Château Tour de Pez

Identity

Château Tour de Pez is a winegrowing estate located in the commune of Saint-Estèphe, in the Gironde. It is owned by Vignobles de Larose SA, with management led by Lorraine Watrin.

History and philosophy

The vineyard of Château Tour de Pez dates back to the 17th century. The name “Cru Lhereteyre” appeared as early as 1838, the year the estate was classified as a Cru Bourgeois. In 2019, Château Tour de Pez was acquired by Vignobles de Larose. From the start of the transition in 2018, changes were introduced regarding viticultural practices, including the cessation of chemical weeding and the introduction of ploughing. The estate is committed to a corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach and is certified Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE).

The appellations

The wines of Château Tour de Pez are produced under the Saint-Estèphe appellation.

Practical information

Château Tour de Pez is located at Lieu-dit l'Héreteyre, 33180 Saint-Estèphe. The estate does not offer tours or on-site cellar-door sales, and opening hours indicate it is closed from Monday to Sunday. For any enquiries, the estate can be contacted by telephone on 0556594172 or 0682230197, or by email at visite-vdl@vignoblesdelarose.com. The estate is also active on social media via Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vignoblesdelarose/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vignoblesdelarose).

Find out more

Official estate website

The vineyard (terroir)

The Château Tour de Pez vineyard covers an area of 19 hectares, divided into 39 plots. The soils form a mosaic of fine gravel, gravelly sand, clay, and clay-limestone over a limestone subsoil. The parcels are situated in the lieux-dits of le Haillan, Coutelin, and Hôpital. The average vine age is 35 years, with a planting density of approximately 8,000 vines/ha. The grape variety plantings consist of 65% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 11% Cabernet Franc. Viticultural practices include pesticide-free soil tillage, cover cropping (with clover and specific grasses), manual leaf-thinning, and green harvesting. From 2020 onwards, the vines' root systems began being trained to adapt to ploughing.

Flagship cuvées

The estate's principal cuvée is Château Tour de Pez, a red wine. It is complemented by a second wine, Les Hauts de Pez. Château Tour de Pez is classified as a Cru Bourgeois.

Vinification and ageing

Harvesting has been carried out by hand since 2019. The fruit undergoes optical sorting. Starting with the 2020 vintage, cold pre-fermentation maceration has been implemented using truncated cone-shaped vats fitted with a cold-water circulation system, allowing the crop to be cooled by 15 degrees to prolong alcohol-free maceration. Rack-and-return, punching-down, and pump-over operations are performed using the Air Pulse technique to ensure gentle extraction. Traditional vinification takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. Ageing lasts 14 to 16 months in French oak barrels, with a proportion of 30% or 50% new oak depending on available information, and 70% one-wine barrels. Cooperage is diversified across 5 or 6 different cooperages.