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What does the three masters of the castle of Latour refer to?
As one of only five First Growths in the 1855 Grand Cru Classe in Bordeaux, Chateau Latour is world-renowned for its powerful, full-bodied wines. Its origins go as far as the 14th century. The wine industry began in the 17th century when Marquis de Segur was in charge of the winery. The wine has become one of the best wines in Bordeaux in the 18th century. Château Latour has changed over the centuries, the only constant is the excellent and stable quality of its wines.
At present, Chateau Latour produces a total of 3 wines, each with its own characteristics, known as “one wine and three masters”. The winery has a clear consideration for the positioning, raw materials and styles of these three wines.
The wines of Chateau Latour are divided into three grades:
The first-class wine is its real brand, called “Grand Vin de Chatour Latour”,
The second wine is “Les Forts de Latour”,
The third-class wine is named after “Pauillac”.
These three grades of wine are called “Latour Sanjie” by the wine industry.
1. According to the traditional French concept, only the best vineyards can produce the best wines. Therefore, only grapes grown from more than 12-year-old plants in the 47-hectare large central enclosure vineyard are initially eligible to be used to brew genuine wine. During the brewing process, the wine is regularly tested and identified, and it is also found that the quality of the wine in some fermentation tanks does not meet the requirements and is eliminated, and cannot be used to brew genuine wine.
Under such careful selection, Chateau Latour produces an average of only 55% of the annual output, about 220,000 bottles, and becomes the real wine. In bad years, such as 1974, the production of genuine wine is as low as 25% of the total production.
Of course, the best wines deserve the best treatment. The real wines are served in brand new French oak barrels for more than 18 months. The wine of Chateau Latour is very green when it is just brewed, and it even has a difficult taste. It needs to be aged in the bottle for at least 10 years.
A good vintage takes 15 years and even vintages like 1945 and 1947, 50 years still retain their strength and can continue to be brewed. Latour’s authentic wines are always strong, thick, and full of blackcurrant aromas and delicate black cherry aromas. In the Medoc region, they can be called Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tough guy image. . 1949, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1975, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1994, 1995 were all good years.
The 1983 wine was lighter in taste, probably because Latour felt the need to change the usual tannin style and used a lighter treatment method, but the treatment was wrong. In the years that followed, Latour seemed to have lost its proper style, and it was not until the 1990s that it returned to its original heavy taste.
2. The second wine “Fortress” can be said to be the “big brother” of Chateau Latour. Started in 1966, the grapes he uses are 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, with “Cabernet Franc” and “Beautiful Verde” only occasionally added depending on the situation. The “fortress” grapes come from three other small vineyards outside the Grand Central Enclosure, or young plants under 12 years old from the Grand Central Enclosure.
The wine eliminated in the process of brewing genuine wine will also be used in the “fortress”. “Fortress” is also aged in oak barrels for 18 months before being bottled, although half of the barrels are new French oak barrels and the other half in old oak barrels that are a year old. Although it is Latour’s second wine, the quality of the “fortress” is still comparable to that of the top four wines (Forth Growth). Château Latour produces an average of 150,000 bottles of “fortress” a year, accounting for 37% of annual production.
3. The third-class wine of Chateau Latour, Poijac, was produced for the first time in 1973, and was produced in 74 and 87 years later. It was not until 1990 that the annual production began. Pauillac is mainly made from grapes from vineyards that are not large central enclosures.
Using grapes and liquor that cannot meet the highest standards to brew second- and third-class wines not only ensures the consistent quality of genuine wines, but also avoids wasting resources, killing two birds with one stone. It can also be seen from the French people’s persistent pursuit of quality.
If it fails to meet the standard, it is better to downgrade and sell at a low price than to smash the golden signboard of genuine wine. It is this kind of persistence that has made France the country that produces the best wine in the world in two hundred years.
