x
  • Country ranking ?

    401
  • Producer ranking ?

    22
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Seared duck with caramelised chicory

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.

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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.

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Wine Information

1970
The weather conditions

After a fairly mild winter, growth started towards the end of March, but the vegetation was immediately and adversely affected by frosts at the beginning of April. Early spring was cold with growth retarded. Full flowering was on 15 June during a hot spell with only a few storms. July was fine and very hot, and the grapes started to ripen on the 25th, but only slowly due to the dry weather. August was moderate, neither hot nor cold, nor wet. September was both warmer and wetter and regularised the ripening of the grapes. From the 16th it was very hot which completed the ripening. The vintage began on the 28th in normal weather for the season : temperate with some night showers. It ended on 17 October. The grapes were of extraordinary quality, very ripe and very abundant. The musts produced were of normal sugar and acidity levels with a lovely color.

Vintage quality and tasting comments

The new wine was highly-colored and rich, it had plenty of fruit and was rich in tannin. Today the wine is a real "blockbuster" : The bouquet has layers of the typical cedar-dark chocolate-spices Latour nose of ripe years. The mouth is massive, very well-balanced, with very concentrated, ripe and rich tannins leaving a fresh finish. A classic Latour.

Quality: Great year

The moment for optimal drinking and best way of serving

The Grand Vin is still a little young and should remain in cellars at least another 5 years to reach its optimum, and will last another 20 to 25 years.
Les Forts de Latour is at its optimum today (2000) and will start to decline slowly.
For service, keep the bottle vertical at least half a day to settle the sediments at the bottom of the bottle. Then slowly pour the wine into a decanter in order to get rid of these sediments, keep in the decanter for at least 1 hour for aeration (for the Forts de Latour 1/2 hour is enough) and serve.

The tower of Saint-Lambert was probably built during the latter half of the 14th century. Indeed, on 18th October 1331, PONS, Seigneur of Castillon, allowed Gaucelme de CASTILLON, member of one of the richest Médoc families, to build a fortress in Saint-Lambert.

In 1378, Château Latour " en Saint-Maubert ", called later Château La Tour and then Château Latour, entered the annals of history.We are at that time in the midst of the one hundred years war and the Tower of Saint-Mambert, a fortified post guarding the estuary, is being held by Breton soldiers employed by the King of France. After a siege lasting three days, the Anglo-Gascon army seized the fort and installed a garnison. Latour stayed under British domination, until the capitulation's treaty, just after the Battle of Castillon, on 17th July 1453.

The history of the Saint-Maubert Tower is now a mystery because it doesn't exist anymore... Nowhere, on the 1759 cadastre in Château Latour, do we have the sign of a building that looks like a tower. The fortress, in the 14th century, was based at about 300 meters from the river.

We can only assume that the tower stood on the south-east side of the vineyard, near the Juillac river. The old tower was probably not round, but square. If we refer to the time of its construction, we can imagine it was a quadrangular building, with at least two floors.The existing tower, which has nothing to do with the original one, did not give its name to the vineyard. This tower is indeed a pigeon house, probably built with the stones of the old Château between 1620 and 1630...

It would appear that the domaine of Latour remained under joint ownership until the end of the sixteenth century, the co-proprietors receiving rent from their tenants who cultivated the land. By the end of the sixteenth century the proprietors had been reduced to a family called Mullet and if direct control was progressively replacing that of tenants and co-proprietors, the system of viticulture was to remain virtually the same until the end of the seventeenth century.


At the end of the 17th century, after a succesion of sales, inheritances and marriages, the Latour estate became the property of the Ségur family. It is in 1718 with the Marquis Nicolas-Alexandre de Ségur, that the Great History of the vineyard starts. He was the son of Alexandre de Ségur de Francs and Marie-Thérèse de Clausel, daughter of Joseph de Clausel, the latter being the second husband of Marguerite Coutaut, owner of Château Latour until 1695.

Thanks to the marriage of Alexandre de Ségur with Marie-Thérèse de Clausel, "the Tower of Saint-Maubert" entered the Segur family and remained in their hands there for almost 300 years.

Just before his death in 1716, Alexandre de Ségur bought Lafite. Two years later, his son, Nicolas-Alexandre, (called "the Prince of Vines") increased the family holding with the acquisition of Mouton (Rothschild) and Calon (Ségur). Only the Margaux estate remained in the hands of the Aulède family.

During the first half of the 18 th century, the land of Latour was run in accordance with the possibilities given by the other vineyards of the de Ségur.

But in 1755, the death of the Marquis Nicolas-Alexandre created substantial changes in the destiny of Latour : before his death, Lafite was given the most attention among his numerous estates. With the division of the Marquis' personal property, Latour finally received the necessary care and investment it required, and started to develop its full potential during the second half of that century.

Because the heirs of the Marquis didn't live in Bordeaux, the administration was necessarily done by a "régisseur" (General Manager) , who had to produce detailed reports on the estate activity.
This organization involved complete administration maintenance, culture expenses, and correspondance between the several managers and the owners. This considerable data is a very precious source of information today which helps us to understand the life of the estate during the last 250 years.







At the beginning of the 18th century, Château Latour started to be highly recognized around the world, thanks to the reconquest of the British market and the development of the wine business in northern Europe. The aristocracy and other wealthy groups of consumers became very enthusiastic about a few great estates, of which Latour was one. And that was how Thomas Jefferson, Ambassador of the United States in France, and future President, discovered this wine in 1787. At that time, a cask of Château Latour was already worth twenty times as much as one of ordinary Bordeaux wine.

The reputation of Château Latour was consolidated during the 19th century. It was confirmed in 1855, when the government of Napoléon III decided to classify the estates of the Médoc and the Graves for the International Exhibition in Paris : Château Latour was classified as First Growth.

The commercial and economic development in Europe, at the end of the 19th century, and stonger relations with the Bordeaux Wine Trade, created new customers, increasingly interested in good wine, and appreciative of their quality.

The existing Château was built during this "golden age", between 1862 and 1864.


In 1963, the heirs of the Marquis de Ségur sold 75 % of the Château Latour shares. 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 Château Latour.

However the juridical structure was not changed : it kept the 120 year-old name of "Société Civile du Vignoble de Château Latour".

At the time of the purchase, it was clear to everyone that the property would have to undergo major renovations, both in the vineyard and in the cellars :

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Average Bottle Price

2020 2020 2018 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000
550€ +7.2% 513€ +24.5% 412€ -14.9% 484€ +13.9% 425€ -2.3% 435€ +12.1% 388€ -12.6% 444€ -9.2% 489€ +21.0% 404€ +29.9% 311€ +28.0% 243€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Deep, Ruby red and Bright

ending

Long, Extensive, Vibrant and Acidic

flavors

Plum, Tobacco, Truffles, Blackcurrant, Pepper and Toasty

nose

Complex, Closed, Opulent and Intense

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Medium tannin, Well-structured, Good texture, Concentrated, Youthful, Full-bodied, Full, Refined and Drying tannins

Verdict

Outstanding and Fine

Written Notes

A magnum of 1970 Latour proved to be tasty. This was pretty by the usual Latour standards, open and soft with some red cherry buttressed by walnut. This will always be an excellent, but never a great, Latour (93M).
  • 93p
The winter was mild at Latour. Growth started towards the end of March, but the vegetation was affected by frosts at the beginning of April. Early spring was cold. Full flowering was evident on June 15th during a hot spell. July was fine and hot, and the grapes started their slow veraison on the 25th. August was moderate but September was warm with some humidity. A hot spell after the 16th completed the ripening. The vintage began on the 28th in normal temperate weather with some showers. The harvest ended at Latour on October 17th. Quality of the grapes was excellent by every parameter of quality and quantity. According to Latour’s own words the wine is today a real "blockbuster". Excellent magnum. Decanted for two hours before the vertical tasting of 1970s. Ruby red colour with an tiny amber edge. Very expressive and youthful on the nose. Shows plum, truffle, tobacco and walnut aromas. Full-bodied with fine tannin and a powerful, layered mouthfeel. The finish goes on an on. This gorgeous Latour loses nothing after three hours in the glass.
  • 94p

Obviously, 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. 97 Points

  • 97p

Latour 1970 showed fine Cabernet Sauvignon notes on the nose, fine balance and complexity on the palate, and long finish. A well-preserved wine with everything in splendid order. Still going strong. 95p.

  • 95p

Und schon kam das nächste Monument ins Glas. 1970 Latour war einfach Latour pur, ein gewaltiges, fast altersfreies, sehr dichtes Kraftpaket mit der Latour-typischen Walnussnote, mit perfekter Struktur und großartiger Länge, brauchte trotz einiger Zeit im Dekanter auch im Glas noch Zeit und Luft, um alles zu zeigen. Wer die Geduld nicht hatte, verpasste die Perfektion dieses großen, klassischen Latour Monumentes – WT100.

  • 100p

n neck fill. Decanted for three hours and not enough. Deep ruby, garnet rim. Tight, closed, shutt, red berries far behind. Finally some scented touch and floral notes appearing, getting more intense, slowly, took five hours. Layered, nuanced, violets, pure cassis, refreshing nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, massive texture, a cathedral of a wine, mountain of tannins with fruit and power to back it, long, nuanced and fresh. 98

  • 98p
Medium intense, ruby colour. Elegant, complex nose yet slightly closed. Lightbodied, elegant structure, refined tannins, vivid acidity, long supple finish. Restrained fruit. Delicate style. Decant 2 hours. At its peak, but will keep another 10 years.
  • 90p
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Information

Origin

Pauillac, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Below Average

Fake factory

None
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