Chateau La Tour Haut-Brion

Chateau La Tour Haut-Brion is no longer in existence, with the last vintage produced in 2005. Its 5.05 hectare vineyards has been amalgamated with Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion.

During the Middle Ages till the French Revolution it was under the house of La Tour de Rostaing, or La Tour d’Esquivens, who were one of the first producers to make a quality wine. In 1540 Louis de Rostaing also owned parcels of vines that later modeled and became La Mission Haut-Brion.

In the mid-18^th century it was under the Saige family. Francois-Armand Saige was the major of Bordeaux from 1791 to 1793 before meeting his death from the guillotine. The two brothers of Jerome and Joseph Cayrou acquired the property in 1841 and probably was the brain behind appending the name Haut-Brion to that of La Tour.

Later both La Tour Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion were both under same ownership from Victor Coustau, who later sold to Frederic Woltner in 1919. In 1983 the properties were sold to the Dillon family, owners of Chateau Haut-Brion, also changing the style of the wine to more an approachable profile.

Under the new management it was no longer treated as a second wine of La Mission, with replanting continued in 2000 and 2002. Planted with 34% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, it is now totally absorbed into La Mission Haut-Brion.

I have recently tasted the 2004 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance
Bright and clear, this wine is of medium ruby color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium intensity aromas of black fruit such as blackberry dark plum and blueberry, pungent spice of liquorice, sweet spice of cloves, oak notes of smoke, kernel notes of coffee, mineral notes of graphite, maturity notes of tobacco. The wine is developing.

Palate
Dry, with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) tannin but still a bit grippy, it has medium alcohol, and is of medium (+) body with medium intensity flavors of black fruit such as blackberry and black cherry, oak notes of cedar, mineral notes of graphite, sweet spice of cloves. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion
Good quality Pessac-Leognan showing reasonable concentration and complexity, the wine has the signature characters of graphite but the ripeness is not that satisfactory, with a bit of cherry notes. The palate is in balance though not particularly interesting, with a reasonable finish. Ready to drink now, the wine can benefit from further ageing of another 1-2 years.