for assistance if you struggle with French. While remembering this night, it got me thinking about another piece of Bordeaux history I thought I’d share for those that might be unaware. Did you know we have the Dutch to thank for making these wines possible? Here are my historical and producer notes... the earliest history of Bordeaux dates back to the Romans in 60 B.C. They were the first to plant, cultivate and make Bordeaux wines. They referred to the area as Burdigala. The Bordeaux appellation was perfect for cultivating grapes for wine. It offered the unique combination of the right soil for growing grapes used in the production of wine coupled with easy access to the Garonne river, which was needed to help ship the wines. The marriage between King Henry and Eleanor made sure Aquitaine, which included Bordeaux, was owned by England for over 300 years, coinciding with the conclusion of the hundred years war; which really lasted 116 years and ended in October 1453. By the time the Hundred Years War had finally concluded, Bordeaux wine had already been discovered by British wine lovers! In fact, Richard the Lionheart, the son of Eleanor and Henry II made Bordeaux wine his everyday beverage. The Bordeaux wine buying public agreed saying, if Bordeaux was good enough for the King, it was good enough for all loyal British wine lovers. From that moment forward, the Bordeaux wine trade began expanding. Bordeaux wine continued taking on more importance in trade with England. Twice a year, just prior to Easter and Christmas, several hundred British merchant ships sailed to Bordeaux to exchange British goods for wine. The next major event for the Bordeaux wine trade took place when the Dutch needed to build roads to make it easier to transport goods/wine throughout the region. The Dutch, along with the British were major purchasers of Bordeaux wine. They needed their Bordeaux wine to be delivered more quickly, before it spoiled. Their short-term answer, the Dutch merchants came up with was to burn sulfur in barrels, which aided the wines ability to last and age. However, more needed to be done. By the 1600’s, numerous Bordeaux vineyards were already planted, cultivated and producing wine. However, much of the region still consisted of unusable, swamp land and marshes. Dutch engineers came up with the idea to dredge and drain the marshes and swamps. This allowed for quicker transportation of their Bordeaux wine. And suddenly, there was a lot more vineyard land that was perfect for growing grapes and making more Bordeaux wine. Yes, we have the Dutch to thank for creating Pauillac. For this post, specifically Chateau Latour. Had the Dutch not dredged and drain it, many great Chateaus might not exist today. The man in charge of the project was Dutch engineer, Jan Adriaasz Leeghwater. He changed the face of Bordeaux forever. At the same time they dredged, new water channels were created. This helped improve the drainage, so the swamp like conditions would not develop again. Many of the original water channels are still in existence all over the Medoc. So, the next time you drink your Medoc (Pauillac) Bordeaux wine, drink a cheers to Dutchman...Jan Adriaasz Leeghwate. Photos of; our dinner bottles, the Latour library cellar, stainless steel tanks, barrel room and the iconic and majestic 17th century tower the property takes it’s name. The Latour cellars are so clean and pristine, you could eat off the floors.
Little tired but with a little air it coaxed out some life.
Little tired but with a little air it coaxed out some life.
Jan 6th, 2018