Learn everything about Chateau Latour, Pauillac, First Growth with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, a history of the property, information on the vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles
Chateau Latour History, Overview
Chateau Latour is one of the oldest continuous Bordeaux wine-producing properties in the Pauillac appellation with a history dating all the way back to the 14th century! The estate takes its name from the original Saint-Lambert tower placed close to the chateau that was created in the second half of the 14th century.
Historical documents show, on October 18, 1331, Pons, the Seigneur of Castillon, allowed one of the most prosperous families in the Medoc to create a fortress in the area of Saint-Lambert. They were responsible for erecting the original tower that the estate is named for today.
At the end of the 17th century, after a succession of sales, inheritances, and marriages, Chateau Latour became the property of the Segur family. In 1718, thanks to Marquis Nicolas-Alexandre de Segur, the modern history of Chateau Latour starts taking place.
Following the marriage of Alexandre de Segur and Marie-Therese de Clausel, the property became part of the de Segur family remaining in their hands for almost 300 years. Just before his death in 1716, Alexandre de Segur bought Chateau Lafite.
Two years later, his son, Nicolas-Alexandre, (called “the Prince of Vines”) increased the family holdings when he purchased what would later become Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Calon Segur. In fact, for a 2 year period, (1718-1720) the de Segur family owned 3 of what would become the 5 First Growths, Chateau Latour, Chateau Lafite, and what we know of today as Chateau Mouton Rothschild!
Like most great estates in Bordeaux, the owners did not live at the property. So the management of Chateau Latour fell to a director who produced detailed reports on the estate’s activities. This organization involved complete administration maintenance, viticulture expenses, and correspondence with the owner. This information allows us to understand what really took place at Latour during the last 300 years.
By the start of the 18th century, the wine of Chateau Latour was recognized around the world. The aristocracy and other wealthy consumers loved wines from the top chateaux, of which Chateau Latour was considered one of the best in the Medoc.
That is how Thomas Jefferson, Ambassador of the United States to France and future President of the United States discovered the vineyard in 1787. Even then, Chateau Latour was an expensive wine. To give you an idea of the price of Latour in its day, Chateau Latour was selling more for more than twenty times as much as one of ordinary Bordeaux wines.
The existing chateau was built between 1862 and 1864. Jumping to the next century, in 1963, the heirs of the Marquis de Segur sold most of their remaining shares in Chateau Latour.
The new shareholders became “Harveys of Bristol” and “Hallminster Limited”, both British Limited Companies. “Hallminster Limited” belonged to the Pearson Group, and held more than 50% of the shares of Chateau Latour.
However, the new owners kept the 120-year-old name of “Societe Civile du Vignoble de Chateau Latour”. At the time of the purchase, it was clear to everyone that the Left Bank property needed major renovations in the cellars and the vineyard required extensive replanting.
In 1963 Chateau Latour expanded their vineyards by 12.5 hectares. They planted two additional plots just outside the “Enclos,” vineyard, which was owned by the property since 1850. This is the source of Les Forts de Latour. In 1968 improvements were made to the vineyard’s drainage system. The wine-making facilities were also renovated.
Chateau Latour The Modern Age
Extensive restoration and an extension of the winery at Chateau Latour started taking place in 1964. At the time, a decision was made to replace the old wooden vats with new stainless steel ones.
Stainless steel was perfect for alcoholic fermentation as it allows temperatures to be automatically controlled by chilled water flowing down the sides of the vats. At that time, it was a revolutionary change in Bordeaux. This marked the start of the modern era for Chateau Latour.
In 1989, Allied Lyons, already the owner of 25% of the shares of Chateau Latour bought Pearson’s shares as well as those remaining in the hands of some individual owners to become the majority owner. In July 1993 they sold all their shares of Chateau Latour to François Pinault for 131 Million dollars.
The price turned out to be one of the great deals for a chateau in the history of Bordeaux as the stock in the cellars alone was rumored to be worth close to 60 Million Dollars at the time! The next important decision made by Francois Pinault turned out to be equally savvy when he decided to hire Frederic Engerer.
Frederic Engerer was already familiar with the Pinault family, as both Engerer and the son of Francois Pinault, François-Henri Pinault attended the same university. Since Frederic Engerer took over management of the property in 1995, things have never been better.
In fact, some of the finest wines, if not the best wines produced in the history of Chateau Latour continue to be produced during his tenure. In 1998, the chateau renovated their cellars and vat rooms, adding several new, smaller sized, stainless steel tanks to give the estate the ability to vinify on a parcel by parcel basis.
In 2012, Chateau Latour announced they would no longer be selling Chateau Latour as a future. 2011 was the final vintage they sold En Primeur. Chateau Latour began releasing their wines when they were considered ready to drink. The 2012 was released in 2020.
Chateau Latour Character and Style
Chateau Latour is like no other Bordeaux wine. It is in a unique class of its own. Chateau Latour has been the most consistent of the First Growth chateaux from the Medoc for over 100 years! Since 1996, Chateau Latour has been producing some of the best wines in their history!
Chateau Latour combines power, concentration, purity, just a hint of austerity and a regal bearing. In its youth, it is not a lot of fun to drink. It can be a bit hard to open. But with aging, you quickly discover its full-bodied, power coupled with that beautiful purity of fruit, velvet, refined tannins, and layers of cassis, earth, truffle, spice, and tobacco flavors.
Chateau, Latour in the top vintages require decades to fully develop. But the wines can age for decades as well. It is not unusual to taste 50-60-70-year-old bottles from top vintages that are sublime. Once you taste a mature bottle of Latour, you’ll understand why it was worth the wait!
Chateau Latour Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking
The 92-hectare Chateau Latour vineyard has 78 hectares cultivated with vines that are planted to 74.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23.8 Merlot, 1.8% Cabernet Franc and .02% Petit Verdot.
This is a slight change in the vineyard makeup as the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon has been decreased, Petit Verdot is almost invisible, and more Merlot has been planted in the vineyards. The Cabernet Franc has also been reduced over the years.
However, it is imperative to understand that the heart and soul of the Chateau Latour vineyard, located close to the Chateau is a 47-hectare parcel known as “Enclos”. There are many people in Bordeaux that consider those 47 hectares to be the best terroir in all of Bordeaux.
The 47 hectares of vines in the Enclos vineyard remains almost unchanged since 1794. Only grapes sourced from Enclos are used to produce the Grand Vin of Chateau Latour. When you delve deeper into the soils of the Enclos, you find diversity.
To the north and south, the soils have more clay and marl. In the center of Enclos, which is close to the chateau, you unearth more deep gravel and clay. This is the section that provides the power, grace, and depth of Chateau Latour. The powerful tannins often come from vines planted closer to the edge of the Enclos.
It is the blending of all these parcels that provide the brilliance of the wine here. Overall, the vineyard of Chateau Latour offers elevations and gentle slopes, easy access to water, due to its close proximity to the Gironde and terroir of gravel, marl with clay soils with deep deposits of limestone in the soil.
Underneath the topsoil, you find more gravel, with some clay and sand. The gravel at Latour can run from between 4 to 5 meters deep. The elevations are close to 14 meters at its peak.
One can actually break down the soils of Chateau Latour into three distinctive types, large gravel stones, smaller gravel rocks or pebbles, and clay. Of course, it’s the gravel soils that are perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon. But Chateau Latour has a type of clay in their terroir that is incredibly dense called “Argile Gonflante”.
You can also divide the Latour vineyard into 3 main parcels, with the largest section placed closest to the chateau, abutting Leoville Las Cases to the south. The Comtesse de Lalande parcel is placed between Pauillac and St. Julien and they own another parcel, Petit Batailley, which is just slightly further inland as is Pinada.
They also own vines in a block known as Ste-Anne, which is due west, as well as 8 hectares of vines in a parcel known as Artigues, that is used for their third wine.
However, it is important to note that the majority of the Latour vineyards are located to the right of the D2 Highway, providing it better access to the river, which gives it a unique micro-climate. Another important distinction is that the vineyards of Chateau Latour have more slopes with various elevations than any of the other First Growths.
The terroir is deep gravel-based soil with rich clay found in the subsoils. Most of the Merlot planted at Chateau Latour resides in the lower parcels of the Enclos section where the gravel layers are not as prominent, nor as deep. It is the depth of the gravels along with the rich clay that creates the uniqueness of Chateau Latour.
In that section of the vineyard, the marls and clay layers are more apparent in the soil. The small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot in the vines are more likely field blends as they are found inside the vines of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. On average, the vines are about 40 years of age.
But Chateau Latour is fortunate to have old vines as well. Some of the oldest vines at Chateau Latour are over 100 years of age. Those vines, which are all Cabernet Sauvignon, are in a small parcel known as Le Sarmentier. The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 10,000 vines per hectare.
Chateau Latour is fortunate to have old vines as well, some of which are close to 100 years of age. The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 10,000 vines per hectare.
Chateau Latour Biodynamic and Organic Farming.
Starting in 2008, Chateau Latour began using horses to churn the soils in select parcels of vines. Currently, 7 horses are used to work the Enclos vineyard. Sustainable farming is stressed at Chateau Latour. In 2013, 24 hectares were being farmed using biodynamic techniques while 7 hectares were organically farmed.
Starting with the 2015 vintage, the entire Enclos vineyard is farmed using 100% organic techniques and 50% of the vines are being farmed using biodynamic techniques.
This means that to fight disease, they rely on a myriad of different plants, copper and sulfur, which are all found in nature. All fertilizers are 100% organic.
In 2019, the entire vineyard of Latour was certified as being 100% organic. That makes a huge statement in Bordeaux.
The best vintages of Chateau Latour are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1996, 1995, 1990, 1982, 1975, 1971, 1970, 1966, 1964, 1962, 1961, 1959, 1955, 1953, 1949, 1948, 1945, 1934, 1929, 1928, 1926, 1921 and 1900.
Chateau Latour has an almost unequaled track record for producing stunning wines that age and evolve for decades, if not generations. While mature vintages of Chateau Latour sell for a lot of money, if you have the disposable income, and want to experience the greatness of an older, mature First Growth, this is the wine to buy.
Chateau Latour Winemaking
To produce the wine of Chateau Latour, vinification takes place in 80 temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats that vary in size from as small as 12 hectoliters up to 164 hectoliters. This range in vat sizes and capacities allows for true, precise, parcel by parcel vinification.
The decision as to what specific grape variety or parcel goes into each vat depends on the age of the vines, the varietal, and the specific location inside each individual parcel.
Malolactic fermentation takes place in vat. Since the cellars were last renovated in 2001, everything in the cellar moves by gravity flow. Chateau Latour is aged in 100% new, French oak barrels, while Les Forts de Latour is aged in 50% new, French oak barrels.
Les Forts de Latour
There is a second wine, Les Forts de Latour, which comes from the young vines of the Enclos and surrounding vineyards. The vines used to produce Les Forts de Latour are most often at least 12 years of age. Les Forts de Latour made its debut in 1966. However, before 1990, it was only made in a few vintages. Since 1990, Les Forts de Latour has been produced in every vintage and offered for sale as a future.
It is important to note that Les Forts de Latour is not exactly a second wine as the vines used to produce the wine are not the same as those used to make the Grand Vin. In essence, it is a unique wine that if there was a reclassification, the wine would be included as it is equal to most Third Growths.
There is also a third wine, Le Pauillac de Chateau Latour. Le Pauillac de Chateau Latour is produced from grapes that were deemed not good enough to be placed in Les Forts de Latour. Pauillac de Chateau Latour made its debut in 1965 and was produced only occasionally, until 1990. Since then, it has been produced every vintage.
Chateau Latour was the first property to produce a third Bordeaux wine. This practice was started at some point in the 1970s. While still not common, today, other properties are following in their lead in both banks.
Today, the production of Chateau Latour ranges depending on the vintage and its character. Considering the massive amount of demand, not much is made. On average, between 10,000 and 12,000 cases per year are produced of Chateau Latour Grand Vin, which represents about 37% of the production from the harvest.
Production of Chateau Latour has been intentionally declining over the years and the quality, concentration and complexity has been increasing, along with the price.
To give you an idea of what has been taking place, the 2000 vintage was the last time Chateau Latour had a large production. In that vintage 15,000 cases were produced. Since that time, production has ranged.
For example, in 2003, production was 10,800 cases, 2005 saw 12,000 cases and in 2010 close to 11,000 cases were produced of Chateau Latour. In other years the production could even be less. For example in 2009, roughly 8,000 cases of Latour were produced.
When to Drink Chateau Latour, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time
Chateau Latour is not a wine to drink on the young side. The wine is usually far too tannic, powerful and reserved during its youth. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 3-6 hours, give or take. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.
Chateau Latour is usually better with at least 15 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Latour offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 18 and 60 years of age after the vintage.
Serving Chateau Latour with Wine and Food Pairings
Chateau Latour is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.
Chateau Latour is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised and grilled dishes. Chateau Latour is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms and pasta.
In 2011, Chateau Latour added to their holdings in Pauillac when they purchased the 4-hectare vineyard of Chateau La Becasse from the Fonteneau family. The vines are used for the production of Forts de Latour.
Chateau Latour became one of the first major Bordeaux chateaus to embrace anti-counterfeiting measures with the use of the Prooftag system which is in place on the label, bottle and capsule of all future and current releases.
In 2015, Chateau Latour completed renovations which included new offices, tasting rooms and cellars. In fact, Chateau Latour became the first estate in the Medoc to maintain a cellar solely devoted to keeping magnums and other large-format bottling’s dating back to 1900. The new cellars were a necessity as they allowed Latour to retain vast stocks of wines, for later releases.
The Pinault family also own other wineries through their holding company the Artemis Group. In Burgundy, they own Domaine d’Eugenie, previously known as Domaine Rene Engel. The vines are located in the Vosne Romanee appellation in the Cote de Nuits. Late 2017, marked another addition to their holdings in Burgundy when they purchased Clos de Tart for a record-setting price of more than 30 Million Euros per hectare!
In the Northern Rhone Valley, they own Chateau Grillet, which prior to their recent sale had been owned by the same family since 1830!
In July 2013, the family added to their list of vineyards with the purchase of Araujo Estate wines, in the Napa Valley. Araujo has since been renamed Eisele Vineyards. The following year, in 2014, The Artemis Group made their first purchase in the Right Bank, when they invested in Chateau Vray Croix de Gay, Pomerol, Chateau Siaurac, which is located in the Lalande de Pomerol appellation and Chateau Le Prieure in St. Emilion. They sold all their Right Bank vineyards, September 2020 to Suravenir Insurance, the owner of Chateau Calon Segur.
Château Latour Wine Tasting Notes
100 Vintages 2,323,007 Views Sort by Vintage-Rating
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2023
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Quite expressive in the nose which already displays flowers, blackberries, blueberries, citrus, and Cuban cigars in the nose. This is wine focused on its freshness, energy, purity length, and complexity. The wine exchanges power for a blend of elegance, spice, drinkability, vibrancy, and sapidity. It is a sneaky wine. At first, due to its style, you might think it is an easy wine. But, do not let the initial impression fool you. The wine continues building, expanding, and retaining its racy, core of dark, red fruits, with a touch of salt that shows up in the finish. The wine is a blend of 92.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7.7% Merlot. 13.2% ABV. 3.75 pH. Harvest September 7-October 2. The length of the harvest is due to breaks between picking, parcels, and varietals. The wine represents 39.1% of the harvest. Drink from 2033-2065. 97-99 Pts. 1,552 Views Tasted May 4, 2024 |
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2023
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Smoke, blackberries, licorice, cigar wrapper, cedar, and currants permeate the nose. On the palate, the wine is vibrant, fresh, forward, and supple. The fruits are clean, fresh, and vibrant, leaving you with a juicy, red with black currant finish. This should drink well early, yet provide pleasure for at least 2 or more decades. The wine was produced from blending 55.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40.2% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot. 13.7% ABV, 3.7 pH. The wine represents 41% of the harvest. Drink from 2028-2045. 94-96 Pts. 2,332 Views Tasted May 4, 2024 |
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2023
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Blackberries, currants, licorice, and flowers are on display in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is fresh, supple, creamy, and offers its charming, creme de cassis filled core with ease. The wine was produced from a blend of 61.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34.1% Merlot, and 4.7% Petit Verdot.13.5% Abv. Drink 2028-2040. 92-94 Pts. 2,021 Views Tasted May 4, 2024 |
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2022
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Dark in color, the fruit profile is equally dark with its blackberries, black currants, aged, Cuban cigars, flowers, tobacco leaf, orange rind and black cherries. Finesse balanced with power, and length. Purity meshed with elegance, and strength. It takes only sip to declare its character, which is its layers of depth, regal austerity and refinement. There is a diamond like exterior to the fruit, delivering a modern classic-style that is a slightly austere, cool, sensuous and powerful style of Latour. There is ample concentration of fruit, with firm tannins and a seamless finish packed with currants and orange rind that keeps on going, well past the 60-second mark. It might not be for sale for a decade. But, if you are a fan of Latour, when this comes up for sale, grab it, as it represents everything great about Chateau Latour! The wine is a blend of 92.45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.4% Merlot and .015% Petit Verdot. 14.19% ABV, 3.85 pH. Harvest September 6 - September 24. The wine represents less than 39% of the harvest. Yields were 30.6 hectoliters per hectare. Last, but not least, in case I was not clear about how good this wine is, not only is a candidate for wine of the vintage, but it competes with any of the best vintages of Latour ever produced! Drink from 2032-2065. 99-100 Pts. 5,204 Views Tasted May 8, 2023 |
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2022
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Tobacco leaf, peppery herbs, creme de cassis, forest floor, cedar, and white pepper notes open the aromatic profile. On the palate, the wine is sweet, rich, ripe, fresh and clean, with layers of blackberries, and black currants. There is a softness to the tannins, as well as structure to the creamy-textured wine, and freshness in the finish that you can feel as it lingers. The wine was produced from blending 58.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37.9% Merlot, and 3.4% Petit Verdot. 14.47% ABV, 3.7 pH. The wine represents 41% of the harvest. Drink from 2028-2045. 94-96 Pts. 4,426 Views Tasted May 8, 2023 |
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2022
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Blackberries, black currants, and tobacco leaf show in the nose. On the palate, the wine is loaded with sweet and spicy spicy cassis with ample lift and freshness. There is tension and finesse with chewy fruits in the mid-palate and in the finish. You can think of this as a baby Latour. The wine was produced from a blend of 48.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46.2% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot.14.9% Abv, 3.7 pH. Drink 2027-2040. 92-94 Pts. 3,948 Views Tasted May 8, 2023 |
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2021
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
The red fruits come with freshness, vitality, and leafy, minty, savory herbs. The wine is medium-bodied, racy, vibrant, chewy, and spicy. This is cooler style of Latour. Classic in style, but, in a good way, for Chateau Latour, this will be able to be enjoyed relatively early in life. The wine was made from a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot, 13.1% ABV. The harvest took place September 28, October 8. The Grand Vin was produced from 39.2% of the harvest. Drink from 2029-2060. 1,659 Views Tasted Jul 2, 2024Tobacco leaf, cedar, spice box, roses, and red currants are what you initially notice. On the palate, the fruits are clean, pure, fresh, bright, and energetic. There is a softness to the tannins, with a vibrancy in the fruits that carry from the mid-palate, through to the lengthy, bullet of creme de cassis in the finish. For Chateau Latour, this will be able to be enjoyed relatively early in life. The wine was made from a blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot, 13.1% ABV. The harvest took place September 28, October 8. The Grand Vin was produced from 39.2% of the harvest. Drink from 2028-2060. 96-98 2,593 Views Tasted May 20, 2022 |
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2021
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Vibrant, crisp, fresh black raspberries, red currants, pepper, flowers, and tobacco leaves form the core of the wine in the nose, and on the palate. Medium-bodied, with bright, red currants, and herbs, there is brightness and a blast of minty refreshing air to the fruits in the mid-palate, and in the finish. The wine blends 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32.6 Merlot, and 6.4% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2025-2045. 1,640 Views Tasted Jul 2, 2024Savory red fruits, tobacco leaf, cedar, herbs, flowers and a touch of spice create the nose. Medium-bodied, with a nice, crisp blast of red currants on the mid-palate that carries all the way through to the sweet, cassis imbued finish. The wine is a blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32.6 Merlot and 6.4% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2026-2039. 91-93 2,469 Views Tasted May 20, 2022 |
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2021
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Fresh bright, red currants and spice with a savory touch come through easily on the nose and palate. Medium-bodied, the wine exchanges concentration for drinkability. You can enjoy this today and over the next 12-15 years. The wine is a blend of 60.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 11.1% Petit Verdot, 12.9% ABV. Drink from 2025-2037. 1,542 Views Tasted Jul 2, 2024Fresh, bright, crisp, sweet and tart, the wine is lively, vibrant and loaded with crunchy black raspberries and red currants from start to finish. The wine is a blend of 60.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 11.1 Petit Verdot, 12.9% ABV. Drink from 2024-2037. 89-91 2,294 Views Tasted May 20, 2022 |
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2020
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
The obvious power, elegance, length, and strength are impossible to ignore, as it is present here in spades. The palate, with its endless layers of sweet, ripe, black fruits grabs, holds, and focuses your attention on what's in your glass. There is a remarkable persistency of flavor, flawlessly ripe tannins, and a haunting purity to the fruits, with a white pepper and Asian spice edge that shines in the over 60-second finish. This is a Latour of power, elegance, purity of fruit, and silky textures with the ability to age for generations. When it is eventually released, do not miss it. This is the wine of the vintage! Drink from 2030-2075. 2,468 Views Tasted Aug 21, 2023 |
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2020
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Refined, elegant, fresh, vibrant, chewy currants, spice, leafy herbs, flowers, and crisp, red berries with a sense of vibrancy in the nose and on the palate. Elegant in style, with good energy and refinement, there is a nice touch of oceanic influences that comes through with its lift and freshness in the finish. Drink from 2027-2045. 1,707 Views Tasted Aug 21, 2023 |
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2020
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Deep, fresh, and loaded with currants, orange rind, cocoa, smoke, and blackberries, with tension, chalky tannins, and red currants in the finish. If you enjoy your Pauillac on the young side, this has just entered the start of its drinking window. Drink from 2024-2037. 1,774 Views Tasted Aug 21, 2023 |
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2019
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Deep, dark, garnet in color, the wine is equally dark in its fruit, cigar wrapper, smoke, espresso, leaf, cedar, and spice profile. With elegance, power, firmness, and silkiness, the wine on the palate immediately cuts a wide swatch across your palate. All that regal, ripe, sweet, fruit and crushed gravel stick with you almost seamlessly for more than 50 seconds until you reach the endnote with its salty, mineral-driven kick in the endnote. This is a fabulous Latour that will age for decades. The wine was made from a blend of 92.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.5% Merlot, 14.1% ABV. The Grand Vin was produced from only 36% of the harvest. Drink from 2030-2070. 4,633 Views Tasted Jul 8, 2022 |
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2019
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Cedar, tobacco leaf, cigar box, black currants, mint leaf, and blackberries come through on the nose. On the palate, the wine is elegant, fresh, lifted, and packed with sweet deep red fruits, spice, oregano, and leafy notes. The finish offers richness, length, and vibrancy. The wine is a blend of 65.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31.9% Merlot and 2.3% Petit Verdot. 14.3% ABV. Drink from 2027-2044. 2,333 Views Tasted Jul 8, 2022 |
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2019
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Blackberries, truffle, cigar box, cedar, and leafy herbs form the nose. The wine is medium-bodied, fresh, vibrant, edgy, and loaded with chalky tannins, and cassis. This is ready and delicious now, plus, it is going to continue improving from here. The wine blends 55.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.8% Merlot, and 5.4% Petit Verdot, 14.8% ABV. Drink from 2025-2040. 2,311 Views Tasted Jul 2, 2024Cigar box, cherry blossoms, and black with red, earthy currants are quick to find. Medium-bodied, with a plushness and polish to the tannins, and fresh red fruits that provide richness and length on the palate with ample bright, red fruits in the finish. The wine blends 55.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.8% Merlot and 5.4% Petit Verdot, 14.8% ABV. Drink from 2025-2040. 2,592 Views Tasted Jul 8, 2022 |
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2018
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Inky in color, one look at this wine begins the love story. The level of intensity is almost off the hook. The wine is rich, powerful, mouth-filling, dense and electric. The wine coats your palate with layers of perfectly ripe, dark red fruits, a slab of rocks, salt and firm, polished tannins. The finish clocks in at over 60 seconds! This is a vintage that will age for decades. Clearly, this is a future legend in the making. The wine was made from a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot, reaching 14.3% ABV. The harvest took place September 17 to October 11. The Grand Vin was made from 37% of the harvest. Across the board, the yields were low at Latour at 24 hectoliters per hectare. 98-100 Pts 16,890 Views Tasted Apr 19, 2019 |
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2018
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
With little effort, the wine pops with its salty, blackberries, tobacco leaf, cigar box, smoke, black cherries vanilla, and spearmint-filled perfume. On the palate, the wine is opulent, as well as fresh. There is concentration, and length in the multiple layers of fruit, leaving with spicy currants, dark chocolate, herbs, and crushed rocks in the finish. The wine was produced by blending 65.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and .04% Petit Verdot. Drink from 2025-2040. 2,014 Views Tasted Jul 2, 2024With depth of color, this wine is loaded with layers of sweet, ripe, lush, intense, pure black currants and just a hint of citrus and cocoa. You'll also find tobacco and fresh, red pit fruits. The wine offers intensity, length and purity with a dark chocolate tone that pairs perfectly with the wave of rich fruits. If a reclassification ever took place, this would be clearly be included. The wine was produced from blending 65.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and .04% Petit Verdot. 93-95 Pts 5,553 Views Tasted Apr 19, 2019 |
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2018
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Dark, deep, rich, earthy, chocolatey, tobacco-stained black currants that caress your palate with a serious depth of flavor, density, richness, and density. This has just entered the start of its drinking window. Drink from 2023-2035. 3,124 Views Tasted Sep 1, 2023Dark in color, it takes no effort to find the cassis, black raspberry, spice, tobacco and earthy notes. In the mouth, you'll find soft but stern, fine tannins, clean, sweet, ripe fruits and polish in the finish. The wine was produced from blending 56.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30.8% Merlot, 12.3% Petit Verdot. 91-93 Pts 4,671 Views Tasted Apr 19, 2019 |
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2017
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
On the minerality side of the style range, picture crushed rocks, leafy herbs, mint, tobacco, and spice surrounding black currants in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is bright, racy, and energetic. The focus on the bright palate is its core of crispness, cassis, and lingering peppery red currants. The wine is chewy, and fresh, with a minty edge. The wine blends 92.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.8% Merlot, and 0.1% Petit Verdot, reaching 13% ABV. Drink from 2027-2060. 2,907 Views Tasted Jul 2, 2024Showing a caliginous hue, the wine is concentrated, full bodied, powerful, firm and graceful, coating your palate with layers of ripe, sweet, dark red fruits with salty tannins. Even with all the acidity it is impossible not to enjoy the ample sweet fruits, firm, ripe tannins, complexity and incredible length, with purity of fruit, that lingers. It's a Latour that should be a pleasure to taste between 15-20 years after the vintage, which is fine since you'll probably be waiting until 2027, give or take, until it's released. The wine was made from a blend of 92.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.8% Merlot and 0.1% Petit Verdot, reaching 13% ABV. The harvest took place starting with the Merlot September 11, finishing with the Cabernet October 4. 8,974 Views Tasted Apr 26, 2018 |
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2017
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Minty, leafy, red currant, and white pepper-infused aromatics lead the way to an austere, chalky, red berry wine with a creamy endnote on the back end. The classically-wine was produced by blending 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, and .08% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2023-2035. 2,223 Views Tasted Sep 1, 2023Forest floor, cedar, tobacco leaf and fresh, dark red berries open the wine. Ripe, sweet tannins, juicy, fresh cassis and plenty of fruit and cigar wrapper in the zesty finish to satisfy a discerning consumer. This wine has a lot of lift but the tannins are soft enough, that you should be able to enjoy this in a few years, and it's going to age well too. The wine was produced from blending 65.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and .08% Cabernet Franc. 3,423 Views Tasted Apr 26, 2018 |
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2017
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Without much effort, you find its core of spicy currants. On the palate. the wine is fresh, bright, and crisp, with a peppery, crunchy, cassis-filled finish with touches of orange rind and spicy chocolate. You can start to enjoy this now. Drink from 2023-2037. 3,025 Views Tasted Jul 8, 2022Kicking it off with a mix of cassis and lead pencil, this Medium/full-bodied wine is forward and fruity with freshness, lift and soft textures in a red berry finish. You can think of this as a baby Latour. The wine was produced from a blend of 52.9% Cabe 3,974 Views Tasted Apr 26, 2018 |
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2016
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
With a deep, dark hue, you already note the tobacco, cigar box, wet earth, cassis, forest floor and blackberry characteristics with little effort, That\'s just the perfume. On the palate you find volume, intensity, purity, complexity, freshness and silky, salty tannins. The wine fills your mouth with a perfect combination of acidity and fruit. The mineral driven, oceanic sensation that accompanies the fruit is just great, staying with you as all that ripe, red-fruit builds and expands. Elegant, powerful and refined, this will age for 4-5-6 decades or longer. The wine was produced from blending 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot. 10,537 Views Tasted Sep 26, 2019Each vintage has a signature and this one is a combination of volume, intensity, purity, complexity, freshness and silky, salty tannins. The wine coats your palate with mineral-driven fruit that stays with you for over 60 seconds. The finish shifts from fruit to stone and back to fruit again. This is elegance with refinement and it has the ability to age for decades. The wine was produced from blending 92.9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7.1% Merlot, reaching 13.5% ABV with a pH of 3.75. The harvest took place September 22 to September 30 for the Merlot and October 7 to October 19 for the Cabernet Sauvignon. Only 36% of the production was placed into the Grand Vin. 15,677 Views Tasted Apr 29, 2017 |
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2016
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Lively and fresh, with cedar, cigar wrapper, tobacco leaf, mint, flowers, and dark currants in the nose. The wine is polished, fresh, rich, elegant, concentrated, and regal on the palate. The crisp, mildly peppery, dark red fruits with more of that refreshing mint character really shine through to the finish. Drink 2026-2045. 5,663 Views Tasted Jul 8, 2022Regal, fresh, lively and with sweet, red fruits, hints of citrus, tobacco, earth and flowers, this is soft, vibrant and already showing its potential. This is classic in style, in all the right ways with juicy, crisp fruit, the structure to age and a tanninc backbone. Give this five to eight more years before popping a cork. 4,723 Views Tasted Sep 26, 2019Regal, fresh, lively and with sweet, red fruits, hints of citrus, tobacco, earth and flowers, this is soft, vibrant and already showing its potential. This is classic in style, in all the right ways with juicy, crisp fruit, the structure to age and a tanninc backbone. Give this five to eight more years before popping a cork. 5,705 Views Tasted Sep 21, 2019Flowery with tobacco, blackberry and spice with an interesting hint of citrus, this is smooth and reserved with a juicy blast of cassis and plum in the finish. Classic but with softness and refinement instead of severity, give this perhaps five to eight more years before popping a cork. 6,065 Views Tasted Apr 29, 2017 |
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2016
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
The spicy nose, with its peppery red fruits, cedar chest, tobacco leaf and cassis is just great. Medium-bodied, fresh, with a touch of austerity on the red-fruited palate, the finish pops with sweet, vibrant, juicy, earthy red fruits with a touch of smoked herbs and stones in the end note. You can start drinking this now as it is already showing well. 5,422 Views Tasted Mar 18, 2021Vibrant, fresh, lively and loaded with chewy cassis, the tannins are round, the fruit offers sweet, bright red berry notes and the finish combines the hint of austerity you look for in Pauillac, coupled with length and freshness. The wine was made from blending 54.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.9% Merlot and 6.5 Petit Verdot, this wine represent 26.5% of the production. 3,683 Views Tasted Sep 26, 2019Fresh, sweet blackberry and cassis are right out in front. The wine is juicy, fresh, forward and silky. There are ripe tannins, well-designed textures and more fruit than usual for the estate. This should be released in five years for pleasurable drinking. Produced from a blend of 54.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38.9% Merlot and 6.5 Petit Verdot, this wine represents 26.5% of the production. 5,327 Views Tasted Apr 29, 2017 |
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2015
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Truffles, mint-leaf, blue fruits, blackberries, and currants pair with nuances of spice, smoke, leather, and cedar. Full-bodied, rich, and intense, there is a wealth of perfectly, ripe, creamy, opulent, sweet fruits that hold your interest, while expanding for over 50 seconds. There is length, opulence, balance, and flamboyance, along with vibrancy and refinement. Drink from 2025-2060. 4,031 Views Tasted Sep 1, 2023Still holding on to its depth of color. The wine already shows some development with its truffle, oyster shell, cassis, Asian spice, dark red fruits and cherry tones. This is a Latour of elegance, purity of fruit and silky texture over power that is coupled with layers of concentrated fruits, and the structure to age for generations. 9,653 Views Tasted May 21, 2018The signature of this vintage of Latour is elegance. With a dark, ruby hue, you find minerality with oyster shell, cassis, floral and dark cherry tones. The cashmere tannins, balance and purity of fruit fashion a texture that caresses your palate. Using 97.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, the highest amount in the history of the estate, coupled with 2.6% Merlot and .03% Petit Verdot, this wine reached 13.04% ABV. The Grand Vin was produced from only 30% of the harvest. 96 - 98 Pts 8,781 Views Tasted Apr 18, 2016 |
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2015
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Chocolate coated currants, cigar box, flowers and tobacco leaf come through easily on the nose. On the palate, the wine is medium/full-bodied, concentrated, firm, fresh, juicy and lively, with a creamy textured, sweet, aristocratic, Pauillac, red currant packed finish. This should age and evolve for another 15-20 more years. 3,311 Views Tasted Mar 18, 2021Cigar box, lead pencil, and wet forest floor follow the sweet, dark fruits in the perfume. Your palate enjoys sweet, round, polished, red fruits. The tannin are soft, and so is the texture in the finish. 3,582 Views Tasted May 21, 2018With a blast of cassis, flowers, plum and blackberries, this wine has a graceful charisma with plump, sweet fruits that feel soft on the palate. 91 - 93 Pts 3,182 Views Tasted Apr 18, 2016 |
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2015
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Medium bodied, soft, juicy and sweet, with a real Pauillac character, you can take this home and drink it now, for its soft, sweet, cassis, cocoa, cherry and tobacco character. 5,545 Views Tasted May 21, 2018A medium-bodied, finesse-style wine offering sweet cassis and cherries in a soft, forward fashion for an early charm. Produced from a blend of 54.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41.7% Merlot, and .03% Cabernet Franc, this wine represents 30% of the production. 89 - 91 Pts 5,414 Views Tasted Apr 18, 2016 |
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2014
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Truffle, cedar, tobacco leaf, lead pencil, cigar wrapper, currants, cassis, blackberries, and forest floor aromatics pop in the nose. The palate delivers its blend of sweet red fruits, paired with spice, herbs, and a hint of peppery spice at the back of the finish. I like how this is showing now. Although, a few more years in the cellar will add even more complexity. It is one of the few Latour's offering character without requiring decades of age. There is finesse, as well as freshness in the currant-packed finish. Drink from 2028-2060. 4,061 Views Tasted Jul 2, 2024Dark ruby in color, the wine is still youthful and on the fruit side. With coaxing, you find herbs, tobacco, cigar box and red fruits. Medium/full-bodied, this is a classic, slightly austere, cool style of Latour. There is ample concentration of fruit, but the tannins are quite firm, giving the wine a classic edge, which for consumers preferring classic styles, this is going to be a better wine. However, the wine demands at least another 5-10 years before everything softens and fills out. Drink from 2030-2060. 10,416 Views Tasted Jul 8, 2022Showing much better in bottle than it did in barrel, the wine offers a wealth of fruit, which is best described as being regal in character. Yet, as you would expect, most of this stunner is still held in reserve. Freshness, elegance and balance are in charge here. The wine is not about power, it's about elegance, grace and harmony. Nothing is overdone here. It's a great Latour! By the time this is released to consumers, in about 2024 or 2025, it should have added a lot of additional nuances and complexities. 12,405 Views Tasted Jun 24, 2017Fleshy, ripe, concentrated and long, with refined tannins, lush textures, depth and layers of sweet, ripe, dense, juicy berries, the wine promises and delivers purity, length, richness and a serious, age worthy, vibrant character. If I can afford it when it comes up for sale, I’d buy it! Using 89.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.2% Merlot, 0.6 Cabernet Franc and .03 Petit Verdot that reached 12.89% ABV, the Grand Vin represented 33.9% of the production. 95-97 Pts 14,312 Views Tasted Apr 14, 2015 |
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2014
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
A decade in the bottle has added to the wine's character and complexity. Initially, you notice the nose with its truffle, hickory, cigar box, black currants, and lead pencil form the perfume. The palate follows through with soft-textured, sweet, black, and currants that come through with a complex, savory, herbal-tinted finish. Drink from 2025-2040. 2,203 Views Tasted Jul 2, 2024With silky freshness and soft tannins, this wine delivers a mouthful of ripe black currant and is true blue to the distinct nature of Pauillac. The wine was made from a blend of 71.4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28.6% Merlot that reached 13.01% ABV. 90-93 Pts 4,881 Views Tasted Apr 14, 2015 |
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2014
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Medium/full bodied, focused, refined and needing just a few more years , the cassis is sweet, the texture is polished and the fruit is stained with tobacco leaf. This will be ready to drink in just a few short years. 3,046 Views Tasted Jun 24, 2017Produced from a blend of 42.3% Merlot, and 50.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine easily and gracefully offers dark, chocolate covered berries and soft, fleshy, ripe fruit and freshness in the finish. 88-90 Pts 3,346 Views Tasted Apr 14, 2015 |
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2013
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
An intriguing nose of mint, cranberry, currants, cigar wrapper, cedar and tobacco. The wine is medium-bodied, elegant, soft and fresh. The wine finishes with a myriad of piquant red fruits, herbs, olives, a touch of salty rocks and currants. Elegantly styled, this should be ready to go on release. After tasting the wine, we shared it during dinner and while this is clearly not a concentrated wine, it remained in the glass for hours over dinner with any degradation. 6,734 Views Tasted Mar 18, 2021Freshness, elegance and balance are in charge here. The wine is not about power, it's about elegance, grace and balance. Nothing is overdone here. It's a Latour to enjoy in its youth, especially since you'll probably be waiting until 2023, give or take, until it's released. 7,791 Views Tasted May 25, 2016Cassis, plum, mint, fennel and earthy aromas require effort to find. The medium-bodied, ruby-colored wine is soft, polished, delicate and easy to drink. This is a polite style of Latour, with a beautiful purity of fruit that will taste best by 10 years of age. From a blend of 95.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.3% Merlot and .4% Petit Verdot, the wine reached 13.4% ABV. Only 33% of harvest was used to produce the Grand Vin. 92-94 Pts 11,241 Views Tasted Apr 20, 2014 |
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2013
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
The tight nose took effort to reveal red berry, leaf and earth. Medium bodied, soft and easy to drink, the wine is made from a blend of 62.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35.1% Merlot and 2.2% Petit Verdot. 45.2% of the harvest was used to produce Forts de Latour, which reached 13.2% ABV. 88-90 Pts 3,817 Views Tasted Apr 20, 2014 |
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2013
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Cassis, cherry and earthy aromas lead to a supple ruby-colored wine with cherry, olive and herbs. 85-86 Pts 4,353 Views Tasted Apr 20, 2014 |
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2012
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Deep in color, with just a hint of lightness around the edge of the glass, the wine is starting to close down. On the palate the wine is full bodied, rich, refined, polished, fresh and long, with a solid essence of fruit, freshness, volume and length. The tannins are refined and there is the structure to age, but this classic, (in all the right ways) requires at least a decade, and probably longer to come around. This is the first vintage for Latour that was not sold En Primeur. It will be interesting to see what the wine is released in about 2012, give or take. 12,725 Views Tasted May 15, 2015Crafted from 90.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.6% Merlot, and 0.2% Petit Verdot, this wine reached 12.8% ABV. The Grand Vin represents just 35.6% of the crop. The color of a gleaming dark ruby, the wine is elegant, soft, plush and polished in texture. There is a core of sweet, racy cherries and cassis with hints of vanilla and earth. The wine offers purity, symmetry, freshness and balance. This is a refined style of Latour. According to Frederic Engerer, the key to the success in this vintage was working on a parcel-by-parcel and row-by-row basis, monitoring the needs of the vineyard with specific attention to the amount of hydric stress each vine endured. 94-96 Pts 14,869 Views Tasted Apr 23, 2013 |
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2012
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Soft, polished and with a fresh mouth of cassis, the wine is forward and already fun to drink with its spicy, dark cherry and finish center. 2,875 Views Tasted May 15, 2015Aromas of cedar chest and cassis led to a polished wine with soft textures and refined tannins which produced an elegant style of Forts de Latour. Reaching 12.8% ABV, the wine ended with fresh, polished black raspberry fruits. 90-92 Pts 3,729 Views Tasted Apr 23, 2013 |
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2012
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Quite a strong showing for this wine. Medium/full bodied, and ready to drink, the wine is refined, juicy, elegant, classic and reserved. Yet, the blend of tobacco, cedar and cassis is everything you look for in Pauillac. There is fruit, freshness, and character. You can think of this as a Freshman Latour which drinks well early in life. 3,274 Views Tasted Jun 24, 2017Medium/full bodied, and ready to drink, the wine is refined, juicy, elegant, classic and reserved. Yet, the blend of tobacco, cedar and cassis is everything you look for in Pauillac. There is fruit, freshness, and character. You can think of this as a Freshman Latour. 3,728 Views Tasted Mar 29, 2017Fresh, sweet, cassis and cocoa in the nose, the wine is medium bodied with a soft plum and spicy black cherry finish that can be enjoyed young. 3,659 Views Tasted May 15, 2015From a Merlot-dominated blend, the wine offers cassis, black raspberry jam and earthy scents. This is a medium-bodied, delicate and soft Pauillac with a gentle red berry finish. Enjoy this fresh Pauillac on the young side. 87-89 Pts 3,251 Views Tasted Apr 23, 2013 |
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2011
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Blackberry, truffle, tobacco, espresso and cedar wood aromas are easy to find. In the mouth, the wine offers more depth than expected, with multiple layers of sweet black cherries, blackberry and a hint of powdery tannins in the fresh, long, expressive finish. 11,295 Views Tasted May 20, 2014Crafted from an assemblage of 84.5 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and .5% Petit Verdot, this vintage represents just 34% of the production. 3% press wine was added to the blend, which is half of what’s normally included in the assemblage. The estate continues its march towards biodynamic farming. At this point, 62 acres are farmed using biodynamic techniques. The eventual goal of Chateau Latour is to become completely biodynamic within a few years. - Dark ruby in color with purple accents at the rim, the perfume offers wet forest floor aromas, cassis, cedar wood, spice, earth and blackberry. Subtle, refined and elegant, this finesse style of Latour is long, clean and pure. Lacking the concentration of 2010 or 2009, this stylish Latour is long and filled with pure, spicy cassis in the fresh finish. 95-97 Pts 10,968 Views Tasted Apr 10, 2012 |
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2011
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Tobacco, earthy cassis, smoke and an open personality, the wine is polished, soft, sweet and has ripe, sweet, fruits, with refinement in the finish. This is quite enjoyable to drink today. 4,873 Views Tasted Mar 29, 2017With a blast of black cherry, a hint of oak, fennel and wet earth on the nose, the wine moves to the palate with its soft, open, forward style, offering bright, sweet cherries in the slightly dusty finish. 5,190 Views Tasted May 20, 2014Blending 61.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and a tiny portion of Cabernet Franc, the wine represents 43% of the production. Deep ruby in color with scents of truffle, cassis, earth and blackberry, this is fresh, bright and vigorous in the mouth. The wine ends with clean cassis and spice. 90-92 Pts 5,608 Views Tasted Apr 10, 2012 |
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2011
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Produced from 62.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37.5% Merlot, this wine represents 23% of the production. The third wine of Latour is deep ruby in color with cedar, earth and cassis on the nose. Fresh, spicy cassis and cherry in the finish. 87 - 89 Pts 5,573 Views Tasted Apr 10, 2012 |
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2010
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Still showing a good depth of color, the wine pops with nuances of black currants, aged Cuban cigars, herbs, flowers, and oceanic influences. On the palate, the wine coats your palate with powerful layers of creamy, vibrant, refined, regal fruits with a touch of salt. The seamless finish delivers a non-stop barrage of black and red fruits that build, expand, and linger. This is the type of wine that stops you in your tracks, makes you think, and return for another swirl, sniff, and sip, because you could not believe the wine was that good. Still, an adolescent, another decade in the bottle will create an even better tasting experience. Drink from 2032-2075. 10,470 Views Tasted Nov 21, 2022Inky and opaque in color, the wine screams with licorice, truffle, dark black fruits, Asian spice and wet forest scents. The wine is stunningly concentrated filling your mouth, coating your palate and staining your teeth with each delicious sip. There is not a single hair out of place. Everything is exactly where is should be. The sublime finish grows and expands for more than 60 seconds. This wine could possibly outlive anyone currently reading this tasting note! 23,093 Views Tasted May 8, 20132010 Latour Completely opaque in color, this stunning Chateau Latour is filled with scents of, licorice, blackberry liqueur, Asian spice, oak and gravel. The wine is packed with layers of concentrated, fresh, pure dark fruits, sweet cassis, spice, blackberries and dark, bitter chocolate. This wine ends with a sensation of your palate drenched in waves of perfectly ripe, dark berries. Everything is in balance and harmony. This is a seamless tasting experience. Over the years, this will be seen as another reference point vintage of Chateau Latour. 99-100 Pts 24,209 Views Tasted Jul 30, 2011Latour - This special wine was crafted from only 36% of the harvest. Using 90.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.5% Merlot and equal parts Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the wine reached 14.4% ABV. In the glass, this inky, black colored wine is filled with truffle, cassis, chocolate fudge, leather, spice and Cuban cigar aromas. Combining delicacy, power, richness and elegance, (which is always difficult,) the palate is washed over by waves of intense pure cassis and spicy black plums that fill your mouth and coat your mouth. With ripe tannins, purity of fruit and freshness, this is so rich, concentrated and creamy, you can eat it with a spoon. Seamless, balanced and harmonious, the finish lasts for over one minute. The essence of Pauillac, this is pure liquid intensity. 98-100 Pts 18,613 Views Tasted Apr 20, 2011 |
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2010
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Coffee, oak, earth, blackberry and licorice, the wine is dense, concentrated and lush. There has a strong Pauillac character, with stunning intensity and purity of fruit. With the exception of 1982 and 1990 Latour, this is better than any vintage of Latour between 1967 and 1994. Wow! 13,934 Views Tasted May 8, 2013Deep ruby in color, the wine opens with an earthy spicy, mineral driven nose. With round tannins, supple textures and a long creamy crème de cassis filled finish, this is very much in a Pauillac style of Bordeaux wine. 91-93 Pts 13,602 Views Tasted Jul 20, 2011Les Forts de Latour is produced from 72.5 Cabernet Sauvignon, 25.5 Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. This deeply colored, earth, oak, cassis and tobacco scented wine offers concentration, freshness, blackberry and chocolate flavors in the finish. This wine shares a family resemblance with its big brother, Chateau Latour. 90-93 Pts 9,862 Views Tasted Apr 20, 2011 |
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2010
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
This is drinking great today. The cassis, blackberry and tobacco charm are out in full force. This has the refinement and character equal to many 5th Growth wines, which is really saying a lot, considering this is a third wine! 6,114 Views Tasted Jul 16, 2016This has to be the greatest third wine of all time, from any estate! It's soft, ripe, round and stuffed with fresh fruits, spice and earthy characteristics. It's already drinkable too. 7,164 Views Tasted May 8, 2013With spicy blackberry scents and soft, round textures, the wine ends with a light chocolate covered blackberry finish. 90-92 Pts 6,549 Views Tasted Jul 20, 2012Pauillac de Latour - Produced from 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44.5 Merlot and a dollop of Cabernet Franc, this is an uncommonly rich third wine with cassis, tobacco, coca and dark cherry sensations. 89-91 Pts 6,559 Views Tasted Apr 20, 2011 |
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2009
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
This is a clear candidate for 101 Pts, as well as wine of the vintage! Mind-blowing in every sense of the word, from start to finish, this wine is breath-taking! Multi-layered, and multi-faceted, the wine coats your palate, mouth, teeth, and gums with non-stop layers of opulent fruits that are elegant, regal, sophisticated, and seamless. You also find vibrancy as well as astonishing purity. The 60-second mark is left in the dust in the seamless, seemingly, endless finish. If you have the money and want one of the great wine-tasting experiences of your life, this is for you! Drink from 2024-2060. 7,534 Views Tasted Mar 20, 2024You can sense the ripeness of the sunny vintage in the nose, with its joyous red berries, tobacco leaf, oyster shell, vanilla smoke, mint, cigar box and dark chocolate. Sensuous on the palate, with silky tannins and sweet, ripe, pure fruits, the wine is all power, grace, symmetry and elegance. This is a sexy vintage of Latour that you can really feel, as the wine rests and expands on your palate. Yes this is young. So if you are going to open a bottle, give it 2-3 hours of air, or wait another decade. This is one of the memorable tasting experiences that was impossible to spit. 11,247 Views Tasted Sep 20, 2019Riveting! The tannins are pure silk. The wine offers freshness, complexity and concentration with an opulent, powerful, fruit-filled finish that coats your palate with refined textures and an incredible purity of fruit. The finish sticks with you for at least 60 seconds. If you can afford it, this will deliver an unparalleled tasting experience for decades. 9,345 Views Tasted Sep 29, 2018Compelling in every way... OK, except the price. But price aside, if you're looking at what's in the bottle, this stunner explodes with layer after layer of mouth coating fruits that remain coated over your palate for well over 60 seconds. The style, combining flamboyant, opulent, concentrated fruits and velvety tannins must be tasted to be believed. I'm sure this will be better than the legendary 1982 or 1961 at maturity. That being said, I only wish I would be there to see it at maturity. The wine was produced from a blend of 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.7% Merlot , reaching close to 13.7% ABV, without a touch of heat. 19,016 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015The color of dark ink, complex aromas of truffle, cedar wood, cassis, blackberry, blueberry, smoke, cherry wood, tobacco and forest floor fill the air. The wine coats your mouth with pure silk, and velvet intensity. Incredibly lush and opulent layers of sweet cassis, black cherry, plum and blackberry coat your senses. From an assemblage of 91.3% and Merlot 8.7%, the wine reached 13.7% ABV and was aged in 100% new oak. Beautiful, fresh and pure, with a finish that remains and builds for close to 90 seconds… there was no way on earth I was going to spit this wine out. It was so good; I wanted to cancel my remaining appointments for the day spending the afternoon drinking the entire bottle with some bread and cheese, while peacefully relaxing in their vineyards. And it was only 9:00 in the morning! Lottery winners and multi-millionaires take note, this is the 2009 Bordeaux from the Medoc to buy. And if you’re looking for friends to drink it with, I’m available. 25,475 Views Tasted May 3, 20122009 Latour is inky black. The exotic nose of dark berries, flowers, coffee, truffle, fudge, boysenberry, anise, vanilla, lead pencil, and assorted berry liqueurs is powerful, complex, and intense. The wine is full bodied, concentrated, and mouth coating. The long, fresh finish is viscous, opulent, and silky. Everything is in harmony with this probably perfect wine. The seamless finish lasts more than a minute. 99/100 Pts 19,672 Views Tasted Aug 26, 2010 |
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2009
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Smoke, tobacco, cigar box, earth and red fruit notes create the nose. It is easy to discern the level of fruit and maturity in the nose. On the palate, the wine offers freshness, ripe, dark red fruits, tobacco leaf, spice and chewy, ripe, soft tannins. There is the structure for further aging, yet you can pop a cork today, should you wish. 4,176 Views Tasted Sep 20, 2019This just keeps getting better with bottle age, like all great wines. Full bodied, with rich textures, firm tannins and layers of salty rocks, cassis and blackberries. You can drink this now with an hour of age, or wait a bit. It is difficult to believe this is the second wine, as it's better than many Classified Growths. 4,531 Views Tasted Sep 29, 2018Full bodied, round, plush and polished, with a real freshness to the fruit along with richness and concentration to all the wine to expand and longer. The aromatics are equal to the mouth feel. Still young, this will add more complexity in the years to come. I've tasted this wine a few times since it was first shown in barrel and this is the best showing yet for this vintage. It's amazing to consider, but this is a better wine than Latour produced in many vintages during the 80's and 70's. 5,889 Views Tasted Jul 16, 2016Blackberry, smoke, wet earth and wood scents open to a sweet, ripe, lush, round Pauillac filled with juicy, crisp cassis and blackberry. From a blend of 65.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32.3% Merlot, 1.9% Petit Verdot and a tiny bit of Cabernet Franc, the wine reached 13.5% ABV. This wine is better than many vintages of Chateau Latour produced in 80’s and early 90’s. 5,272 Views Tasted May 3, 2012 |
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2009
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Forest floor, cedar and cassis in the nose opened to a soft wine with ripe, tannins and a true Pauillac character. The wine finishes with pure blackberry essence. For a third wine, this is quite an achievement. 5,172 Views Tasted May 3, 2012 |
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2008
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
There is a lightening in the color, giving a slight bricking effect. The wine is as concentrated as it is tannic. This is still youthful, fresh and holding on to most of what it has to offer. There is definite power here, and layers of ripe, juicy, dark, red berries. Clearly this wine has improved over the decade, as you would have expected. But it is still on the young/semi-strict side, so you should wait another 10 years or more. Utilizing only 40% of the harvest for the Grand Vin, the wine was made by blending 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. 5,877 Views Tasted Sep 17, 20182008 Latour is powerful, full bodied and concentrated with ripe cassis, tobacco, truffle, slate, and black plum aromatics. The wine covers your palate with waves of dark berries and ripe, round, polished tannins. The long, pure, fresh finish remains in your mouth for over forty five seconds! 97 Pts 13,863 Views Tasted Jul 20, 20102008 Château Latour features a dark, ruby color with purple tints. Cedar, spice, cassis, and earthy scents were easy to find. Plush and elegant on the palate, with stunning levels of concentrated, ripe fruit, coupled with a brilliant, long finish and structure make this a wine that will reward cellaring. The round tannins give the wine a seductive feel in the mouth. Only 40% of the harvest will be placed in the Grand Vin. This is a suave style of Latour. 94-97 Pts 14,138 Views Tasted Aug 31, 2009 |
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2008
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Earthy, with wet forest floor, tobacco, spice and red fruits at its center, the wine is full bodied, showing soft tannins and spicy, red fruits and cigar wrapper in the finish. This is drinking great today. 4,296 Views Tasted Sep 17, 201808 Forts Latour sported a darker hue than did its bigger sibling. Spicy cassis on the nose with a medium body, finishes with flavors of cherry, cranberry, and cassis. 89-91 Pts 6,001 Views Tasted Aug 31, 2009 |
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2008
Pauillac de Latour (Pauillac)
Fully mature, the truffle, and tobacco notes come through loud and clear. Medium bodied, still holding on to its red fruit core, this will be best over the next few years. 4,835 Views Tasted Sep 18, 2018 |
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2006
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Firm style of Latour with a strictness to the tannins. Full bodied, powerful, tannic, youthful and concentrated, the fruit is fresh, ripe and out in front, but this needs another 10-15 more years before the tannins soften and it becomes fun to drink. My instincts say this will probably always retain its firm style, even when mature. This is not a bad thing, it's just a stylistic preference. 5,184 Views Tasted Jul 7, 2017Spicy cassis, confiture, tobacco, cigar wrapper, oyster shell and cedar wood in the nose. Concentrated, full bodied, fresh and still youthfully tannic. There is more than enough fruit to take over the tannins, instead of the other way around. That being said, if you only have a bottle two laid away, I'd wait another decade before discovering more of the fresh cassis, spice, and sweetness in the wine. The finish, while elegant is still tanninc, but the length is hard to deny at close to 50 seconds. 7,348 Views Tasted May 25, 2016 |
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2006
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Spicy, tobacco, smoke and fresh fruits in character, with only a bit of tannin remaining to resolve. The wine is fresh, with a vibrant quality to its personality in the finish. 4,905 Views Tasted May 25, 2016 |
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2005
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Powerful, tannic, bold, firm and structured, this is perhaps the quintessential example of the fist inside the iron glove. This is incredibly powerful, focused and precise. It's also quite structured, dense and tannic. 13,335 Views Tasted May 29, 2017With a depth of color that still looks young, with coaxing you find, tobacco, cigar box, cedar chest, forest floor, smoke and caramel notes in the nose, but it takes effort to find everything at 10 years of age. The wine is powerful, tannic, full bodied, young and mouth filling. The wine offers concentration, intensity, length and refined textures, but if I gave the impression it’s ready to drink, it’s not. It’s more serious than fun to taste today, so give it time and air. From a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the wine reached 13.5% ABV and was produced from just 44% of the harvest. 14,887 Views Tasted Jun 28, 2015Better than when tasted, this stunner, produced from a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot serves up a nose packed with earth, smoke, blackberry and espresso bean. The wine is powerful, dense, refined and youthful. It really packs a mouthful of flavor and intensity in every sip. 10,643 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015This really coats your mouth with flavor. Layer after layer of sweet, fat, ripe, juicy fruits, plush, soft tannins, licorice and silk seem like they never leave your palate. This is intensity paired with purity, concentration and complexity at its best. In a few years, OK, more than a few, perhaps a decade or two, this should really hit its stride. The wine really leaves a lasting impression. From a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot, only 44% of the harvest was placed into the Grand Vin. FWIW, this was tasted blind. Note to self, remain friends with people who have this elixir in their cellar as I really want to taste this when both, the wine I, are mature. Comments not needed on which will mature first. 12,353 Views Tasted Feb 13, 2014 |
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2005
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Produced from blending 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Merlot, the wine reached 13.2% ABV and represents 45% of the production. Ruby in color, with cedar wood, earth, forest and blackberry, the soft, fresh, cassis filled wine is medium bodied and ready for prime time drinking. 4,854 Views Tasted Jun 28, 2015 |
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2004
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Surprisingly woodsy, with truffle, cassis, earth, tobacco, cedar chest and blackberry in the developed nose. There is a nice softness to the tannins and fruit. Not yet fully mature, but quite developed for a vintage of Latour at 10 years of age, the wine offers pleasure, refined textures, balance and sweet berries in the finish. Drink now, or wait 5 years for more complexity. 8,905 Views Tasted Jan 4, 2015Smoke, cassis, earth, spice, cedar and tobacco create the youthful aromatics. The wine is soft, lush and round on the palate, finishing with ripe, spicy cherries, cassis and hints of jam. While it was interesting to taste young, I'd give it another 5-10 years before popping a bottle. 9,525 Views Tasted Mar 27, 2013An expressive nose filled with smoke, cassis, BBQ, cedar wood, anise, dark berries, chocolate and black cherries grab your attention. With these complex aromatics and lightening in the color, this Pauillac seems to be evolving at a rapid pace for Chateau Latour. The wine ends with gentle layers of cassis and black cherry with a touch of tapenade in the rich, elegant finish. This will drink early for Latour. While it can be enjoyed today, unless you're sitting on more than a case, or prefer wines young, another 5-8 years will add a lot of complexity to this charming Bordeaux wine. 12,015 Views Tasted Jul 26, 2011 |
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2003
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Aromatically as you might expect, the wine displays a very ripe, roasted ostentatious nose packed with flowers, cappuccino, dark red fruits, smoke, wet forest floor and spice box notes. There is a sweetness to the fruits emanating from the incredibly hot conditions of the vintage. On the palate, the wine is pure intensity, power and richness. Grabbing you, demanding to get noticed, as if you could avoid the massive wall of fruit that's in your face. Atypical, which makes for a unique expression of Latour, it is fabulous to taste and experience. But its best days are clearly in its future. 5,564 Views Tasted Aug 24, 2020Truffle, smoke, cigar box, cassis, cedar wood and wet earth explode in the nose. The wine is fleshy, rich, plush, round and mouth filling, with concentration and complexity. The silky, smooth tannins and palate staining levels of fruit feel older than their true age, but there is so much going here, you barely notice. 9,094 Views Tasted May 13, 2015This has for me, been the most perplexing vintage of Latour. Some bottles have been off the charts. Other tastings have been shorter and drier. Fortunately, this bottle was on target, firing on all cylinders with its salty, fresh blackberry, cassis, truffle, cedar and tobacco filled personalty. Rich, dense, showy and long, the wine really leaves an impression. 9,560 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015Dark in color, with a flamboyant nose of licorice, espresso, blackberry, jam, earth, plums and spice in the nose. Rich, full bodied, fat, deep and intense, with air the wine continued to soften, becoming, silky and exotic in texture. You can sense the ABV, but there is such a wealth of fruit and ripe tannins, it does not matter, the lengthy finish fills your palate. 2003 Latour is a bit of a head scratcher. I’ve tasted this wine at least half a dozen times this year, with varying results. Some bottles like this wine have been stunning. Others have been much drier and more austere on the palate. This note is for the best bottles. 8,847 Views Tasted Dec 18, 2013Inky in color with intense aromatics of black raspberry, cassis, cedar, anise, truffle, chocolate and mint. Rich, intense and concentrated in the mouth. The long finish coated your senses. This is a stellar wine! 16,655 Views Tasted Jun 30, 2009Exotic, amazing depth, intense purity, opulence and balance. The layers of powerful yet silky, dark fruit must tasted as well as felt to be belived in this classic Bordeaux wine. The seamless fin ish lasts well over a minute! 19,416 Views Tasted Jun 21, 2007 |
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2003
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
Soft, sweet, lush and fully developed, this blackberry, earth and plummy wine is round, open and accessible, with lots of spicy, earthy dark red cherries in its core. However, this is not a wine for aging, it’s already delivering most of its charm today. 4,368 Views Tasted Dec 18, 2013Already on a fast track for evolution. The color is lighter than I remembered. The perfume offers an interesting blend of slow roasted fruit topped with all spice. Nice entry filled with ripe Cabernet and finishes with silky sensations 6,475 Views Tasted Jun 24, 2007 |
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2002
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
With a nose filled with walnut, cassis, tobacco, blackberry and forest floor aromas. The wine is medium/full bodied with a refined character. The finish is all about the sweet, lush rich, balanced textures and classy, stylish cassis. 15,867 Views Tasted Aug 1, 2013The wine of the vintage opens with a smoky tobacco laden nose complicated by gravel, cassis, spicy black cherry, forest floor, Asian spice and hints of espresso bean in the nose. On the palate, the wine is full bodied, with ample levels of spicy cassis, round tannins and a long, fresh, expansive, spicy, black and red fruit, filled finish. 14,493 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012 |
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2001
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
A lot of charm in every sip is the right motto for this wine. It's elegant, fresh, supple and round. The fruit is vibrant and refined, with a sweet, soft, pure, dark red berry core. I liked this a lot and expect to enjoy it even more with additional bottle age. 10,003 Views Tasted Dec 17, 2013It's fair to say this is a lighter style of Latour. Yet, there is still a lot to like about the wine with its stylish, purity of fruit, elegant textures and refined, mineral driven personality. More focused on freshness and purity than power, for Latour, this will be a wine to enjoy on the early side. I'll start popping mine in 2016 and enjoy it for at least 20 years after that. 9,816 Views Tasted Aug 1, 2013Medium/full bodied, with a refined, elegant nature, for Latour, it’s on a rapid course of evolution. The wine is fresh, clean and pure, with layers of rich, spicy black cherry, tobacco, smoke, gravel and truffle. The soft, round tannins and regal, crisp finish are a pleasure to taste and feel. 9,797 Views Tasted Nov 22, 20122001 Latour opens with cassis, spice, cedar, earth and blackberry notes. This is an elegant style of Latour that will drink well early. While charming, it lacks the body and depth found in the best years for this Bordeaux wine producer. Another 5-7 years will add more complexity to this wine. 93 Pts 17,997 Views Tasted Nov 3, 2010Spice, cedar and cassis with hints of tobacco make an attractive perfume. On the palate, the wine is not going to win awards for concentration. The quality of the fruit is very classy and stylish. But, for a First Growth, I wanted more. Today, the 02 remains my favorite current vintage. It is a stunning wine as well as a very good Latour. The 01 is surprisingly mature for Latour. 12,182 Views Tasted Jun 24, 2009 |
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2000
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Intensity, purity, elegance, power, refinement, long and complex, this is just about off the hook. Still young, but such a treat in your glass, this rich, palate-filling, complex and riveting in every sense of the word. The finish starts off strong and finishes strong with a salty edge to the wealth of black and red fruits with the perfect sense of lift and energy that hits the 60 second mark and keeps on going. Drink from 2025-2075. 5,779 Views Tasted Jun 30, 2024Just entering the start of its long drinking window, everything about this wine rocks! The nose, with its cedar, range of tobaccos, currants, smoke, spice, and blackberries is what you initially notice. But it is on the palate, with its concentration, length, purity, expansiveness, and richness that owns the show. There is no hurry to drink this future legend. But if you are sitting on a case, why not check it out? Drink from 2023-2065. 5,415 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023Simply put, this is a future legendary vintage for Latour. This is thrilling to taste from start to finish. With incredible levels of concentration, the wine manages to keep everything in perfect balance, tannins, freshness, ripeness, weight, density and richness. The nose captures the essence of Pauillac, while the fullness in the mouth, with perfectly ripe, firm, but refined tannins give the wine shape, length propels the finish past the 60-second mark. 2 hours of air is more than ample to open the wine, and the remainder the night will show improvement in the glass. Drink from 2025-2075, or beyond. 7,279 Views Tasted Feb 18, 2022Mind blowing levels of concentration, perfectly ripe tannins, textures that feel like polished velvet and a finish that coats your palate for close to 60 seconds. Make no mistake, this is a baby. But what a beautiful baby it is. I'm sure this could easily offering stunning drinking for 60-70 or 80 more years. 2 hours of decanting helped the wine fill out, but another 10-15 more years is where the additional nuances kick in. 8,172 Views Tasted Nov 12, 2017Breathtaking is good place to start. The velvet drenched fruit has a purity and freshness to its character that is hard to forget. Power, purity, balance and refinement, with the potential for decades of aging and a finish that sticks for more than 60 seconds is in every sip of this elixir. If you are lucky enough to have a few bottles, waiting until 2025, or 2030 is in your best interest. If you cannot keep your hands off a bottle, and you really want to pull the cork, give it 2-3 hours of air and enjoy the ride. If you're in the neighborhood and you need someone to share it with, please drop me a note! 10,810 Views Tasted Jul 16, 2016Young, tight and vibrant, the wine needs air and coaxing to show. With effort, fresh blackberry, black pepper, cassis, smoke, earth and cigar box aromas make their presence known. Full bodied, deep, concentrated and tannic, the finish is long and fresh The wine needs perhaps another decade in the bottle before its refined, powerful, regal character truly expresses its essence. 8,856 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015This is everything a great Pauillac should be. It takes immense concentration of favor and combines it with palate staining, fresh, pure fruits, refined, silky tannins, attention grabbing aromatics and a long, intense finish that seems to last close to 60 seconds! Produced from a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, if you have the money, this is the wine to buy. 13,856 Views Tasted Aug 1, 2014Deep in color, it looked like a wine half its age.The nose took effort to wake up, before scents of tobacco, coffee bean, licorice, earth, blackberry, truffle, cigar box and wet earth made their presence known. On the palate, the wine is rich, deep, full bodied and offers a beautiful sense of purity of fruit, supple textures and a long, rich, expansive finish. If you can wait, I'd give it another 15 years, if you need to see what it's about today, give this stunning wine a few hours of air. While this is shockingly expensive, if you have the money, it will be a future legendary vintage of Chateau Latour. 9,802 Views Tasted Mar 27, 2013On rare occasions, the best wines leave you speechless. Words are a waste of time. It quickly becomes obvious that your time is better spent enjoying the experience of the wine you are drinking. That is exactly what happened with the 2000 Chateau Latour! With an intense perfume filled with earth, cedar chest, stone, creme de cassis, cherry pipe tobacco, licorice, blackberries, Asian spice and lead pencil, the wine got off to a good start and kept on going! In the mouth, countless layers of voluptuous, pure, dark fruits melted over your palate. The concentrated, perfectly constructed, seamless finish was packed with pure, dark fruits. Everything was in harmony. The wine remained on your palate for at least 60 seconds! One of the unique characteristics all great wines share is, they show beautifully, even when they are young. While incredibly expensive, if you have the money, or a few bottles packed away in your cellar, this is a remarkable Bordeaux wine to mark time with. 18,085 Views Tasted Sep 2, 2011This was filled with cassis, minerals, toasty oak, tobacco, spice and ample layers of ripe black fruits. Rich, concentrated and filled with depth, the wine offers beautiful purity. Everything is in balance while the wine fills your palate with flavor. The long finish is round and complex. With more bottle age, this will only get better. 17,740 Views Tasted Mar 5, 2010 |
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2000
Les Forts de Latour (Pauillac)
With its, black fruit, cassis and leafy aromas was ready to drink as the tannins seemed resolved. 10,254 Views Tasted Mar 5, 2010 |
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1999
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Medium-bodied, crisp, bright red fruits with a leafy, spearmint and olive edge form the core of this wine. Fully-developed, the bright currant and green leafy character continues through to the finish. Drink from 2023-2035. 5,116 Views Tasted Sep 12, 2023Close to full maturity, this medium-bodied, forward, early-drinking Latour starts off just fine. But it leaves you wanting more as the finish is too short with a touch of green leaf and cedar to accompany the bright, piquant red fruits you find on the nose and palate. This is not a Latour for the long haul. 6,749 Views Tasted Aug 4, 2021Clearly, this is ready prime-time drinking, as it has hit maturity. Elegant, refined, soft, graceful and focused on its sweet, ripe, fresh, red berries, most of the tannin has resolved. The nose is as charming as the palate. This medium-bodied silky expression of Latour will be at its best over the next 12-15 years. If you have a bottle, and you are in the mood for a Latour, now is a good moment to pop a cork. 6,863 Views Tasted Mar 19, 2019This medium bodied wine from the legendary First Growth is a good wine, but it's not going to be confused with a great vintage of Latour. Medium bodied, polished, pure, clean and forward, the wine is displaying some secondary characteristics at this point. While there is no hurry to drink it, I doubt that holding it is going to create a miracle in the bottle. 7,308 Views Tasted May 24, 2013From a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, this wine was a nice surprise. Previous tasting's showed a wine that was charming, but light. The past few years have been good to this wine. Ruby in color with definite lightening at the edges, scents of tobacco, stone, earth, black cherry, kirsch, cedar wood and cassis lead to a medium/full bodied wine that for Chateau Latour is remarkably forward. Soft, refined and elegant in nature, this delicious wine ends with a supple, spicy, black and red fruit filled finish. This could improve a bit, but this is not a wine to age for decades. 11,549 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2011 |
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1998
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Medium/full bodied, better on the nose, with its tobacco, blackberry, cassis, spice box, tobacco, cedar chest and oceanic nose, than on the palate, as it lacks the generosity, depth and breed found in the best vintages. Still, there is a classy air to the character, and the ability for further development, which might turn out a little bit better with another decade in the cellar. 7,841 Views Tasted Jan 2, 2017 |
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1996
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
The best deal on a Latour with age kicks off with cedar, mint, cigar box, spice, currants and graphite. The full-bodied palate is balanced, spicy, vibrant, and multi-layered, with waves of sweet, pure, tobacco/laden currants and spice. The almost seamless finish carries. Decanted for 60 minutes, this is about to go up in score. Drink from 2024-2055. 3,542 Views Tasted Jan 13, 2024Offering a sublime tasting experience., the wine is packed with all the spicy cedar, tobacco leaf, cigar box, ash, currants, blackberries, and smoke you could ask for. Full-bodied, deep, long, earthy, rich, and long, the wine unfurls on your palate and stays there. This is still the best buy for a Latour that is close to maturity on the market today. Drink from 2023-2055. 5,717 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023This keeps getting better and better. With a few more years, I would think it is going to get an upgraded score. And why not? The fruit displays a beautiful sense of purity, harmony, refinement, power, and elegance. The wine is incredibly concentrated, yet balanced, sweet, elegant and complex. Mouthcoating and seamless, there is still more to come with perhaps 4-5 years or more in the cellar. 5,330 Views Tasted Sep 2, 2021Youthful, but even at this stage it is an absolute pleasure to imbibe. Full-bodied, concentrated, deep, long and intense, the wine lingers, builds and expands at every stage. You can enjoy this now quite easily. Or if you are patient, you can wait another 2 decades for a different experience. 5,682 Views Tasted Oct 27, 2020A stunning wine in every sense of the word. Full-bodied, deep, concentrated, regal and long, the wine is packed with ripe, juicy, sweet, fresh dark red fruits, tobacco, earth and spice. Concentrated, balanced and complex, this is still youthful. The finish really hangs in there. You can enjoy it now with 2 hours of air. Or give it another 5-10-15 years in the cellar for more development. 6,030 Views Tasted Jul 31, 2019A little more air would have added more to this stunner. Still, it would be impossible not to grasp the power, refinement, purity and length. This is the perfect blend of stoicism, firm tannins and regal fruit and textures. This bottle seemed younger than previous examples. Perhaps as mentioned, more decanting would have added to the experience. 7,658 Views Tasted Jan 12, 2018This is really in the perfect spot, where it will reign for decades. This has it all. The cool, detached power and elegance that comes from Pauillac. Ripe, dense, complex, yet regal, in a kingly manner. The tannins are present, but they are soft. The fruit has an earthy, spicy quality, with a hint of salt, of minerality in the long, expansive, fruit, earth and rock filled finish. 90 minutes or so of air helped the wine soften and fill out. 8,426 Views Tasted May 30, 2017I love this wine! If you like the wines I like, that should say it all. But for those that like a bit more detail, while not mature, it's drinking great today. The wealth of fruit, elegant refined tannins, purity of fruit, balance, harmony, length, concentration and complexity are almost off the charts. Drink this now, or wait 20-30 years, either way, it's sublime! 8,144 Views Tasted Nov 9, 2016This could hit triple digits some day. It's a truly stunning vintage for Latour. It's completely filled with lush, elegant, sweet, perfectly ripe fruits, silky, powerful, regal tannins and a finish that does not quit. I enjoyed drinking it as it approaches its 20th birthday. Meaning, it's more than fine to pop a cork today. But if you can wait another decade, this will be one of the best wines you're ever going to taste. 7,816 Views Tasted Sep 1, 2015Young, but oh so good. Power, elegance, refinement and sensuality combine to produce a wine that gabs you, and does not let go. With about an hour of air, the wine started to get going. I'm waiting on my few bottles for at least 4-5 more years. This should easily offer great drinking for 50 years. 7,564 Views Tasted Jul 10, 2015This is a stunner. If you have the money, run, do not walk and buy this majestic elixir. The fruit is perfect, mouth filling and palate coating. The tannins are soft, silky and refined. There is so much of everything going on in this wine, it knocks on the door of almost too much of a good thing. The wine was produced from a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. 10,362 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015Absolutely stunning in every way. The nose grabs you with its earthy, spicy, tobacco and cassis perfume and never lets go. On the palate, this is even better with its long, lush, polished, deep fruits and silky tannins. Drink this young if you like plush primary fruit, or age it for 2 decades for secondary characteristics. Expensive yes, but it is the best deal for a high quality Latour in the market today. 9,750 Views Tasted Jul 14, 2014WOW! The tannins are soft, ripe and starting to integrate with the powerful, elegant, silky, refined character. Rich, dense and concentrated, there is a great depth of flavor found in the long finish. Great wines almost always show well young. But this is only starting to deliver its essence. In 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, this will only be better. 10,277 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2013Richly colored, the wine is deep, powerful, intense, concentrated and packed with layer after layer of juicy, ripe, sweet, pure Cabernet Sauvignon and polished tannins. The long, velvety, fruit drenched finish must last at least 60 seconds! This was about $125 as a future. I remember how shocked people were at the time as well. Glad I bought some! 10,549 Views Tasted Mar 27, 2013The first great vintage produced after Frédéric Engerer joined the property, the nose explodes with wet forest floor aromas, smoke, tobacco, cassis, spice box, cedar chest, cigar wrapper and licorice aromas. Full bodied, rich, intense, concentrated, refined and powerful, with 2 hours of decanting, the wine continued to expand and add layers of complexity in the glass throughout the night. This graceful wine can be enjoyed now, but its best qualities will take at least a decade or more to come around. 11,871 Views Tasted Nov 23, 20121996 Latour offers a complicated nose of truffle, licorice, tobacco, cassis, cloves, cinnamon, cocoa, cigar box, cedar chest, black plums and ash. The perfume gains additional layers of fragrances with each swirl and sniff. This Bordeaux wine is perfectly balanced, harmonious and intense. Full bodied, rich and concentrated with pure dark, spicy fruits, this is easily described as power blended with elegance. The seamless finish ends with countless waves of ripe, cassis, spice and blackberry. While already approachable, this stunning wine will continue evolving and improving for decades. Sonia from Latour made the perfect comment about the wine saying, “The 96 Latour speaks to you for hours, meaning the wine develops well in the glass and continues offering new aromatics with each breath you take of the perfume.” She was right. 17,039 Views Tasted Jul 26, 2011 |
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1995
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
It has been close to a decade since I last this wine. The time in the cellar has added a lot here. Still youthful, some secondary characteristics have started appearing. Now you find cigar wrapper, creme de cassis, oyster shell, smoke, forest floor, cranberry, and red plums. Full-bodied, powerful, tannic, and with a gentle austerity, there is a firmness in the finish that works perfectly with all the layers of ripe, crisp, red berries. 2 hours in the decanter works well here. Drink from 2025-2065. 4,810 Views Tasted Jul 8, 2022The nose is developing nicely with its tobacco, smoke, cedar chest, earth, mint, blackberry and stone profile. The wine is powerful, fresh, long, structured to age and tannic, finishing with a powerful, clean, black cherry and cassis finish. In 2013, 1995 Latour was the first in a series of vintages to be re-released by the chateau after they announced the wines would no longer be sold as a future. The wines are differentiated by the anti counterfeiting measures on the label, bottle and capsule. 10,396 Views Tasted Mar 27, 2013A powerful nose filled with licorice, creme de cassis, truffle, forest floor, blackberry, cigar leaf, cedar wood and gravel greets you warmly. Full bodied, tannic, concentrated and rich, this intense Pauillac is still young and fresh. With round tannins and layers of ripe, black fruits with cassis, the wine remains on your palate for over 40 seconds. 1995 Chateau Latour is probably the wine of the vintage. While this is approachable today, it will drink much better starting in 2020. 14,936 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2011 |
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1994
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Firm, with a sense of rusticity to the tannins, the red and black fruits have a crispness, while the nose and finish share a leafy, tapenade character. The nose is the best part of the experience. It's a nice enough wine, but not a great Latour. The wine was produced from a blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. This represents the most Merlot ever used in a vintage of Latour. 7,321 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015Firm, structured and austere, the wine is filled with cassis, tobacco, olive tapenaede and earthy scents. But the stern personality and hints of green flavors intrude on the experience. In 1994, the estate added 27% Merlot to the blend. With an abundance of Merlot, I was expecting a rounder wine. For Chateau Latour, 17 years is still young and while it might improve, but I'm not holding my breath. 11,858 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2011 |
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1993
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Displaying a delicate fragrance of truffle, earth, forest floor, tobacco, strawberry and kirsch, this light style of Latour is fully mature and will not improve with additional cellaring. 8,463 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2011 |
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1990
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Cigar box, mint, licorice, flowers, cherries, red currants, and smoke define the nose. The palate is full-bodied, powerful, intense, refined and long, with a lively note of currants in the finish that sticks. Drink from 2024-2050. 3,034 Views Tasted Jun 30, 2024Continuing to develop in all the right ways, the wine balances its elegance with vibrance, power, length, and strength. Concentrated, deep, rich, and fresh, with layers of currants, blackberries, and spice, this is a beautiful example of what makes Latour special. Drink from 2023-2050. 4,294 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023As this ages, it continues improving, filling out, softening and gaining in nuances. Now you find oceanic nuances interspersed with creme de cassis, cigar box, lead pencil, wet soil and leafy complexities. The wine is full- deep, long and regal, with a present tannic backbone and the structure for at least 2-3 more decades of aging. 5,277 Views Tasted Aug 24, 2020The best bottle of this I have ever tasted hit all the right notes. It is important to note that the has over the past few years come close to full-development. It is now showing a refined, soft, elegant, regal character. The fresh, blackberry, cassis, tobacco and leafy personality is right where you want it to be. It might improve a bit from here, but the wine is 30 years of age, so if you are sitting on any, it is time to enjoy it. 6,040 Views Tasted Dec 6, 2019Even though this was from a magnum, interestingly, it seemed softer, more approachable and even more open than some bottles I've tasted from a 750. On the way to silky in texture, the wine showed loads of ripe, round, sweet, fleshy fruits with soft tannins and freshness in the spicy, cedar and tobacco leaf filled, red berry finish. At close to 30, if you are holding this in your cellar, it is a good tie to start popping a cork. 5,663 Views Tasted Feb 3, 2019In magnum, there is an extra level of depth, refinement and pleasure I have not seen in regular bottles. It takes some coaxing, but all the tobacco, wet earth, cedar, dark red fruit and spice comes out. Full bodied, fresh and vibrant, at 27 years of age, this is really drinking well. But if you only have a bottle or two, and you're the patient sort, if well stored, it will be even better at 37! 8,493 Views Tasted Aug 2, 2017Drinking well, it takes little effort to discover the tobacco, cassis, cedar wood and earthy charms. Refined, and in between tannic austerity and elegance, the spicy, red fruits in the fresh finish pack a nice punch. This is a very good Bordeaux, but for Latour in a great vintage, it is missing that little extra something. 8,581 Views Tasted Sep 1, 2016A good, but not great Latour, that is better on the cigar box, tobacco, cassis, cedar, wet earth, blackberry and spicy nose, than on the palate, where it should shine. Still young, this will improve for years. 7,457 Views Tasted Aug 25, 2015One of the best bottles of 1990 Latour I recall having, with its showy notes of clay, black and blue fruit, smoke, earth and spice filled cassis. Powerful, soft and fresh, the wine is long, deep and complex. 9,021 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015A very good, but not great Latour that is developing at a rapid pace. Rapid for Latour. The tannins are soft, the nose is complex, the fruit is ripe, but intensity and concentration found in the great years is missing. 7,998 Views Tasted Oct 31, 2014There is some bricking in the color, which is a surprise for a young, vintage of Latour. The nose offers cigar box, smoke, cedar wood, licorice, jammy plum and cassis aromas with hints of wild strawberry. The wine is full bodied and concentrated, but it is developing at a rapid pace and might not be a wine for long term aging. The polished, soft, potent finish is a treat. 10,162 Views Tasted Mar 27, 2013An interesting vintage of Chateau Latour, the wine clearly has its peaks and valleys along its evolutionary curve. Fortunately, at this tasting, it was having one of its good days with a perfume marked by a spice filled nose, coupled with wet earth, smoke, tobacco, caramel, tar, cassis, blackberry, hot bricks and cedar wood. Big, powerful full bodied and still youthful, the wine demands another decade for the ample tannins to further integrate into the rich, black and red fruit filled finish. 12,253 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012With a classic cedar, cassis, gravel, tobacco, earth, herb and lead pencil profile, this big, powerful, tannic, full bodied Latour wants to strut its stuff. Decanting is needed before it begins to emerge. There is a masculine quality to the wines character. It's a bit on the firm side. There are tannins that still need to be resolved. It needs another decade before we can know for sure what type of vintage 1990 was for Latour. 14,939 Views Tasted Nov 27, 2011Cassis, blackberry, grilled nuts and cedar sparked the aromatics. Still tannic. Needs time. When tasting it, I commented how much it reminded me of the Las Cases. As they are neighbors, that is easy to understand. On the palate, the wine offers a lot of ripe juicy, Cabernet fruit. While stylish, it comes up short for the vintage and a First Growth. The finish and middle are shorter than I'd hoped. This will improve, but IMO, as good as it is, it's not at the top level Latour is producing today starting with the 95. 10,652 Views Tasted Feb 11, 2009Young and primary. This deeply colored wine had aromatics of smoke, cassis, coffee, walnuts, forest and eucalyptus. Dense, tannic and chewy, but not overly complex or deep. 7,333 Views Tasted Jun 15, 2006Cassis, walnut, maple, tobacco and earthy aromas are at your service. Classy, layers of ripe fruit end in a long cassis filled finsih. 7,459 Views Tasted Jun 15, 2005While young and primary, it had it all. It was also shut down hard, but you could catch glimpses of its future greatness. Cassis, lead pencil, blackberries and oak were part of the perfume. This wine is huge, complex and very extracted. The palate is overtaken by layers of ripe fruit that awakens your taste sensors. Very tannic. I wouldn’t be surprised if this wine took 15-20 years to fully blossom into maturity and lasted another 30 years after that. 7,414 Views Tasted Apr 25, 2004 |
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1989
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Almost a bit too much on the classic side with its focus on leafy tobacco, pepper, spice, greenery, pepper, and herbs. With a bit of rusticity on the palate, the wine finishes on the austere, leaning-to-tart side of the style range. Drink from 2023-2030. 3,754 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023Tangy fruit and medium bodied with more power, depth and complexity on the nose than on the palate. The fruit has a regal quality in its cassis character, but the finish has some dryness and is far too short for a First Growth, especially in a good vintage. 6,644 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015Traditional and classic in style, this medium bodied, elegantly styled wine lacks the depth, weight and complexity expected of a First Growth, especially considering the quality of the vintage. The wine offered freshness coupled with complexity in the nose, along with soft textures showing its class, but the short finish and lack of density stops the score from going higher. 7,089 Views Tasted Dec 17, 2013Fully mature, with tawny edges to the color, this is a medium bodied, finesse styled vintage of Latour. There is a silky, elegance to the wine, but it lacks the level of concentration needed to add to the cassis, truffle, cranberry, earth, tobacco, cigar box and spicy, blackberry character. There is no hurry to drink the wine, but I’m not sure there is any reason to wait for further development. 9,198 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012This expressed a perfume of blackberry, cassis, mocha, truffle, spice, rhubarb, and earth. Light in weight for a Latour from a top vintage, this wine is fully mature and should be enjoyed sooner, rather than later. 11,033 Views Tasted Jun 20, 2010This wine, with its cassis, black fruit, spice and tobacco nose is already very open. While elegant and with some complexity, this is light for a Latour from a good year. The wine has reached maturity and should be drunk up. 12,135 Views Tasted Nov 15, 2009With a perfume of blackberry, cassis, mocha and truffle, this tannic, medium weight Latour finished with spicy Cabernet. 9,423 Views Tasted Mar 12, 2009 |
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1988
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Stern, austere, and rustic, this is a severe style of Latour with peppery, tart, piquant red fruits and a short, crisp, bright, herbal, red-berry finish. Drink from 2023-2030. 5,853 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023Tobacco, earth, cassis and spicy aromatics are the first thing you notice. The wine has a rustic feel in the mouth. It is solid and four square in style, finishing with cassis flavors. This will last, but I am not sure it's going to improve. 11,057 Views Tasted Aug 9, 2010 |
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1986
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
This is a flawed wine that continues getting worse with age. Very disjointed. It is a failure for a vintage where Cabernet excelled. "Sell Mortimer, sell". 11,771 Views Tasted Aug 15, 2007This gets worse with every bottle I taste or suffer though. What were they thinking? In a year where Cabernet based wines are for the most part, some of the most compelling drinking experiences around, Latour struck out. It was tart and the elements just couldn't seem to come together. 8,828 Views Tasted Nov 21, 2003 |
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1985
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Cassis, baked red fruits, tobacco and earthy scents opened to a medium bodied wine that ends in a light, red and black fruit finish. The wine started off with a tart side and with time in the glass began to improve. Still, it’s a disappointment for Chateau Latour and the vintage. 7,177 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012 |
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1983
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Much better than expected, the wine shows the patina of age in its brick laden color. Tobacco, wet forest forest, cedar and cassis scents made up the aged, but not complex perfume. On the palate, the medium bodied fruit was classy, but the finish was far too light and short to retain your interest. Drink up, it is not going to get ever get any better. 6,520 Views Tasted Aug 14, 2013 |
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1982
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
A spell-binding example of the most, consistently stunning wine from the legendary 82 vintage. Everything here is on target, in-place and balanced. There is a wall of ripe, regal, powerful, black and red fruits with a stately air of refinement and aristocracy that coat and fill your palate, leaving with a seamless, 60-second, plus finish. Drink from 2023-2060. 3,338 Views Tasted Sep 5, 2023This could be the wine of the vintage. At 40, that is more than long enough for this stunning wine really stand out from the pack. The incredible volume, depth of flavor, concentration, power, and regal bearing must be tasted to believe and understand. The waves of fruit never stop developing. The more than 60-second, and the seamless finish leaves you speechless. Drink from 2022-2050. 4,395 Views Tasted Sep 24, 2022If a wine were a candidate for 101 Pts, this bottle is a clear candidate. Holy FK! I was blown away by the depth, clarity, length and complexity here. The wine has everything you could hope for. A riveting nose, lush, opulent, polished, refined texture and a finish that hits and crosses the 60 second mark. 4,949 Views Tasted Aug 31, 2021Clearly in contention for wine of the vintage, the nose, with its roasted deep red and black fruits comes along with a plethora of scents headed by smoke, tobacco, spice, cedar chest and forest leaf. Rich, full-bodied, powerful and intense, the wine perfectly meshes its power with a refined, regal elegance that never seems to quit. 5,729 Views Tasted Oct 27, 2020Stunning from top to bottom, and from start to finish, this is a strong contender for wine of the vintage. With mouth coating layers of dark red fruits, tobacco, cigar wrapper, cedar wood and smoked earth aromatics, the wine kicks off with all the right stuff. But it is on the palate where the wine is really on full display. Intensity, length and regal in character, there is a firmness to the structure along with elegance and formality in the finish, which by the way must stick with you for 60 seconds! Thank God I have friends that can afford this. Because it really is a benchmark wine that at close to 30 years of age is almost in the right place for prime time drinking. Well stored bottles should offer pleasure until 2082! 6,434 Views Tasted May 9, 2018Words cannot do this justice. The wine is incredibly concentrated, powerful, rich and yet, firm, regal, refined and elegant. At a tasting of close to 20 different 1982 wines, this was the wine of the tasting! And that is saying something. The intensity found here, does not quit! There is layer after layer of depth. On the palate, the wine just keeps on going and never quits. Freshness, kingly refinement length and expansiveness are all part of the game. Popped and poured, decanting would have helped. Further cellaring would assist as well. I am sure future generations with well stored bottles, especially in magnum with be drinking this until it's at least 75 years old, or longer! 7,130 Views Tasted Dec 16, 2017This wine can be perfection in a bottle. Sadly, while this was close, with its heady perfume, full bodied, concentrated palate presence, it was no cigar. Freshness, layers of perfectly ripe, juicy, cassis, tobacco, cigar box, ash, earth and cedar, at close to 40, this will easily go another 40 years. I wish I showed as young as this wine! 6,006 Views Tasted Apr 16, 2016This is so good, the scale should be adjusted to allow for 101 Pts! This is everything a great Bordeaux needs to be with its majestic blend of silk, velvet and power. The exotic nose is compelling, with its cassis, blackberry, tobacco, earth, cigar box, cocoa, and dark chocolate nose. But the real action takes place on your palate. Layer after layer of perfectly ripe, sensuous, powerful fruit coats your palate and stays there, lingering and expanding for over 60 seconds. 9,359 Views Tasted Jun 5, 2015This was a very good bottle of a great wine. The experience can be much better, which is saying something, since this was so good. With a nose of fresh herbs, cedar chest, forest floor, cassis, tobacco and spice, the wine is rich, full bodied and filled with fruit, earth and powerful, sensuous textures. There is the perfect blend of silky tannins and power. This is elegance at its best. 7,035 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015Great wines are going to be different in character, but they are not going to get better than this. The wave of fruit that drenches your palate is packed with polished, elegant, lush berries. The nose is a turn on and the finish last over 60 seconds. To use a quote from one of my favorite movies; "The Maltese Falcon," "This is the stuff dreams are made of." 10,123 Views Tasted Aug 10, 2014This is the wine of the vintage and one of the wines of the century. As good as it is now, it's almost scary to think how good 2009 could turn out when it's the same age. I am not sure how it happened, but I was able to taste this wine twice in the same month and a third time, not that long ago. I know how lucky I am. However, the point of this is to state that on each occasion, the wine was easily at triple digits in quality! It is remarkably consistent. To plagiarize myself, if aliens came down to earth and wanted a wine to take back to their planet, this is the wine. With textures of refined sensuality, the wine is opulent, flamboyant and exotic. The perfume screams the moment the cork pops with its tobacco, truffle forest, spice box, cigar wrapper, incense and black cherry liqueur notes. The finish builds and expands for over 60 seconds! This is the wine I'd buy, if I hit the lottery tomorrow. 12,453 Views Tasted Oct 28, 2013Perfect in every way sums it up nicely. For those that want details, the wine remains deeply colored with a complex fragrance built from spice box, cedar chest, cassis, roasted blackberries, tobacco, flint and forest floor scents. Picture massive amounts of concentrated fruits, ripe, sweet, powerful, round tannins and the texture of velvet and you start to get the idea. Pop a bottle now, or wait 50 years, if you can... 11,793 Views Tasted Mar 26, 2013If a wine deserved more than 100 Pts, this bottle was a contender for that honor. One of the clear indicators for a sublime wine is, it starts off great and continues improving and keeps on getting better than you could have imagined. This bottle of 1982 Latour was all that and more! Tobacco, earth, truffle, wet gravel, cassis, blackberry, cedar and spice box was elevated to new level. The intense, perfectly balanced, potent, mouth filling waves of fresh, ripe, pure flavors expanded on your palate for over 60 seconds! Silk and power, with everything in perfect balance and harmony. The wine continued to improve in the glass for hours. This is what great Bordeaux is all about! This was one of those bottles that you remember forever. 14,357 Views Tasted Nov 12, 2012With its intense aromatics and incredible concentration, it said hello and kept on talking. Deep, powerful and complex. This has a wonderful purity of fruit and the finish seems lasts over a minute. 12,906 Views Tasted Dec 10, 2010Olives, black cherries, herbs, coffee, cassis, minerals and tobacco take over your senses. Still young and concentrated, this powerful, concentrated wine is not close to full maturity. It could outlast most people who own the wine today. 10,444 Views Tasted Mar 2, 2009“Oh My God!” This is the type of Bordeaux that brings tears to wine lovers eyes! This was so good, words alone do not do it justice. This amazing wine exploded with a myriad of scents including pepper, walnuts, spice box, cassis, cinnamon, licorice, coffee, truffles and more! And that was the beginning! The palate presence was out of this world! This is so opulent, exotic and rich, it has to be tasted to be believed. The perfect, seamless finish was breath taking filling every nook and cranny in your mouth and waking up all your taste buds and senses. If aliens came to earth and demanded a great wine, they would take 82 Latour! 12,622 Views Tasted Jun 15, 2008Wine doesn’t get better than this! Cassis, tobacco, coffee and smoke aromatics jumped from the glass. Very tannic. Extraordinarily concentrated. You could spend all night counting the layers of fruit in this wine. Obviously, very complex. This is a huge wine. Every single taste receptor is awakened by this wine. Layers of ripe, decadent fruit cascade over your palate. My notes say, simply amazing! If wines could be awarded over 100 Pts, this could be it. When this sleeping giant becomes fully awake sometime in the next decade, it might be the wine of the vintage. 12,532 Views Tasted Jan 10, 2007A perfume of coffee, licorice, herbs, cedar, chocolate and cassis is easy to find. Dense, palate filling with sweet, ripe tannin to resolve. Deep, multiple layers of opulent, silky, ripe, fruit cascade and glide across your palate. Amazingly soft, lush and open. But as sublime as it is now, don’t let that fool you. It’s holding it’s best charms in reserve. 12,978 Views Tasted Jan 28, 2006 |
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1981
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
This is a vintage I seldom see anymore, as most wines have faded. But Chateau Latour is still hanging in there. Medium-bodied, with a focus on its cassis, herb, green pepper, stone, smoke and tobacco character, there is bright red fruit and cigar notes in the finish, though it ends before I was ready. This wine focuses on freshness and charm, over power and length, which is perfect for the vintage. However, there is no reason to hold this any longer. This was clearly better 5-10 years ago. 3,967 Views Tasted Feb 3, 2020 |
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1979
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Medium-bodied, with bright, sharp red berries, cranberry, leaf, cedar, wet forest, herb and cigar box aromatics. Not quite lightweight, on the palate, there is a touch of austerity and rusticity to the tannins along with piquant red fruits and herbs in the finish. This is not a wine destined for further aging, if you have a bottle, drink up. 7,012 Views Tasted Aug 26, 2020 |
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1978
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Starting to dry out and drop its fruit, the wine provides a look into the past with green, peppery, herbal slant to its fruit and its bright, crisp, strict finish. Drink from 2023-2025. 3,910 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023This is an old school style of Bordeaux which is more interesting on the nose than the palate with its tobacco, cedar, lead pencil, cassis, cranberry, olive and wet earthy nose. It’s a little dry in the mouth, the tannins have a rustic quality. The wine feels firm on the palate in the slightly tart finish. 6,098 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012Masculine in style, this cassis, truffle, cedar, earth and spice scented wine was very nice on the nose. On the palate, good weight with flavors of spicy black fruit. But, the finish was a bit short and had a slight bitter or sour note on the end. This wine has slipped past its prime. If you have any in your cellar, drink up as it will not improve and will continue losing fruit. 5,431 Views Tasted Jun 15, 2009Masculine in style, this Latour seems to have misplaced its fruit. Nice nose of cassis and earth, but the palate was short, tannic and displaying a bit of sour fruit in the finish. 78 Latour was much better 5 years ago, and even better 5 years before that. This wine needs to be drunk up in the near future. 4,964 Views Tasted Jan 2, 2007Cassis, licorice and wood on the nose. Medium bodied with very cabernet tasting fruit, this is not improving and is slowly drying out. It lacks the elegance and density to make this a very good wine. The finish displays less fruit than it should and ends with dry notes. Drink up. 4,221 Views Tasted Feb 25, 2004 |
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1976
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
You’re greeted by a muted nose that takes a lot coaxing to find much in the way of its aromatics. Light in color, medium bodied and getting tired, the wine ended with a spice, earth and red fruit dominated finish. 5,752 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012 |
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1975
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Firm, masculine and old school in style, the wine offers what you'd expect in an older Pauillac, with its cassis, lead pencil, tobacco, cigar box and earthy character. There is depth to the fruit, along with some roughness to the tannins, but that does not take anything away from its charm. The wine is mature and ready to drink. This bottle was decanted about 2 hours before serving, which helped soften its tough nature. 6,445 Views Tasted Dec 14, 2015Much better on the nose than the palate with its tobacco, smoke, earth and cassis profile. There was an element of cold steel along with its hard, austere, brawny profile. Masculine in character, and still tannic, the wine lacks the charm and polished elegance that is often found in Latour. While it’s popular to claim vintages like this need time, at close to 40 years of age, it is, what it is. Granted, I’ve tasted better bottles, but it’s a vintage of Chateau Latour I’d look to buy today. On the bright side, with this much tannin remaining, there is no hurry to drink it. 6,445 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012Iron, smoke, cassis, cigar wrapper, ceddar and forest scents combine with a powerful, beefy, tannic and masculine styled wine. Beefy and brawny, this old school styled wine is in its prime. 9,416 Views Tasted May 15, 20111975 Latour offered truffles, tobacco, cassis, blackberry, cigar and earthy aromas. Lean and angular, this austere wine lacked charm. I've tasted better bottles of this wine, but it's not a wine I'd buy a case of, hoping for a great Latour experience. 11,060 Views Tasted Sep 15, 2010Very tannic, IMO, more tannin than fruit. Lacking in elegance,with an austere texture. 4,076 Views Tasted Sep 15, 2003 |
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1971
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Fully-developed, medium-bodied, long, vibrant, and sweet, ripe, fresh, earthy currants, tobacco leaf, spice, red cherries, and plums. Classic in all the right ways, this is a beautiful, elegant wine, that finishes long and deep. If you can find a well-stored bottle, it is worth checking out. Drink from 2023-2030. 2,968 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023I had this wine twice in a few week period, this note is from the better bottle. With the mature notes of tobacco, cedar, stone, and cassis, there was also a floral note that added to the complexity. Fresh, filled with charm and Pauillac essence, this is a great vintage of Latour as it offers character and a mature Latour experience for a reasonable price. Reasonable for a Latour that is approaching 50 years of age. 4,108 Views Tasted Apr 16, 20161971 Latour pops with gravel, smoky tobacco, cigar ash, cassis, blackberry, cedar, lead pencil, kirsch, black raspberry and forest floor scents. Full bodied, powerful, concentrated and broad shouldered, the wine ends with a long, spicy, krisch filled finish. This was the finest example of 1971 Latour I have ever tasted! 7,408 Views Tasted Oct 7, 2011This fully mature Pauillac was smoky. BBQ aromas coupled with tobacco, truffle, cedar, forest floor, cassis and dark berries were easy to find. Old in style, this rustic feeling wine had charm, but it was a bit curmudgeonly in dishing it out. This will not improve. If you have more than a bottle or two, drink up. 10,107 Views Tasted Jul 29, 2010 |
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1970
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
The smoky, herbal cassis comes in waves on the nose and palate. Dense, chewy, full-bodied and filled with character and classic complexity, the cassis and spicy black currants on the palate hit all the right notes in the finish. This is drinking at peak. We did not decant. But 15-20 minutes of air would not hurt. Drink 2024-3035. 2,294 Views Tasted Jun 30, 2024Of course, with wines of this age, it is all about the bottle, and this bottle was gorgeous. Concentrated, powerful, intense, vibrant, full, and long, the deep, chewy finish was loaded with currants, tobacco, spice, and herbs. Drink from 2023-2032. 3,766 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023Obviously, as wines age, especially once they are over 20, let alone 50 years old, there are no great wines, only great bottles. This is by far, the best bottle of 1970 Latour I have ever tasted. Just sublime in every way. Full-bodied, concentrated, ripe, sweet, fresh, earthy, and packed to the gills with sweet cassis, black currants, cedar, tobacco leaf, cigar box, herbs, forest leaf, and spice. The perfect blend of regal, refined, and austere, with a seemingly, non-stop finish. Decanted maybe 10-20 minutes, and enjoyed for as long as it lasted in our glasses. 3,608 Views Tasted Aug 30, 2021My scores for this seem to go up and down quite a bit, which I am sure has more to do with storage for the past several decades than not. That being said, this bottle was a gem. Powerful, intense, long, stoic, stern, and yet refined, this is showing true Pauillac character with all its layers of cassis, currants, tobacco, crushed rocks, cedar and cigar box notes. 4,113 Views Tasted Oct 23, 2020Note, I have tasted better bottles, but it is what it is. Still, there was something going worth paying attention to. The rustic, firm, slightly strict masculine, yet refined Pauillac sensibility was all there. Tobacco, cassis, cedar, lead pencil, earth, smoke and cigar wrapper notes turned the nose into the best part of the wine. 5,233 Views Tasted Apr 16, 2016Bottle variation is to be expected with wines that are 45 years of age. We were more than lucky with this bottle as it was the best example of 1970 Latour tasted in ages. Cedar, tobacco, cassis, cigar box and ash aromatics were all over the place. The wine was still fresh, the tannins were resolved and the finish combined hints of rusticity with elegance, it was long and the fruit was sweet. 5,951 Views Tasted Jul 30, 2015There is a fresh and lively quality to crisp, crunchy cassis fruit that I quite like, But there is a stern quality to the tannins, coupled with an austere quality to the leafy, tapenade and red fruit in the finish that detracts. I think this was probably not a perfect bottle, as it was good, but more old school than I recall based on how the last bottle I tasted showed. 5,609 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015One of the best bottles I've tasted in years, the developed nose offers wet earth, tobacco, burning wood, cedar, stone, cassis, cigar wrapper and cherries. There is a slight tart edge to the fruit with some herb, cedar and forest floor notes that tasters who do not truly enjoy old school Bordeaux at its best, could find off putting. There is probably no real reason to hold this wine any longer, even though there is no hurry to drink it. 6,066 Views Tasted Mar 27, 2013Once again that chestnut of wisdom rang true, “After 20 years, there are no great wines, just great bottles.” I’ve enjoyed better bottles of 1970 Latour and I’ve tasted worse examples, this was in the middle. Still dark in color with bricking around the edges, the nose was packed with cedar, gravel, tar, blackberry, earth, cassis and tobacco scents. While the wine was powerful and concentrated, there was a touch of bitterness in the tannic finish. Was it the wine, or the bottle? There’s only one way to know for sure and that’s to pop another bottle. 6,991 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012Cedar wood, tobacco, forest floor, cigar box, black currant, iron and truffle started off the mature aromatics. Full bodied, concentrated and showing depth of flavor, the wine ended with a refined, masculine, classic, long, spicy cassis finish. 8,181 Views Tasted May 3, 2012Depending on how the wine in question shows, bottle variation is either part of the fun, or the most frustrating aspect of the hobby. In this case, is the 1970 Latour a tannic, masculine, asutere styled wine? Or is it a powerful, refined Bordeaux with true Pauillac character? Bacchus was with us, because this was the best 1970 Latour I've had in ages! Crushed gravel, cassis, tobacco, smoke, truffle, blackberry, walnuts, forest floor and 5 Spice aromas were all over the place. Big, dense and chewy, this powerful Bordeaux wine commanded your attention. Most of the tannins have faded and this wine has developed wonderful complexities. It's not shy. Instead, it's power with refinement in a glass. Depending on the bottle, this could improve with age. 10,559 Views Tasted Nov 7, 2011Deep ruby color. Exotic oriental spice. coffee, cedar, mocha, leather, soy and intense mineral essences topped off with sweet caramel flowed from the glass. This wine is huge, balanced, masculine in style, but dapper as well. This mature claret offers a big, juicy mouthful of rich, ripe cassis, black cherry and iron. A slight bitter note hits the back of the mouth in the finish. 9,354 Views Tasted Dec 1, 2010Wow, nothing hits the spot like a great, mature Bordeaux. Dark, ruby with light edges. Notes of tobacco, cherries, cassis, wood, spice and earth fill your senses. Great mouth feel and texture. Long, slightly dusty finish in the beefy wine. 4,999 Views Tasted Jan 15, 2010Very serious juice! It had a huge nose of black fruits, cassis, cedar and walnuts. It was fat, rich and had a finish that wouldn't quit. Still young, vibrant and full of life. Great wine! 5,225 Views Tasted Sep 28, 2009 |
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1966
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Masculine, chewy, rustic, dense, and charming, the wine is packed with spicy, cassis, earth, leafy herbs, and crispness to the fruits on the palate in the finish. Full-developed, it is perfect for a Latour of its era. Drink from 2023-2030. 2,960 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023Lots of power here. The tobacco, herbs, spice, crushed rock, leaf, red currant, cigar box and cedar notes are strong here. The wine is full-bodied, concentrated and still shows a lot of intensity. There is a wealth of ripe, tobacco infused, spicy, cedary fruit on the palate, but the tannins are a bit gruff, giving the wine a rustic, old-school, long, classic finish. 4,413 Views Tasted Nov 11, 2020Much better than the previous bottle from last year. Full bodied, concentrated, a bit rustic with loads of cassis, hints of cranberry, tobacco and cedar. Someplace between brawny, chewy and refined, this is at peak, showing what great classic Pauillac is all about. 3,966 Views Tasted Feb 3, 2019Not the best bottle of this I have ever had. Still, the tobacco, earth, herb, cassis, and cigar box notes were divine. It was the pyrazine notes that intruded. With this bottle, on the palate, the wine showed a distinctive green pepper note that some folks, longing for the days of unclean, peppery notes in the Bordeaux are going to love. The brawny finish was long, with more peppery notes. 4,627 Views Tasted Oct 10, 2018Classic in style, but in a good way, the wine combines rustic masculinity with cedar, tobacco, cassis, cigar wrapper, smoke and spice. Full bodied, long and with intensity, this bottle was very good, but perhaps not as good as other examples I've been fortunate to taste. 3,985 Views Tasted Feb 17, 2018Full bodied, powerful, concentrated, regal, in an old school classic manner, with a blast of cassis, tobacco, cedar chest, forest floor and blackberry. Mascuiline, with complexities and vibrancy, this bottle seemed immortal and might have deserved an extra point. Clearly, this is mature, but well-stored bottles should be great for another few decades or longer. 4,244 Views Tasted Jul 28, 2016There is a reason why people covet, cellar and pay for great, mature Bordeaux. If you want to know why this has been going on for centuries, 1966 Latour could be the wine to explain it. The incredible nose, with its tobacco, cigar box, cedar chest, pipe tobacco and dark cherry perfume really lights you up. The wine is deep, full bodied, concentrated, long and complex, with a fresh, spicy cassis driven that is hard to forget. This is the perfect combination of regal and masculine in a mature Bordeaux. 5,550 Views Tasted Jan 7, 2015This is all about the cassis, leather, cigar box, cedar wood and smokey, truffle scented nose. Powerful, regal, but not exactly refined, the wine has character, style and class. Fully mature, perfectly stored bottles can last for at least another 10, 15 or 20 years, but I doubt they will get better. 6,380 Views Tasted Aug 18, 2014Still young as it approaches its 50th birthday, the perfume is loaded with truffles, Cuban cigar, cassis, cedar chest, walnuts, spice, damp forest floor and tobacco. Concentrated with fruit and still tannin, the wine fills your mouth with a long, powerful, spicy, cassis filled finish. 7,238 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012Deeply colored, massive and concentrated, this was loaded with ripe cassis, black fruits, tar, smoke and cedar. This wine perfectly marries power with grace in an old school style. 7,855 Views Tasted Jun 15, 201166 Latour offers cedar, truffle, cassis, walnuts, forest floor and tobacco notes. This powerful, structured wine is a little on the rustic side with slightly rough tannins. The wine ends in a long cassis filled finish that is slightly marred by some tart sensations. I've had better examples of this wine. But you know what they say about bottles with more than two decades of life... There's no such thing as a great wine, only great bottles. 11,123 Views Tasted Sep 2, 2010A bit austere in style. Almost a bruiser for Latour. Cassis, lead pencil and earthy tones on the nose. Very full bodied. The finish was a bit clipped. I liked the finish as it still showed fruit, but, its shortness bothered all of us. 8,229 Views Tasted Jun 6, 2008The wine sports a deep, ruby color with a nose screaming old Bordeaux! Wet forest smells with exotic spice, leather, black fruit, tobacco, truffle and cassis fill the air. And that’s without swirling! This dense, full-bodied, old school styled wine is still not fully mature. 4,973 Views Tasted Dec 22, 2006 |
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1964
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
The wine is better for its classic, aromatic side, which is predominantly secondary, than for its medium-bodied, crisp, tart, red, berry, spicy, herbal, and bright palate. This is fully developed and does not warrant further aging. But hey, it is already 60 years of age. Drink from 2023-2025. 2,883 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023Tobacco, cassis, blackberry, spice box, herbs, wet earth, cigar box and fresh cherry aromas create the perfume. The wine is medium bodied, straddling the middle ground between finesse and austerity with a hint of green notes, the wine ends with a spicy, cassis and cranberry finish. Better on the nose than the palate, this is still quite charming. However, this is not a wine to hold for future development. 6,626 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012 |
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1962
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
This bottle was good, but sadly, not great. Better on the nose, with its tobacco, cigar box, herbs, forest floor, cedar chest and cherry notes than on the palate, which was starting to fade. Other bottles have been better. Regardless, tasting Latour with more than 50 years of age is always a treat. 5,777 Views Tasted Jul 30, 2015What a stunning performance for this great wine, from a forgotten vintage. Cigar box, ash, cedar, truffle, forest floor, spice, cherry jam and tobacco notes scream from the glass. Full bodied, soft, round, potent and very much alive, this is a great example of iron fist in the velvet glove. I've been lucky to have tasted this winner 3 times over the past 12 months, and each bottle has been delicious. If you cannot afford the legendary 1961 Latour, (And who can?) if you're seeking an old school Latour that is fully mature, this is the wine to buy! 5,266 Views Tasted May 14, 2013It’s been years since I’ve tasted this wine. On its 50th birthday, I had no idea what to expect. While my hopes were high, there was no way I could have imagined how good this wine was going to be! The thrills started with the complex aromatics; smoke, Asian spice, cassis, walnuts, blackberry, lead pencil, cedar chest, tobacco, strawberry and forest floor were ample to keep a taster interested. But the show continued all the through to the finish, with rich, supple, regal textures and a long, sweet, soft, generous black and red fruit filled finish that continued improving in the glass. 5,428 Views Tasted Nov 22, 2012 |
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1961
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
That's not a wine, that's 1961 Latour, which means this is in a class all by itself. The wine is incredibly powerful, dense, and intense. There is so much concentration here, your palate is coated with its layers of rocks, stones, gravel, spice, earth, and chewy, red fruits. There is a refined quality to the waves of black and red currants that you cannot find in other wines. The finish starts strong and amazingly, it builds, expands and adds complexities as it lingers, long after the wine has left the glass. 5,010 Views Tasted Apr 6, 2022From a magnum, this bottle was riveting from start to finish. The ethereal nose, with all its tobacco, cigar box, cedar, smoke, barbecue, campfire ember, black currant, mesquite, tree bark and cherry scents fired you up. Still powerful, full-bodied, concentrated, assertive and intense, the wine has a backbone, structure and a stoic, regal character to its fruit that gets your attention. The cassis, earth, cigar, herb and spice finish past the 60-second mark without trouble, and keph on going. I am sure well-stored bottles and large formats will pass the 100 year mark easily. 5,348 Views Tasted Mar 25, 2021From a bottle that came directly from the chateau, this was a beauty! The iron edge to the bright cassis was complicated by the tobacco leaf, cigar box, dark chocolate, cedar and sprig of mint on the nose. On the palate, the perfect melange of power, austerity, regal character and freshness carried through to the bright, sweet, earthy, stony red fruits. Here you find elegance married to power. What a wine and what a treat! The 61 was the product of the lowest yields in the history of the estate at only 15 hectoliters per hectare. Interestingly, the wine spent 3 years in barrel before bottling. 7,216 Views Tasted Feb 5, 20191961 Latour offers a regal perfume of tobacco leaf, cassis, iron, cedar, spice, truffle and forest floor notes. Powerful, full bodied, intense and deep, this concentrated wine takes over your palate with multiple layers of rich, ripe, spicy black fruits that fill your mouth and coat your palate. This wine personifies the term "iron fist in a velvet glove." This is elegance meshed with power. The long, spicy, dark berry and cassis filled finish remains in your mouth for close to 60 seconds. 27,850 Views Tasted Dec 15, 2011Deep ruby in color, the nose sang with tobacco, cassis, truffle, smoke, earth forest floor notes. Big, rich and polished, the wine finished with a large mouthful of cassis, chocolate and steel that faded far too quickly in the glass. What should have an awesome wine was damaged by a lack or provenance. This was an outstanding fully mature Bordeaux, but not a great 61 Latour. Once again, while there is no such thing as a great older wine, there are only great older bottles. 95 Pts 25,764 Views Tasted Dec 3, 2010After hours in the glass, the wine continued putting on weight and evolving in the glass. Absolutely amazing! This huge wine was packed and stacked with countless layers of rich, ripe, Cabernet fruit. The walnut laden perfume with it’s layers of cassis, cedar and truffles was off the charts. It tasted incredibly young and will continue to improve for decades. 21,877 Views Tasted Mar 15, 2008 |
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1959
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Smoke, cigar box, herbs, black and red fruits, forest floor, leaves, tobacco, and an array of spices pack your nose. The wine manages to marry its lush, supple fruits with power, elegance, regal tannins, and austerity. In other words, this is Chateau Latour! Drink from 2023-2040. 2,182 Views Tasted Sep 1, 2023I am not sure how I have been this lucky to have tasted this wine more than any other 1959, but I am not complaining. Especially after this bottle. Balancing power and grace, the wine is bright, spicy, full, and deep, with layers of tobacco, cedar, cigar box, smoke, spice, ash, oceanic scents, and red fruits. Long, intense, and expansive, this is an incredible tasting experience. 3,386 Views Tasted Sep 14, 2021Cigar box, tobacco leaf, smoke, cedar, mint leaf, cherry pipe tobacco and currants shine on the nose. The wine has a soft, silky, nature to the tannins with just a hint of rusticity in the texture. The fruit retains a spicy, tobacco and herb character that adds to the natural sweetness of the bright red berries. The remarkable finish gets you going back for sip after sip. 3,869 Views Tasted Oct 27, 2020The initial sniff from the gentle, first pour was all it took to know this bottle was special. The complexity and depth on the nose was mind-blowing. But on the palate, the wine offered a supple, lushness, layers of cherry and cassis, tobacco, spice and cedar that would not quit. Multi-faceted, each sniff and sip offered something new. Popped and poured, the wine remained at this high level until it was drained from the glass. The best bottle of the 59 Latour I have ever encountered. I am sure this is a preview of the 82, or 09 will morph into, except those vintages will be even better with equal amounts of bottle age. Shockingly expensive, but if you have the discretionary income, this was an unequaled tasting experience. 4,834 Views Tasted Sep 10, 2018The nose on this was better and more interesting than the palate with its blend of truffle, cigar box, earth, forest floor, dark red berry and spicy scents. Full bodied and concentrated, with a great depth of flavor, this bottle was a little dry in the finish which detracted from the overall experience. With older vintages, it's all about the bottle and sadly, this bottle was good, but a perfect example of what can be an other worldly tasting experience. 6,056 Views Tasted Mar 24, 2015Looking at this wine, you'd think it was 20 years younger! The bouquet of aromas filled the air with cigar box, ash, smoke, tobacco, rocks, blackberries, cherries, spice and truffles. The wine is rich, intense, full bodied, long and ends with layer of silky, deep, sweet and slightly tart spicy cherries. This thrill a sip wine was a treat! 6,337 Views Tasted Mar 28, 2013Off the charts! The intoxicating, spicy, cassis, tobacco and truffle perfume filled the glass, your senses and the room. This was very concentrated, offering endless layers of deep, rich cabernet fruit and a long, intense finish. Not as big as the 61, but more opulent in style. This is why people age and cellar top Bordeaux wines in the best vintages. 11,714 Views Tasted Nov 7, 2011Showing deep ruby color with slight lightening at the rim. Cassis, spices, cedar and walnuts. Dark, deep, dense and concentrated. Lots of ripe, juicy Cabernet quality in this stunning Bordeaux wine. 10,416 Views Tasted Jun 21, 2010 |
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1957
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Dark in color, when you keep the vintage in mind, tobacco, cedar, smoke, pomegranate and cassis scents are the best part of the wine as it offers little fruit or complexity. Drink up. 14,066 Views Tasted May 3, 2012 |
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1955
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Fully mature, the wine opens with a spicy, smoky nose complicated by tobacco, cigar box, cassis and cedar wood. The tannins have a bit old school rusticity in the texture. The wine ends with crisp red fruits, herbs, earth and spice. I understand holding the wine for a birthyear or anniversary. But if you are not waiting for specific date, if you own a bottle, I would drink it, instead of aging it longer. 3,233 Views Tasted Feb 13, 2014 |
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1952
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Fully developed, charming, classic, and elegant, this lighter-styled Latour offers its red cherries, red currants, and red plums with a side of cigar wrapper, tobacco leaf, smoke, spice, and wet earth. Medium-bodied, vibrant, and soft in character, this was a seldom-seen treat. Drink from 2023-2025. 2,849 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023Filled with truffles, spicy black fruit and cassis, leather, smoke and soy scents in the perfume. Offering a big mouth feel in an old school austere style, this wine served up a healthy dose of cassis in the long syrupy textured finish that's only found in old, mature wines. The wine kept improving in the glass. Provenance is everything in wines. This bottle has barely moved since the day it was produced. 5,362 Views Tasted Jun 25, 2009 |
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1950
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
It is always a treat to taste perfectly mature, older Bordeaux, especially when it is a vintage of Latour, I have never tasted. Medium bodied, refined, soft and with that great blend of forest floor, cedar wood, tobacco, wet earth and spicy, clean, red fruits. The wine seems to have exchanged power with charm. I wish the finish was a bit longer, but this was still a treat. 5,641 Views Tasted Oct 16, 2017 |
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1949
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Simply wow! I seldom get to taste 40s Bordeaux, let alone 40s Latour, but what a wine. A thrill from the initial sniff and sip. Without hesitation, the wine delivered tobacco leaf, cigar box, mint, cedar, fennel seed, smoke, currants, and cherries in the heady perfume. On the palate, the thrills continued with layers of iron-crusted, red berries leaves, cigar box, and spice. Long, vibrant, and intense, the wine blends its wild side with stately refinement, along with a touch of orange rind in the lengthy leafy finish. Drink from 2023-2040. 2,747 Views Tasted Sep 1, 2023You never know how wines of this age are going to show, but this was a thrill-a-sip bottle! It took only one sniff and the initial sip to know this was a treat. The currants were sweet, ripe, vibrant, and fresh. There was length, refinement, elegance, and class here from start to finish. Long and complex, at close to 75 years, with more gas left in the tank, this is a perfect example of the ability to age in Latour. Drink from 2023-2030. 3,539 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023The best bottle of 1949 Latour I have ever tasted! It took about 30 minutes before some of the initial stern character morphed into a regal, classic, Pauillac with a heavy dose of cedar, some pyrazines, tobacco leaf, ash, earth and cherry. Full bodied with depth, this almost 70-year-old Latour was a treat. 5,090 Views Tasted Sep 10, 2018Cedar, truffles, grilled red berries and smoke in the perfume. Perhaps a touch of VA. Blackberries and a touch of tartness marred the delicate finish. Slightly acidic. 4,742 Views Tasted Jun 21, 2007Truffle, tobacco, earth, cassis, Asian spice kicked off the perfume. But the wine did not develop well in the glass. It lost fruit, weight and balance while gaining in acidity and tart flavors after 20 minutes in the glass. The wine showed best during its first 15 minutes. 4,591 Views Tasted Apr 25, 2006 |
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1948
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Served double blind, this stunner was soft, supple, round and packed with spicy cassis, opulent sweet cherries, tobacco, truffle and cigar box. Brick red in color, the finish was long, clean and impressive. 7,395 Views Tasted May 7, 2014 |
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1945
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Concentrated, stern and with some, old school rusticity in the tannins, the burning wood, tobacco, lead pencil, cigar box, cassis and smokey notes sang, but the tune would have been better without the VA. Full-bodied on the palate, the wine had a presence, but it was on the older, more stern side of the style range, with a combination of sweet and tart red fruits and salt in the finish. 5,572 Views Tasted Oct 6, 2018 |
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1937
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
From a bottle that still held the original cork and a fill that was correct for being almost 80 years of age, this bottle was a poor drinking experience. The nose combined old cigarette, tobacco and ash aromas, but not fruit. On the palate, the wine was better than just wet, but just barely. Oh well... Another piece of bottled history down the drain. I've heard that good bottles of the 1937 provide great drinking. If you have a bottle, I hope it turn out better than mine. 10,383 Views Tasted Jul 30, 2015 |
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1934
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Clearly, this is the wine of the vintage. This bottle was perfect as it has not moved from the chateau since it was bottled! Tasting decades younger than its true age, the wine continued building in intensity and fruit over the hours it remained in my glass. There was a beautiful ourity to the sweet, ripe cherries that remains etched on my palate. The nose was all about the tobacco, cedar wood, cigar box, spice and truffle personality. What a thrill it was to taste bottled history! 8,300 Views Tasted Oct 5, 2014 |
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1929
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Not quite close to dead, but on its way in the near future. The plush texture could be enjoyed, but the whisky and maderized elixir was far too gone to be of more than historical interest. Still, it was an honor to be able to experience the wines last gasps of breath. This example proved the no great wines, only great bottles theory. 10,357 Views Tasted Dec 1, 2008Dried orange peel, spices, minerals, cedar and walnuts. Incredible mouthful of gorgeous rich, ripe, sweet fruit. Perfectly well balanced. Deep, multiple layers of syrupy, ripe fruit glide over your palate as easily as clouds swim across the sky. This was absolutely compelling. The wine continued improving in the glass. It was impossible to put it down and stop tasting or smelling the wine. How I managed not to reach across the table and start drinking from other peoples glasses, or at least beg for more is beyond me. 1929 Latour is the perfect example of the iron fist in the velvet glove. 7,391 Views Tasted Jun 21, 2007 |
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1928
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Sneaking up on its 100th birthday, just the chance to see the bottle, let alone taste it was more than cool. Fortunately, this bottle was well-treated during its life. Leather, tobacco, soy, Cuban cigars, spice, smoke, and bright red currants came through in the nose and on the palate. The concentrated wine still offered vigor, vibrancy, and spice in its earthy, red, sweet, and tart character, finishing with a chalky endnote. If you are lucky enough to own a bottle, you might as well wait until 2028 and pop it on its 100th Bday, as it is going to easily last that long. Drink from 2023-2028. 3,018 Views Tasted Jul 4, 2023 |
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1919
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
It is hard to believe this is the second time I've tasted this scarce wine. But it's true. Light in color and weight, it was easy and effortless to drink down its tobacco, cedar, spice and leafy character. The lightweight finish that delivered the remaining vestiges of fresh red fruits had charm. 3,007 Views Tasted Nov 20, 2018Cloves, truffles, soy, scorched earth and smoke. Light on the palate with a finish of strawberry, rhubarb jelly 7,378 Views Tasted Jun 21, 2007 |
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1918
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Served blind, I was shocked to discover this was 100 years old! And I was even more surprised to see the came from what I considered a weak vintage. From an original bottle with the original cork, the wine was light, the color was similar to rosehip tea. On the palate, the wine was elegant, fresh and feminine. The bouquet, with its spice, cigar wrapper, smoke wet earth and forest character was great. The finish was all about the soft, refined nature coupled with the remaining sweetness in the leafy, ripe, cherry finish. This was a treat I am not going to forget. 3,575 Views Tasted Nov 20, 2018 |
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1916
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Packed with cassis, cedar wood, gravel and tobacco, cherry, black raspberry, forest floor, truffle and smoke, this medium bodied, soft, lighter, red cherry filled wine had a lot going on for a wine that was about to celebrate its 100th birthday! 7,146 Views Tasted Mar 29, 2012 |
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1909
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
This had a light, rusty, orange color with scents of earth, leather and tea. Syrupy texture with strawberry, raspberry tea flavors. Short finish. Fruit faded in the glass. 10,527 Views Tasted Jun 21, 2007 |
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1899
Château Latour Grand Vin (Pauillac)
Yes, do not adjust your screen, that was 1899 Latour! Light brick color, a touch of VA. Spice, coffee, chocolate and toffee in the nose. The 110 year old Bordeaux wine had a finish that improved in the glass over the entire night left me with a memorable Bordeaux experience. Some people at the dinner spit. I can promise you, I put that wine where it belonged, finishing my entire pour! 14,235 Views Tasted Jun 21, 2007 |
