Georges de Latour Milestones

Our Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is known as Napa Valley’s first “cult” Cabernet and often used as a benchmark for Napa Cabernets. Let’s take a look back at the major milestones in this illustrious wine’s history. 1936 After arriving at Beaulieu Vineyard in

1936

André Tchelistcheff tasted a special lot of Cabernet Sauvignon that the de Latour family created just for themselves, called Private Reserve.

1940s

The first few vintages were aged in French Oak thanks to Tchelistcheff’s French influence. After WWII broke out, French Oak was impossible to import and Tchelistcheff switched to American Oak. 

1941

Tchelistcheff was so impressed with the Private Reserve he insisted it be bottled separately. This became the first vintage of our Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and it was released in 1941.

1968

This is the vintage that current winemaker Trevor Durling tried in 2000 that blew him away and inspired him to become a winemaker.

1990s

Winemaker Joel Aiken switches back to French Oak after a suggestion from Tchelistcheff. Tchelistcheff returns to work with Aiken and his team. Together they taste through 50 vintages of Georges de Latour and conduct an in-depth study of the effects of vintage and bottle age on the vertical collection.

2008

An entire barrel warehouse is converted to a space dedicated solely to the production of Georges de Latour. It has all the bells and whistles and allows the winemaking team to do things like control the temperatures of tanks and barrels from a laptop. 

2019

The 2019 vintage of Georges de Latour is awarded with a 100-point score from James Suckling, a truly historic moment. In Suckling’s words: “This is the new 1974 George de Latour, which was a legend. Real Napa Valley red here. Drinkable now, to understand it, but truly great in five to six years and onwards. Benchmark.”