Vertical of 15 vintages Latour followed by a 3* Michelin dinner and 11 magnums.

@ the Librije in Zwolle, Netherlands.
Tasted Friday, September 9, 2011 by Zweder with 414 views

Introduction

What a great opportunity to be invited to this fabulous tasting. I did not memorize the complete line-up and we tasted the wines blind.
We started with the 3rd wine of Latour to get our palate ready.

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 2005 Pauillac de Latour 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Classical bouquet with cassis, dark cherries and cigar box. On the palate the same impressions with round, still firm tannin. Already lovely, but the wine is still very youthful. Will probably show even more around 2015 and will still drink nicely around 2020.

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Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 1964 Château Latour Grand Vin 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Dark garnet red with an orange brown rim. In the complex and mature bouquet cold tea, celery, wet forest floor and sweet spices. On the palate still broad, juicy and spreading through the mouth, mushrooms, earthy and fully melted tannin with still some bite and good fresh acidity in the long finish. This bottle, at the end of its life was still a great pleasure.

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  • 1966 Château Latour Grand Vin 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Dark garnet red with a slightly brown rim. In the bouquet there is development, but hardly any tertiary aromas. Still cassis and even cherries, cedar and graphite. On the palate still black berries, and some dried fruits. Good acidity and still a firm bite with powerful tannin. Firm but good bitterness. Aristocratic wine which still has a future of probably several decades.

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Flight 3 (2 Notes)

  • 1971 Château Latour Grand Vin 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Still a very lively color. Dark garnet red with a slightly orange rim. Beautifully mature bouquet which is slightly less expressive than the 1964 and 1966 we tasted just before this wine. There is tobacco, smoke cedar and cassis. On the palate a juicy start with firm acidity and bitterness, Also cassis, some earth, licorice, dried berries and graphite. The tannin is still pleasantly sticky. Mouth filling/spreading through the mouth. Juicy from beginning to end and beautifully balanced wine. Mature but this can probably last another decade.

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  • 1970 Château Latour Grand Vin 98 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Dark carmine red with a slightly brown rim. Beautiful mature and classical bouquet with earthy impressions, cedar, cassis still and some spiciness. Very intense and complex. On the palate juicy thanks to a touch of sweetness, graphite and other minerals and beautifully soft tannin with a pleasant bite. The wine still developed in the glass and had an enormous length. This was a perfect and beautiful bottle, everything in perfect harmony and balance. Powerful but also very elegant. Just great!

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Flight 4 (2 Notes)

  • 1959 Château Latour Grand Vin 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    The wine is almost black. In the bouquet at first some tertiary smells which disappear after a while. On the palate quite mature, but still concentrated and powerful. Juicy and firm cassis, chocolate, a touch of sweetness, good freshness. Overall a beautiful and complex but quite mature wine. It could be we were not extremely lucky with this bottle because it was more mature/less powerful than expected. But still a beauty! A perfect bottle can probably last at least another decade.

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  • 1961 Château Latour Grand Vin 100 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    This is my 10,000th tasting note in Cellartracker and I kept a few notes behind for that purpose. But Latour 1961 will be the one; the 3rd wine ever I scored the perfect 100.
    Tasted blind without knowing the vintage. Still a dark, almost black core, but also a slightly orange rim. Beautiful and complex bouquet; primary, secondary as well as tertiary. There are ripe fruits like plums, cassis and figs, but also licorice, cedar and caramel. Sniffing is almost enough. So complex and pleasurable. On the palate almost explosive, but also so soft. Cassis still!!! Massive. Beautiful acidity. Cassis again. Perfect tannin. Cedar. Leather. So complex, so powerful, but also so soft. A superb beauty now, but in 10 or 20 years from now this is still a true feast; if you are lucky enough to have a perfect bottle like we had tonight. This was a dream I will never forget. My third wine I give the perfect score and it was so different from the other two: Petrus 89 which was so luscious and creamy and so perfectly balanced. And Chateaux Margaux which I tasted several times and scored it 100 once because of its youthful beauty. Anyway, if it was possible this Latour 1961 would beat them both; with its age of 50 years it gave an extra dimension. I am still stunned. A 101 or 102 score seems alright as well. Sorry for my enthousiasm…..(If you read my other notes, you can see this is an extreme exception!)

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Flight 5 (3 Notes)

  • 1983 Château Latour Grand Vin 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    The bouquet is a bit locked and almost still primary with cherries cassis, cedar and some toast. In the palate beautiful black berry juice, cassis, a bit creamy, a bit mature as well, soft and round tannin. Beautiful wine, but not the concentration of the greatest vintages.

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  • 1997 Château Latour Grand Vin 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Beautiful and deep bouquet with good cassis, smoke and toast. On the palate still youthful with firm cassis, soft bitters and good, slightly sticky tannin. Not extremely concentrated, but certainly an exclusive and excellent with a good length.

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  • 1982 Château Latour Grand Vin 98 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    A dream came true. This wine was really high on my wish list to drink once. Dark carmine red with a slightly orange rim. Deep and subtle bouquet with cedar, tobacco, graphite, cassis and licorice. Slightly sweet start with some caramel, beautiful continuation of the bouquet. Also some earthy impressions. Beautiful and creamy soft tannin which still have enough power for many years. Beautiful acidity as well. Overall this is a superb and complex wine, a little more evolved than expected.

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Flight 6 (3 Notes)

  • 1990 Château Latour Grand Vin 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Dark garnet red. The bouquet still shows youthfulness with cassis, licorice and sweet spices, but there is also something vegetal like celery. On the palate a lot of juicy cassis, a touch of sweetness, some menthol, a firm amount of acidity and still firm tannin. Overall a juicy wine with good fresh acidity and a great length. Nevertheless the celery and other vegetal impressions make me wonder a little; will this ever be extremely impressive? With Latour you never know; there is still enough power left for many years. For today 95.

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  • 1995 Château Latour Grand Vin 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Very dark color, almost still purple red. Beautiful, almost still youthful bouquet with luxurious oak, smoke, cedar, cassis, beautiful toast, graphite, some spiciness a touch of sweetness etc. etc. On the palate all the same luxurious elements and the tannin is so beautiful. Still too young. Give this wine another decade. If you have a few; start to try around 2020.

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  • 1996 Château Latour Grand Vin 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    This is a very classical Latour; not showing itself at all now. Although there is cassis in the bouquet and there are other elements noticeable but hidden it doesn't show much of its complexity in the bouquet. In the mouth it is in fact the same; too young, even some paprika impressions although the fruits at Latour are always very ripe. This is a wine for the long term. Maybe it starts showing itself better between 2017 and 2020, but from 2025 and the decade after that it really should be great. For today I score it 96, but there certainly is potential to reach 97 or more. Everything is holding back in this bottle.

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Flight 7 (3 Notes)

  • 2000 Château Latour Grand Vin 98 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Intensely happy I was able to taste this and even bring a small leftover home to taste the second day. Beautiful and deep cassis bouquet with luxurious oak, cedar, smoke, coffee, tobacco etc. On the palate still so youthful with black fruits, firm tannin and acidity, cassis, licorice and bitterness. Power and refinement and a so complex and a long finish. The second day, after mistreated with too high temperatures and a long trip in the car, the wine was still locked and youthful and so aristocratic. I score it 98 for now with the note that in 10 years it will probably be 99 or 100 and in 2 decades almost certainly 100….

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  • 2001 Château Latour Grand Vin 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Beautiful and deep, luxurious bouquet with cedar, luxurious oak and cassis. On the palate a concentrated wine with the same cassis, cedar and oak. Lush and a bit sweet but also good and firm acidity as well as ripe, firm tannin. Already approachable and a great future ahead. Well balanced and harmonious wine.

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  • 2003 Château Latour Grand Vin 99 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    This is my 9999th note in Cellartracker and that must be a special wine. Well this is! Especially considering its potential! My 10,000nd note is about Latour 1961. This 2003 could have the same potential....... My tasting note: What to say/think of this…… This is not the usual Latour style…. So lush, so new world style…. But do not be mistaken… so much classical as well. Loaded with toasted and luxurious oak. The concentrated cassis juice can handle it. Smoke, cedar, coffee, chocolate, tobacco, cigar box… it is all there. Firm and round tannin and acidity as well, but also an unusual impression of sweetness. This is so lush already. I score it 99 for now, but this will almost certainly be a 100 point wine 10, 20 and 30 years from now.

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Flight 8 (2 Notes)

Flight 9 (1 Note)

Flight 10 (3 Notes)

  • 2009 Arnaud Ente Meursault Clos des Ambres 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Meursault

    Complex and rustic bouquet with minerals and a firm dose of oak. On the palate a good complexity as well with good minerals. The wine has an enormous concentration and is still much too young.

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  • 2002 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru

    Beautiful and concentrated bouquet with fresh minerality and citrus. On the palate beautiful tropical fruits, a firm dose of oak, but the fruit dominates the oak in a beautiful way. Smoky! A touch of sweetness, but also great and fresh acidity. Great wine! 94+ for now.

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  • 2003 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series 92 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    Beautiful and concentrated style with rip yellow fruits, a firm dose of oak and also fresh acidity. Complex, lush and well balanced wine. Ready now and the next few years.

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Flight 11 (3 Notes)

Flight 12 (2 Notes)

Flight 13 (1 Note)

  • 1924 Château d'Yquem

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    Drank from magnum and unfortunately no formal notes. Raisins, caramel, honey, nuts and also some oxidized impressions. Still intense sweetness and of course a very special experience to taste this wine of this age from magnum. I did not score the wine.

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