By Rick VanSickle

PAUILLAC, Bordeaux — And so a dream became a reality.

Driving up to the entrance of Chateau Latour, just outside the rows of perfectly planted vines, some of the most pampered grape vines on the planet, we are met by an ominous black, rot-iron gate and steel posts that will stop any vehicle in its tracks, should any dare try to enter without permission. We gently pull up, announce that we have an appointment and slowly the posts sink to allow passage into the hallowed grounds that house one of the world's most recognized wineries.

We are in Bordeaux and, perhaps more importantly, the epicenter of the wine world in Pauillac, where majestic chateaux — Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Chateau Lynch-Bages, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, to name a few — dot the landscape every which way you look. It is an oenophile's dream come true just to be here among the greatest wines and vineyards of the world.
As we slowly take the long cruise up the driveway, the famous Chateau Latour tower (not the one that adorns every bottle of wine made here, that's long gone) juts out from the vineyard as a beacon of the proud history of the winery. It is at once both awe-inspiring and troubling.

It is a powerful symbol of both the history of Bordeaux and Chateau Latour in particular.
The tower was built as a pigeon house in the 1620s, which has become the modern emblem of the chateau, reminiscent of centuries gone by when Aquitaine needed protection from invading armies. The original tower, the one made famous on the label, called the Tower of St. Lambert, was built as a fortress during the Hundred Years War around 1331. It was burned to the ground in the 1450s. The pigeon house tower was built in its place and that is what you see when drive through the gates of the estate today.

Chateau Latour is located in the famous Medoc wine region, about 40 kms northwest of the city of Bordeaux. It is here that terroir, the perfect combination of grapes, geography, geology and climate come together like nowhere else. The estate consists of 78 hectares of vineyards. The 47 hectares surrounding the chateau, the heart of the estate, are called l'Enclos. Only the grapes from there make it into the Grand Vin de Chateau Latour. L'Enclos has a typical Medoc topography, with a gentle rise in the ground, bounded on the north and south by two small streams, and on the east by the palus, the low lying meadows by the river. But this enclos benefits from a very unique terroir that combines an optimized sub-soil nutrition for the vines, the Gironde River which tempers extreme weather conditions, and a typical Medoc climate, largely influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, which allows the grapes to reach maturation under favourable conditions. This combination determines the personality and the characteristics of Chateau Latour. It also imposes, almost naturally, a selective choice of grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (80%), Merlot (18%) and Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Latour's wines are defined by their elegance, intensity and smooth mouth feel. The tannic backbone gives the wines their longevity in the cellar. The winery at Latour is a sprawling, high-tech, modern-day wonder. It is spotlessly clean, efficient and spacious. Even our guide fits in with the architecture; attractive, chic and all business as she checks us in and we embark on a quick guided tour. We start at the logical beginning of the process, in the "cuvier" (vathouse) where the harvested grapes are hoisted to be destemmed and crushed. The juice, pips and skins are then lightly pumped into the fermentation vats, 66 different vats from 66 different blocks of vines, following three criteria: geographical parcel origin, the age of the vines and the grape varieties. All the grapes brought into the winery are hand-picked and hard-sorted before crushing. The juice is than sent gently to stainless steel vats. After four weeks, the wine is separated from the skins and returned to the vats to undergo malolactic fermentation to give the wine a rounder, more supple feel in the mouth. After fermentation, the winemakers hold frequent tastings to decide the final destination of each vat and which will go into the three wines made at Latour: Chateau Latour, Les Forts de Latour or the generic Pauillac. The wine is finally drawn off into 100% new oak casks (1,000 barrels) in December where they are matured for 18 months. Finally, during the course of the following winter, the wine is fined with egg whites (there is no filtration at Latour). Bottling of the wines is determined by constant tastings. The wine can remain in cask for up to 18 months while waiting for it to shed its youthful vigour while maintaining richness. The capsuling, labelling and packing in wooden cases is done immediately prior to being shipped, thus ensuring an impeccable presentation. All bottles are wrapped by a fine white tissue paper, and marked with a special code to prevent fake wines from reaching the market. The process takes about two months. We are guided into our final stop along the tour, an immaculate tasting room that looks out into the most famous vineyards in the world. The magnitude of the 2009 vintage had us giddy with anticipation as our guide poured five wines spread out neatly on a tasting sheet.

The doors to Chateau Latour The vines The famous tower Quite a cellar! The wines The barrels

Here's what we tasted:

The Pauillac 2009 — The grapes for this "generic" Pauillac are generally from young vines from the three plots situated outside the Grand l'Enclos. It can be considered the third wine of Chateau Latour and is composed of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon and 46% Merlot. Our barrel sample had wonderful aromatics of wild berries, vanilla and firm oak tones. In the mouth it showed rich black fruits, youthful power and tannic structure.

Les Forts de Latour 2009 ($209 a bottle, futures price) — This famous second wine of Latour is made with the grapes from the young vines, less than 12 years old, and may contain declassified wine from the Grand Vin. But, like its big brother, this is a serious wine that is sold en primeur just like other classified Bordeaux. It is comprised of 61.5% Cab Sauv, 32.3% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot. The nose is extremely tight from the barrel sample but is a deep purple colour with aromas of oak, crushed black fruits, mineral and a nice smoky nuance. It shows its teeth on the palate with an explosion of black fruit flavours, oak tones, spice and power. Built to last for decades in the cellar.

Chateau Latour 2009 ($1,395 a bottle, futures price) — By now we have all heard of the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux. Some say it the best vintage in 30 years in Bordeaux. It's certainly got collectors wagging their tails with the highest "future" prices ever paid for a vintage. The 09 Latour just may well turn out to be the wine of the vintage. It is a monster. The blend is 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot. Production is 120,000 bottles with an unusually large alcohol content of 13.7%. There are predictions that this super-concentrated wine will survive 100 or more years in bottle. Think about that! 100 years. Certainly, based on colour alone, an opaque, inky, purple, it looks visually stunning. The aromas come rushing at you — sweet currants, blackberry, cocoa, oak, layers of stony minerality, and spice. It is enthralling on the palate, even at this stage from barrel, with a powerful frame, highly-extracted black fruits, layered, textured and built on pure power. A monumental wine, to be sure, and such a privilege to have tasted it.

We left the tasting room, our teeth black from barrel sampling some of the world's greatest wines, with a warm, glowing feeling. We toured the grounds a bit, savouring our magical 45 minutes of pure wine bliss. And, yes, took some touristy shots outside the big purple doors of Chateau Latour.

It was dream to visit Latour. And now it is a sweet, sweet memory.
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