Chateau de la Tour Rouge 1998

This Domaine has the most unusual and prestigious location in all of Burgundy: it is the only Domaine situated in the Clos Vougeot itself, and the largest owner of vineyards inside the Clos. The vineyard holding is next to the house itself and covers 5.5 hectares (13.75 acres), right in the middle of the Clos, an ideal location. The owner and winemaker is Francois Labet who took over from his mother Jacqueline in 1986.

The vineyard is ploughed, with very little fertilizer used. Replanting is only done with material selected from the vineyard and grafted by the Domaine itself. Believing in small crops, Francois insists on very short pruning, always done in the middle of winter. Destalking is not systematic: it depends on the quality of the vintage. There is no need for chaptalization as the harvest is invariably as late as possible for maximum maturity.

Since the age of the vines is not uniform throughout the vineyard, Francois Labet ages the cuvee from the younger vines in 25% new wood. The older cuvee gets 75 to 100% new wood. The oak is from the Nevers forest.

The Clos Vougeot Cha­teau of de la Tour is a wine of considerable depth and structure, with the unmistakable breed associated with this Grand Cru.