Château La Tour de By
The Château La Tour de By in Bégadan on the northern Médoc peninsula near Bordeaux is one of the largest wineries in the Cru Bourgeois class . It has about 75 hectares of planted vineyards.
history
The estate has been known as “La Roque de By” since at least the 16th century. In 1599, Pierre Tizon, Seigneur du Fief de By acquired the winery. The estate remained in his family for 125 years until a Comte de Gramont bought it in 1725. Later it was owned by a Monsieur de Lignac. In 1825 the distinctive eponymous tower with a view over the Gironde was built on the ruins of a windmill .
In 1860 Alfred Rubichon bought the estate. In 1876 he had the main building of the winery built with a view of the Gironde. Julien Damoy later bought the estate and lived on La Tour de By until 1942. In December 1965, Marc Pages and Monsieurs Lapalu and Cailloux bought the estate. The Pages family has owned the estate alone since 1999.
Vines
Among the 75 hectares of cultivation area of the estate, the Cabernet Sauvignon stands out with 65%. 30% of the area is built with Merlot , and the remaining 5% is occupied by the Petit Verdot . The mean age of the vines is 35 years.
Wines
Depending on the course of the year, three or four wines are produced from the area under cultivation:
- The Grand Vin "Château La Tour de By", the main wine of the estate, which, depending on the characteristics of the vintage , is aged for about twelve months in oak barrels (" barriques "), 40% of which are new.
- The “Château La Roque de By” is made from the younger parcels and is stored in oak barrels for about three months before being bottled.
- The “Cuvee de Prestige”, a special cuvee with a small proportion of quantities, which will only be made from the top plots in the best two or three out of ten years. In the tradition of the great and famous Grand Cru estates, this wine is aged for twenty months in completely new oak barrels.
- "Les Tourterelles de La Tour de By": a fruity wine that is ready to drink early.
owner
The estate is privately owned by Marc Pages. He and his son Xavier also own the Château Noaillac in Jaudignac-Loirac. Marc Pages passed away on July 4, 2007.
Reviews
The internationally known wine critic Robert Parker wrote about the estate: "La Tour de By produces rich, fruity, solid wines with good color, which only lack complexity and intensity in the bouquet." Parker point evaluations of the wines of this estate do not exist, however.
When Hugh Johnson , the vintages 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1990 are listed as drinkable. The 1982, 1995 and 1998 vintages could gain from further storage. The year 2000 turned out to be excellent. The years 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2001 are already very pleasant. (Status 2007)
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