x
  • Country ranking ?

    861
  • Producer ranking ?

    39
  • Decanting time

    4h
  • When to drink

    2025-2040
  • Food Pairing

    Beef

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

First growth Château Latour have released its 2006 grand vin and the 2012 vintage of its second wine, Les Forts de Latour 

For several years now, we have been selecting wines from our cellars that we consider ready to drink. Whilst they can already be enjoyed by connoisseurs of the Estate, they also have excellent cellaring potential. This year we have chosen to release the Grand Vin de Château Latour 2006 and Les Forts de Latour 2012. The latter is the first of our wines to be released which has not previously been sold en primeur.

Château Latour 2006 is a beautiful wine with a dark and intense colour. This distinguished vintage is a perfect expression of the Enclos’ unique terroir demonstrated by the power and depth of the Cabernet Sauvignon. With its tannic structure now softening, this wine has reached the first stage of pleasure and is opening nicely on the nose whilst remaining full of promise for the future.

Thanks to a sunny and reasonably warm summer, the 2012 vintage gave rise to expressive, balanced and very charming wines. Forts de Latour is fruity, delicate and ripe. On the palate, the wine is suave and intense with beautifully aromatic flavours and a subtle tannin grain. This wine perfectly embodies our philosophy of cellaring at the Estate until the first stage of maturity has been reached. 

These two wines will be released onto the market on the 21st March via a selection of Bordeaux wine merchants. They will join the Pauillac de Château Latour 2013 (already offered for sale at the beginning of the year) and precede Les Forts de Latour 2009 which will be released at the end of summer 2018.

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

Wine Information

2006 saw three very different climate periods between the winter and the harvest. January and February were much colder than previous years and the return of normal rainfall helped to replenish the soil's reserves. A drought then started in March and continued until late June. Flowering proceeded perfectly starting on 26 May. Dry weather until the middle of August did not allow normal vegetative growth, and the grapes were of reduced size. The end of August was much more variable with an alternation of cloudy, rainy spells with long sunny periods. The first ten days of September were beautiful and sunny. The weather deteriorated after 11 September, and rain arrived, prompting us to start the harvests on 19 September; the harvests were completed on 9 October.

Close

Tasting note

color

Deep and Ruby red

ending

Medium, Pure and Lingering

flavors

Blackcurrant, Licorice, Plum, Cigar-box, Meaty and Leather

nose

Youthful, Refined, Rich and Forward

recommend

Yes

taste

Balanced, Concentrated, Complex, Medium-bodied, Firm, Fruity, Powerful and Silky tannins

Verdict

Transparent and Well-rounded

Written Notes

We sat down to a pair of 2006 and 2005. Engerer told us that this evening ‘is about pairs.’ The 2006 Latour was more classic, still possessing excellent fruit but also more minerals and earth. It was still purple passion with its deep, youthful cassis in the nose, but it also had more tobacco and structural components. The palate had excellent acidity and lots of earth and cedar flavors. It was long and lingered, and even though its fruit was a bit shy, it was still tasty and showy. Its perfume filled up the room. Engerer commented how the 2006 did not have ‘the breed of 2005…but long and deep’
  • 94p

As to the Grand Vin, the 2006 Latour showed beautifully. A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance mostly Merlot, with a splash of Cabernet Franc, it offers a deep ruby/purple color to go with straight up classic Latour graphite, lead pencil and minerality all balanced by terrific cassis and blackcurrant fruit. With medium to full-bodied richness, present, yet silky tannin, impeccable balance and a great finish, it’s terrific today and I suspect on the early edge of a long drinking plateau.

  • 96p

Dark garnet red colour with black core. Great wine with power and elegance, tobacco, cedar wood, prunes, dark berries, minty spiciness, cardamom, vanilla and elegant roasting aroma. On the palate ripe but firm tannins with grip, typical for 2006. Elegant structure and great depth, incredible length, a wonderful tasting experience.  

  • 98p

Consistent notes. Similar to 2008 but with less intensity and ripeness of the fruit. Stunning quality.

  • 96p
Bright ruby, closed, some vanilla, touch of cedar, blackcurrants, very elegant, almost perfumed, very clean and elegant fruit, very structured, massive texture with ripe tannins, complex, concentrated, needs 20 years.
  • 95p
Load more notes

Information

Origin

Pauillac, Bordeaux

Vineyard size

47 hectare

Grapes

20% Merlot
75% Cabernet Sauvignon
5% Cabernet Franc

Investment potential

No Potential

Glass time

3h

Drinking temperature

18

Inside Information

Despite the heavy rain in September, the wines were very richly coloured and classy, showing great power and a beautiful liveliness, with a pronounced expression of Cabernet. The fruit is less exuberant, but the "Latour" character is very present. A wine that will benefit from very long ageing and that will require a long time in the bottle before showing a more integrated structure.

Read more
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