Chateau de La Tour
Chateau de La Tour
Chateau de La Tour

Chateau de La Tour

Château La Tour de Mons is one of the leading Cru Bourgeois properties in Médoc. It has a long and illustrious history and is named after Pierre de Mons, who purchased the estate in 1615. For several generations, it has been owned and run by the Clauzel-Binaud family. It is located in the Margaux commune of Soussans. In 1858, the property was classified among the “bons bourgeois”. Every effort is made to produce a pure, elegant, classic wine, with the greatest possible respect for this great Margaux terroir.

The domaine has been farmed organically since 1992. Francois Labet prefers to control yields by rubbing out every second bud, which gives a well spaced out canopy, and does not approve of systematic green harvesting or leaf plucking. The grapes are then sorted to remove anything undesirable, placed as whole bunches in the fermenting vats, lightly sprinkled with sulphur, cooled to 6 or 7°C and left for a week to begin fermenting on their own. Thereafter the must is kept at a maximum of 28-29°C and as soon as fermentation is over the juice is removed, to avoid any post-fermentation maceration which might unleash harsh tannins from the stems. The wines are then aged in barrel, using approximately 50% new wood for the regular cuvée and 100% for the old vines. All the barrels now come from Chassin, the previous sole supplier having been let go.

The 35-hectare vineyard is planted with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. The grapes are hand-harvested and then matured in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks. The wine is then matured in small oak barrels (30% new) for 12 months. It is bottled unfiltered. The wine is typically smooth, well-rounded and ripe and shows at its best with 5–10 years of bottle ageing.

So far, the domaine has not created waves on the international scene, but perhaps this is just around the corner. Certainly, Francois Labet and his team seem to be taking considerable pains to produce fine wines. Perhaps the stems prevent the wines from showing competitive seductiveness when young.