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Wine Description
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.
Wine Information
1962
The weather conditions
Winter was normal. January was cold with frosts. Same thing in February . March tended to be cold with frequent frosts too. It was indeed, very cold for March. April : cold and rainy for the first two weeks, warm and damp the second. Development was three weeks late. The first half of June was fine, the second half was very warm with almost tropical weather. The first flowers appeared on 10 June ; benefiting from the beautiful weather, flowering developed very fast. Growth was very luxuriant. It appeared to be a very fine crop and we were hoping for a very plentiful year. The retarded growth had pretty much caught up with itself. July was fine and dry with a heatwave on the 24th. The vegetation was beginning to suffer from the lack of rain but the grapes remained healthy and very promising. August was fine, hot and dry with a fairly frequent east wind. Ripening was slow because of the drought and was running behind schedule. September was hot and dry too. Some substantial showers on the 3rd and 7th, as well as on the 25th to 28th.This worked liked a miracle that was going to give us a good harvest. The first ten days of October were fine and hot, with some much-needed rain on the 11th and 12th , followed by fresh weather. We harvested from 1-20 October. It was a good yield and the fermentations were normal.
Vintage quality and tasting comments
The first tastings were very encouraging. Rich wines with a hint of acidity on the palate which augured well - the style of 1953 was already evident with more vinosity from the outset. As for its quality, it was a faithful and serious wine which has never achieved the fame it deserved because it has always lived in the giant shadow of the 1961s. Today (2000) the wines have a toffee nose and are still full, concentrated, smooth but vigorous in the mouth, with a good fruit well kept by acidity.
Quality: Great year
The moment for optimal drinking and best way of serving
The wines are now (2000) reaching maturity but will age another 10 years without any problem.
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 and serve.
Vintage 1962
Bordeaux Vintage Report by Tb / Although 1962 was also a fabulous year, it fell irretrievably into the shadow of 1961. The cold winter, with its biting frosts, ensured that the vines would get a much-needed rest after their hard work in 1961. The growing season started three weeks late. When the vines finally germinated in mid-June, the weather improved. Toward autumn, the weather warmed up measurably, with the resulting dryness eventually having a negative impact on the vines. The few abundant harvests of September came just in time to rescue the grapes from withering on the vine. The harvest, which brought in the largest crop of the 1950s and 1960s, did not begin until 1 October. Few believed that the vintage would be as good as it became. An excellent vintage for dry whites, reds and Sauternes. Where Sauternes are concerned, the 1962 was a considerably better year than the 1961. The best reds were the Cheval Blanc, Pétrus and Mouton-Rothschild. A common characteristic of the finest 1962 wines today is their serene, balanced aspect. Only a few show any real body and complexity, but they work well especially as dinner wines, also due to their excellent availability and affordable price. Even the finest wines should not be decanted for more than an hour.
Recommended glass shape
Average Bottle Price
2022 | 2020 | 2018 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2010 | 2005 | 2000 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 150€ +18.6% | 970€ +9.0% | 890€ +38.6% | 642€ +1.4% | 633€ +0.3% | 631€ -7.5% | 682€ +2.7% | 664€ +12.5% | 590€ +72.5% | 342€ +19.2% | 287€ |