A Castle Through the Centuries
Château la Tour Carnet, from the Middle Ages to the present day
THEChâteau la Tour Carnethas nobly traversed the ages since the 12th century. Indeed, this typically feudal castle, initially known as the Château de Saint-Laurent, withstood the Hundred Years' War, the great phylloxera epidemic, and the various wars that could have shaken it. From the 16th century onwards, particular care was given to the Château's vineyards, the owners realizing theexceptional terroirwhich was available to them. They therefore prioritized quality over quantity produced, a rather rare practice at the time. Their efforts were quickly rewarded; in the 1855 classification, Château la Tour Carnet appeared among the finest Grands Crus Classés of theMedocThe beginning of the 20th century, however, was somewhat more complicated, as was the case for many Bordeaux châteaux at that time. The year 1962 marked the revival of Château la Tour Carnet, which rose from the ashes under the impetus of its new owner: Louis Lipschitz, a shipowner in Bordeaux. He set about replanting the vineyard, restoring and enlarging the château, thus restoring the prestige of this illustrious Bordeaux estate. His daughter, Marie-Claire Pellegrin, along with her husband Guy François, continued his work, expanding the vineyard to 45 hectares.
The estate was finally bought in 2000 byBernard Magrez, who with the 311 hectares that the property comprises, becomes the happy owner of the largest estate of its 4 Grands Crus Classés.
The extreme variety of the terroir of Château la Tour Carnet
The diversity of the soil contributes to sublime and original wines
THEChâteau la Tour Carnetis a typical area of the appellationHaut-Médoc, while being unique due to its extremely varied terroir. Indeed, the 73 hectares of vineyards rest on a very wide mosaic of soils and subsoils, making each plot unique. Regarding the subsoil, the west is composed of limestone hillocks with asterias fossils, the slopes of which are covered with Sannoisian clay. The east of the vineyard rests on a gravelly hillock, while the north is situated on a wide plateau of fine gravel. As for the soil composition, the far west of the property has sandy-gravelly soils, the west and center have silty-gravelly and clay-limestone soils, and the east has gravelly slopes and Günzian gravel. Thisgreat diversity of soilsand the subsoil allows for a very diverse range of grape varieties as well.
Indeed, whether red or white, four grape varieties are used. For the reds, Merlot dominates at 50%, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon at 45%. Cabernet Franc accounts for 3% and Petit Verdot only 2%. For the whites, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon are both at 33%, Sauvignon Gris at 29%, and Muscadelle at 5%. All of this gives Château la Tour Carnet aoriginalitywhich cannot be found anywhere else and which, combined with masterful craftsmanship, secures its title ofbest Grand Cru Classé of the Médoc.
The unique expertise of Château la Tour Carnet
A subtle oscillation between tradition and modernity
Having access to exceptional terroir is a major advantage for theChâteau la Tour CarnetBut that's obviously not all there is to it. Indeed, withoutunique know-howAccording to its owners, the estate doesn't rank among the best. Indeed, although the work in the vineyard is done primarily by hand,the alliance between traditional and modern techniquessignificantly raises the level of the wines produced. For example, since the arrival ofBernard MagrezAt the helm of the estate, drones are used to precisely analyze the mosaic of soils in the vineyards. This has allowed them to adapt the grape varieties to best suit each individual plot. Furthermore, the Château la Tour Carnet team is well aware that, to produce truly great wines, low yields are necessary to obtain grapes of exceptional quality.exceptional qualityThus, harvesting the vineyard by hand allows the grapes to be picked only once they have reached perfect ripeness.
Once at the winery, the grapes are sorted again to keep only the best. Regarding aging and vinification, the decision was made to return to...traditional methodswhich have amply demonstrated their effectiveness in the past. If you have the opportunity to taste a wine produced by Château la Tour Carnet, you will have a very rich selection. Indeed, all their vintages are exceptional. Moreover, they offer both white and red wines, includingthe illustrious Grand Cru Classébut also a second exceptional wine, known as “Les Douves Château la Tour Carnet”.
