Château Tour des Termes
The commune of St Estèphe is rich in cru bourgeois gems, less renowned properties turning out wines brimming with tannin, substance and flavour, yet destined to forever languish in the shadows cast by their storied classed growth counterparts. And with recent developments among the cru classé ranks, both Château Lafon-Rochet and Château Cos Labory having changed hands not that long ago, I think we can only expect the shadows cast by these grander names to grow ever longer.
And while this might not be ideal for the proprietors, it does mean that St Estèphe’s role as a reliable source of characterful wine for those prepared to look beyond the most famous labels will continue. And at a fair price too, a rare good news story for committed Bordeaux drinkers.
I have tasted the wines of Château Tour des Termes numerous times over the past ten or fifteen years, and not infrequently I come away impressed. Perhaps the most memorable encounter with them was in Edinburgh a few years ago, when I was a guest of the local branch of the Commanderie de Bordeaux. Although the dinner was as memorable for the many square miles of tartan on display – more often than not in the form if kilts and trews – as it was for the wines, which were in the case of Château Tour des Termes presented by Aurélie Anney.
Since then, however, the story of Château Tour des Termes has moved on, following in the footsteps of two of its classed growth peers, as the Anney family decided to sell the property, and a deal was struck in 2023. Before we come to these most recent events, however, we first need a little historical context.
