La Tour de By

Château La Tour de By wines: buy at the best price

Perched on the heights of Bégadan, in the northern Médoc, Château La Tour de By takes its name from the old lighthouse that dominates the property and appears on its labels, as well as from the lieu-dit By where its vines are planted. With 109 hectares of vineyard with an average age of forty years, it is one of the largest and most reputed crus bourgeois in the Médoc appellation. Since the 1960s and the arrival of Marc Pagès, an agronomist, the family has elevated this cru to the level of the finest addresses on the left bank, with the guidance of oenologists Jacques and Éric Boissenot.

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La Tour de By 2011
12 in stock
131224
Red
75cl
15.5/20
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Bordeaux | Médoc

La Tour de By Héritage Marc Pages 2011

€30.00 inc-VAT per bottle
€25.00 ex-VAT
La Tour de By 2011 Imperial 6L
1 in stock
131227
Red
600cl
15.5/20
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Bordeaux | Médoc

La Tour de By 2011 Impériale 6L

€108.00 inc-VAT per bottle
€90.00 ex-VAT
La Tour de By 2016
11 in stock
131225
Red
75cl
16.5/20
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Bordeaux | Médoc

La Tour de By 2016

€18.00 inc-VAT per bottle
€15.00 ex-VAT
La Tour de By 2018
10 in stock
131226
Red
75cl
15.5/20
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Bordeaux | Médoc

La Tour de By 2018

€15.60 inc-VAT per bottle
€13.00 ex-VAT
La Tour de By 2020 Double Magnum 3L
3 in stock
131231
Red
300cl
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Bordeaux | Médoc

La Tour de By 2020 Double Magnum 3L

€96.00 inc-VAT per bottle
€80.00 ex-VAT
La Tour de By 2022 Double Magnum 3L
1 in stock
131230
Red
300cl
91/100
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Bordeaux | Médoc

La Tour de By 2022 Double Magnum 3L

€78.00 inc-VAT per bottle
€65.00 ex-VAT
La Tour de By 2022 Double Magnum 3L
2 in stock
131229
Red
300cl
91/100
Add to cart
Bordeaux | Médoc

La Tour de By 2022 Double Magnum 3L

€78.00 inc-VAT per bottle
€65.00 ex-VAT
La Tour de By Cuvée Bourgeoise 2000 Imperial 6L
1 in stock
131228
Red
600cl
Add to cart
Bordeaux | Médoc

La Tour de By 2000 Impériale 6L

€180.00 inc-VAT per bottle
€150.00 ex-VAT

History of Château La Tour de By

The property formerly bore the name La Roque de By, today taken up by the estate's second wine. The tower that gave it its current name is a former 19th-century lighthouse, built to guide navigation on the Gironde estuary, whose emblematic silhouette adorns the house's labels. The château itself was built around 1876, in the style of the Médoc wine estates of the late Second Empire.

The modern history of the estate begins in the 1960s, when three families who had returned from Tunisia — the Lapalus, the Cailloux and the Pagès — joined forces to acquire this property in the lower Médoc. Marc Pagès, an agronomist engineer, quickly became its driving force and undertook fundamental work on the vineyard, the winery and selection. In 1999, the Pagès family bought out the remaining two-thirds and became the sole owner. Over four decades, Marc Pagès transformed a discreet cru bourgeois into one of the most reliable values on the left bank, regularly cited for its exceptional quality-to-price ratio and for an aging potential superior to that of most of its neighbours. In 1982, he created with the legendary oenologist Émile Peynaud an exceptional cuvée then named Prestige, today renamed Héritage Marc Pagès in tribute to its founder. The estate is now managed by two grandsons of Marc Pagès, Frédéric Le Clerc, who heads the estate, and his cousin Benjamin Richer de Forges, commercial director, who continue the same pursuit of excellence.

Terroirs and Vines of Château La Tour de By

Crossed by the 45th parallel, the estate occupies an ideal position between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde estuary, two bodies of water that play a role as thermal regulators and create a microclimate particularly conducive to vine cultivation. This situation limits spring frosts and extends the end of the season, encouraging a slow and steady ripening of the cabernet sauvignon.

The vineyard is divided into two distinct sections. The first surrounds the château, along the riverbank, on magnificent gravel ridges that tasters readily compare to those of Montrose or Sociando-Mallet. The second extends toward Saint-Christoly-Médoc, on slightly different terroirs that bring complementarity and freshness to the blends. The whole covers 109 hectares, planted exclusively with noble grape varieties: 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot and 5% petit verdot. Planting densities range from 5,500 to 10,000 vines per hectare depending on the plot, adapted to the nature of each sector, with an average vine age of forty years. It is precisely the quality of this terroir that explains why the wines of La Tour de By age significantly better than the appellation average.

Winemaking at Château La Tour de By

Harvesting is carried out plot by plot according to ripeness, with careful sorting upon reception. Each grape variety and each sector are vinified separately in order to preserve the legibility of the terroir through to the final blend, which is carried out with the assistance of oenologists Jacques and Éric Boissenot, an absolute reference in the Médoc.

Fermentations take place in temperature-controlled tanks, with measured extractions designed to obtain fine tannins rather than excessive concentration. Aging then varies considerably depending on the cuvées, which structures the entire range: approximately sixteen months in French oak barrels with 30% new wood for the fine wine, nearly twenty months in new barrels for Héritage Marc Pagès, following the traditions of the greatest classified growths of the Médoc, and only three months in barrel for La Roque de By, intended to be drunk young. The pleasure cuvées are aged primarily in tank in order to preserve all their fresh fruitiness. This range of aging methods allows the estate to offer, from a single terroir, wines ranging from an everyday bottle to a twenty-year cellar wine.

The cuvées of Château La Tour de By

Château La Tour de By rouge (Médoc AOC): the estate's flagship wine, produced at approximately 40,000 cases per year, making it one of the most widely distributed crus bourgeois in the world. A blend dominated by cabernet sauvignon complemented by merlot and a touch of petit verdot, aged approximately sixteen months in barrels with 30% new wood. The colour is deep, the nose classic and refined, combining blackcurrant, black cherry, cedar, graphite and gentle spices, with a hint of the noble vegetal character typical of cabernet from the northern Médoc. The palate is straight, structured and easy-drinking, carried by firm tannins that soften with a few years in bottle. A northern Margaux, in short: classic, serious, built for cellaring, and capable of holding for fifteen to twenty years in great vintages. Decant for approximately one hour.

Cuvée Héritage Marc Pagès (Médoc AOC): the estate's exceptional cuvée, created in 1982 by Marc Pagès and Émile Peynaud under the name Prestige. It comes from a selection of the oldest plots in the vineyard, with a blend generally composed of approximately 80% cabernet sauvignon and 20% merlot, aged for nearly twenty months in new barrels. The result is a wine of heightened aromatic substance yet imbued with delicacy, with a shimmering nose, an exalted body and remarkable persistence. A bottle that competes without hesitation with many classified growths.

Château La Roque de By (Médoc AOC): the estate's second wine, which bears the historic name of the property. Sourced from the youngest plots and aged only three months in barrels, it is a fruit-forward wine with a fine and velvety structure, which can be enjoyed from a very young age. An excellent introduction to the house style.

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