Château La Tour Haut-Brion


	CHATEAU LA TOUR HAUT-BRION

An aristocratic family for an aristocratic wine..

During the Middle Ages, the actual Château La Tour Haut-Brion was considered part of the estate of the Noble House of "La Tour Rostaing", sometimes called "La Tour d'Esquivens".

The Rostaings were the first family to produce a high quality viticulture as early as the end of the Middle Ages. In 1540 Louis de Rostaing, Lord of La Tour, also owned the vineyards of the Arredjehuys, that today forms part of Mission haut-Brion.
In the middle of the 18th Century, La Tour Haut-Brion belonged to Guillaume Joseph Saige. In 1792, his widow refused to emigrate although her son, mayor of Bordeaux after Joseph de Fumel, landlord of Château Haut-Brion, was guillotined. By doing so, she avoided the confiscation of her estate.
The landlords of the 19th Century paved the way for the 20th century...
As early as 1832, La Tour Haut-Brion was considered as a viticultural estate with its own buildings. It included a chai, a vatroom with four vats, a wine-press in stone and one in wood, four barrels and a square tower. The two pieces of vineyard cover a surface of slightly over 12 acres.
During the 19th century, the owners of La Tour, the Cayrou brothers, added the name of Haut-Brion to the name of La Tour. In 1850, the authors of the famous "Cocks and Féret" acknowledged the name of La Tour Haut-Brion and stated that the estate produced 25 barrels of wine.

Louis Uzac, owner of La Tour Haut-Brion from 1858 to 1884, brought many improvements to the estate. He rebuilt the house, a large part of the servants' quarters, and restored the little tower.

By 1890, the estate was much improved. It included a large manor house, servants' quarters, a chai, a vatroom, horse stables, a greenhouse, a water tower, an English garden and a vegetable garden.
Victor Coustau acquired La Tour Haut-Brion in 1890. He enjoyed the peacefulness of the estate and settled down in the house of La Tour, even after he purchased La Mission in 1903. The park shadowed by sequoias imported from America is still very peaceful and relaxing...