Chateau La Tour De By, Medoc

Description

Chateau La Tour de By is one of the most famous estates of the Medoc and can trace its origins back to vineyards planted at the site in the 1700s. It is located at Begadan in the north of the Medoc wine-growing appellation in close proximity to the Gironde. The estate’s name comes from its distinctive tower—a lighthouse built in 1825 to guide ships along the estuary—which remains a symbol of the property and features on its wine labels.

Chateau La Tour de By was purchased in 1965 by the Pages, Lapalue and Cailloux families. Eventually, the estate became the sole property of the Pages family when Marc Pages bought the estate outright in 1999. The estate is now run by Marc Pages’s grandson Frédéric Leclerc who joined the business in 2005 and his cousin, Benjamin Richer de Forges, who joined in 2009. The family also own another Medoc property called, a Cru Bourgeois called Chateau La Valiere.

Chateau La Tour de By Vineyards

Chateau La Tour de By is one of the largest estates in the Medoc comprising some 109 hectares of vineyards with an average vine age of 45 years old. The vineyards are planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. There are two main vineyard sites – 65 hectares at Begadan situated 200 metres from the Gironde on gravelly soils and 44 hectares at St Chistoly on gravel, clay and limestone soils.

The grapes for the grand vin are principally from the Begadan vineyards. Ideally located on two well-exposed gravelly ridges between the Gironde estuary and the Atlantic Ocean, the terroir here benefits from an ideal microclimate that allows the noble grape varieties to fully express their qualities. The vines have an average age of 45 years old.

The Chateau La Tour de By assemblage is Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (35%) and Petit Verdot (5%) aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, one-third new, one-third first fill and one-third second fill.

Member of the l’Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux.