In 1932, Bordeaux wine merchants came together with the backings of their local Chambers of Commerce and Agriculture to create a prestigious list of standout estates—the ‘Cru Bourgeois’ —and Château Tour Saint-Fort was one of them. Sadly, along with many other properties, Château Tour Saint-Fort was almost entirely decimated due to constant bombardment in World War II and it wasn’t until the early ‘90s when they regained their former prominence: A man named Jean-Louis Laffort assumed control and made it his mission to revitalize this estate of old. 

Despite the brilliance in the bottle, Château Tour Saint-Fort doesn’t have much presence here in America, but that’s no fault of theirs: Compared to the tens of thousands of hectares that are planted throughout Bordeaux, this estate only accounts for 14 of them, located just outside of a hamlet called Laujac, just southwest of Saint-Estèphe proper. Their 50-year-old vines are planted heavily to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with a small percentage of Petit Verdot, and the final blend in their wines typically reflect this. In 2001, manual vine care and harvest was carried out in lutte raisonnée fashion and the grapes saw a three-day cold soak before a nearly month-long fermentation/maceration in stainless steel vats. The wine was then transferred into 100% fine-grained Allier oak barrels—approximately 40% new—for 18 months. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

In the glass, Tour Saint-Fort’s 2001 Saint-Estèphe reveals an opaque, dark garnet red core with lighter garnet and brick orange hues on the rim. Being unfined, unfiltered, and nearly two decades old, this Bordeaux sheds a generous amount of sediment, so be sure to let it stand upright for a day or two before opening. When you do finally pull the cork, the wine initially releases sweet fruits, baking spice, and dried earth components, but after 10-15 minutes the entire orchestra erupts: cherries, red and black currants, red plums, dried tobacco leaf, leather, dried herbs, cedar, cacao, baking spices, bay leaf, and wet gravel all seamlessly blend together. The medium-bodied palate, too, shows an impressive array of developed flavors, alongside a fresh rush of acidity and red-black fruits. In terms of its drinking window, this is at its true apogee and will remain here over the next couple years, but will continue drinking at a high level over the next 5+ years. I would advise decanting (or double decanting) only to shed additional sediment and consuming this over the first few hours—it’s still fresh and lively, but there are so many delicacies that could be lost with excess exposure to air. Serve in Bordeaux stems around a steady 60-65 degrees and pair with slow-cooked beef cheeks and a mushroom ragù. It’s not a quick and easy recipe, but it will sing alongside this aged beauty. Cheers!