x
  • Country ranking ?

    1 131
  • Producer ranking ?

    59
  • Decanting time

    1h
  • When to drink

    now to 2025
  • Food Pairing

    Venison with Red Wine Sauce

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

Close

The Story

The chateau makes three different wines. The so-called grand vin, that is Château Latour itself, a second wine called Les Forts de Latour and a third wine simply called Pauillac. The grand vin comes from the original part of the vineyards, called the Enclos. This is the most prestigious part of the vineyard where the vines have a fine view of the Gironde estuary. The tradition in Bordeaux says that vines that overlook the water make the best wine. The proximity to the estuary actually gives a slightly higher temperature, helping the grapes to good maturity. The Enclos is around 45 hectares out of a total of 88 for the whole estate.

The grape varieties are 75 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 23 % Merlot, 1 % Cabernet Franc and 1 % of Petit Verdot. The planting density is high, 10,000 vines per hectare. Every year the chateau’s viticulturist replaces a certain number of dead vines. These young vines are marked and treated separately. They are harvested separately and they are not used in the grand vin until they are at least 10 years old.

The Enclos is under conversion to organic farming since 2015. It takes three years to be certified so it means that we will see the first organic Château Latour in 2018. Only copper and sulfur, mixed with different plant infusions, are used to fight diseases in the vineyard. Instead of insecticides they use sexual confusion. Only organic fertilizers are used when needed and no herbicides.

The barrel aging starts in December. Château Latour is put in 100 % new oak from the Allier and Nièvre forest in the central part of France. The chateau works with 11 different coopers. This is important to the winemaker as the coopers all have different styles.

 

The wine spends six months in the first year cellar where it will also undergo the malolactic fermentation. The barrels are tasted regularly and the winemaker decides the blend for the grand vin, the second wine and the third wine. He decides if the press wine should be included or not. The wine is then moved to the huge and magnificent second-year cellar where it will spend 10-13 months, so in total around 22 months of aging before it is bottled. 2014 was bottled in June this year. During the barrel aging the wine is racked and topped up regularly, every 3 months. At the end, the wine is fined traditionally with egg whites, 5-6 whites per barrel.

Château Latour is often a textbook example of a Cabernet Sauvignon. No wonder, as often almost 90 % of the wine is made from this grape. It is a powerful wine in its youth, with aromas of cedar wood and black fruit, made even more powerful with the aging in 100 % new oak barrels. It is packed with fruit and tannins and it stays young for at least 10 years. This is a wine you really should wait for, say 10-15 year or longer. It needs time to show what it is capable of.

Close

Vintage 1983

Bordeaux / If 1981 was forgotten after 1982, the 1983 was completely eclipsed by 1982, although the harvest was large and of high quality throughout Bordeaux. Too much humidity caused by heavy rains hampered production in many places. At Margaux, some wines were even better than 1982. For example, Château Margaux announced that their 1983 surpassed the 1982. One of the best Palmers of all time was Palmer 1983.

The best wine of the vintage, however, was Le Pin – without a doubt. It’s a real bargain, not only for the quality, but also for the price at 1 550 euros per bottle, compared to Le Pin 1982 at 6,500 euros in 2020. Cheval Blanc has also done fabulously. Yquem began a new climb this year. Graves was hit by a hailstorm which resulted in a small and virtually non-existent harvest.

Close

Tasting note

color

Full, Ruby red and Healthy

ending

Long and Extensive

flavors

Blackberry, Blackcurrant, Toasty, Tobacco, Caramel and Cassis

nose

Intense, Complex, Refined and Tempting

recommend

Yes

taste

Low in Acidity, Warming, Low tannin, Perfectly balanced, Multi-dimensional, Rich, Ripe, Elegant and Silky tannins

Verdict

nice but not special and Well-rounded

Written Notes

This was a very good bottle. Dark vibrant crimson. Very concentrated and sweet with an intense nose reminiscent of liquorice that almost reminded me of Syrah. Quite amazing persistence with an impressively fresh finish. Because the bottle I'd chosen had been a 1961 that was a little disappointing on first opening, I thought this could have been it – a sign of how winning this 1983 was.

  • 96p

This vintage was a challenging one at Latour. The flowering period in June was unproblematic and July was very hot, with a temperature 4° C above the seasonal average. But the weather was stormy and humidity remained high causing problems with cryptogamic diseases and black rot. The unpredictable and humid weather continued in August, lowering expectations for the harvest. But in September the  fine weather finally set in for a period of three months: the spread of rot was halted and even regressed. From then on, ripening progressed perfectly. The vintage started on 22 September and continued until 11 October.

            Moderately rich purple colour. Mature nose of cassis, undergrowth and attractive spiciness. Despite the difficult conditions and attractive elegance and harmony was captured in the 1983 vintage. Less concentration that in most Latours but the wine has charm and moderate tannin and refreshing acidity. Touches of oak and spiciness on the long aftertaste. A delicate wine at a perfect age for drinking. Will not benefit much from further maturation but will keep for another decade.

  • 93p
Bottom neck fill. Ruby, garnet rim. Scented, bit tight, cassis and red berries nose. Touch of tobacco, ads with air. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, elegant, fruity and nuanced, refreshing, lovely balance, could have more intensity, long. 93
  • 93p
Medium intense, ruby colour. Ripe black fruit nose, smoky, floral and plummy nose. Dry, medium-bodied, firm, less appealing fruit but still intense. Savoury, moderately long finish. Mouthdrying finish. Decant for 1 hour. Ready but will keep another 15 years.
  • 87p
Load more notes

Information

Origin

Pauillac, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Above Average

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

No Potential

Fake factory

None

Glass time

1h

Drinking temperature

16
Incorrect Information
If you found some information that is wrong, let us know
Are you sure you want do delete this wine? All information will be lost.
Are you sure you want to recommend this wine?
Are you sure you want hide this written note ?
Are you sure you want show this written note ?
UPGRADE MEMBER PLAN
Upgrade your membership now, it's quick and easy. We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards. Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal. You can cancel your membership at any time.
Thank you for your support!
 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

 

HOW TO USE TASTINGBOOK?

We recommend you to share few minutes for watching the following video instructions of how to use the Tastingbook. This can provide you a comprehensive understanding of all the features you can find from this unique service platform.

This video will help you get started



Taste wines with the Tastingbook


Create Your wine cellar on 'My Wines'



Explore Your tasted wines library



Administrate Your wine world in Your Profile



Type a message ...
Register to Tastingbook
Sign up now, it's quick and easy.
We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards.
Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal, where you can sign up for a free 7-day trial period. You can cancel your membership at any time. We wish you a rewarding journey to the world of Fine Wines.

Free 7 days Member trial

 

Member

 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

  Register