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  • Country ranking ?

    1 263
  • Producer ranking ?

    74
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Lamb Loin with Carrot Risotto

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Rich and ripe wine. Dark red color with an amber edge. Loads of meat, berry and tobacco character on the nose. Very rich. Full-bodied, with soft, velvety tannins and a long, ultraripe fruit finish. Still very fresh and young.

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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

A harsh winter, with temperatures reaching -18°C on 16 January. While the mass of the Gironde protected Latour's "Enclos" from frost; some vines suffered on the external plot of "Petit Batailley". The weather then became particularly favourable: budbreak occurred on 1 April, followed by a mild, rainy spring without any extreme conditions. Flowering proceeded in favourable conditions from 2 to 15 June. The summer was sunny, hot and dry, except for some heavy showers at the end of July. September was exceptionally fine and promoted ripening. The harvests took place from 30 September to 11 October with light rain between the 4th and 9th. The grapes were perfectly ripe and healthy.

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Vintage 1985

Bordeaux 1985/ An extraordinary vintage. Particularly elegant in their early years, these wines are now mellow and suave with considerable finesse. The Médoc wines, supple with mellow tannins, are deliciously soft and fruity. The Pomerols and Saint Emilions possess a marvellous combination of concentration and finesse. The dry white wines are rich and complex. The sweet wines are ample, honeyed and fruity.

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Tasting note

color

Full

ending

Medium

nose

Intense

recommend

Yes

Written Notes

Moderately intense, cherry red colour. Developing nose with earthiness, leather, dried herbs and hints of volatile balsamico aromas. A rich medium-bodied wine with marked ripe tannins, very balanced acidity combining harmoniously with the ripe fruitiness of plums and smokiness from new oak. The Cedar and tobacco leaf flavours are standing out. Long lingering finish with ripe intense fruitiness and minerality. Drinking perfectly now but can still age another 5-7 years.

  • 92p
Next up was a wine that was very wound in the nose with more alcohol and anise, although it was subtle and refined as well. The nose left a delicate and fine impression overall. There was a .tingle. quality to its spiny nature as some fruit tried to escape, but the palate put the wine right back into the jails of its tannic and alcoholic systems. Although neither its .t. nor .a. was overtly dominating, those were its standout characteristics on its palate. The balanced and refined qualities were very good despite that fact
  • 90p
Latour – a bit light and not really up to level of quality and excitement of Mouton Rothschild and Lafite. Still it isn’t a bad wine, just gracious, seductive and tasty. 92p.
  • 92p
In neck fill. Ruby, brick rim. Fresh, lean and redcurrants and raspberries nose. Touch of tobacco, more scented after twenty minutes in decanter. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, leaner palate, crisp feel to it, some lovely red berries notes, not that complex, good length. 87
  • 87p
Medium deep, ruby colour. Rich, complex nose with intense cassis nose with dark chocolate, toasty and mocha. Medium-bodied, intense, satiny texture, supple tannins and lively acidity. Long savory finish with blavk currants. Decant for 2 hours. At its peak in 2035.
  • 89p
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Information

Origin

Pauillac, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Above Average

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

No Potential

Fake factory

None
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