Pencil lead, blackberry, cigar box, with faint hints of black currant and chocolate Big and powerful, but with length and elegance, notably thinning out for much of the finish; mellowed and fading After 1.5 Hours: Nose is similar but with hints of cherry; a slightly greater integration and sweetness, and some of the richness is brought out further; an elegance amidst the power and a certain austerity After 2.5 Hours: Cherry notes have now turned more sour but with a sensuality, elegance, and persistence that is now also more prominent; faded and declining but with a powerful grace
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An absolutely stellar bottle of wine. So fresh for the age, medium bodied, gorgeous nose ripe with the essence of Pauillac after 60 years of being stored. One of the best and most memorable bottles of wine I have ever had.
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Super Bowl LVIII 2024 (Alpharetta, GA): Cellar Diving: I've now had the pleasure of tasting this wine four times each time loving it! Tonight, it did not disappoint. Incredible mature but incredibly fresh bottle of '66 Latour. What I loved most was the touch of rosemary on the nose that reminded me of my tasting of the '45 Latour back in December '23. This is the second best vintage of Latour from the decade of the '60s.
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Truly a great experience tasting a wine with almost 58 years of age from a bottle in pristine condition. Bought in the seventies and stayed in the same cellar until yesterday. Bouquet showing notes of cedar, cigar box, blackberry, black currant, dried rose petals, mushroom, earth and cassis. What amazed me the most was the lively and vibrant acidity the wine showed. Simply incredible. The tannins were fully integrated. The color was dark brick with hint of orange/red rim. Still fully alive hours after opening. 94-95p.
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50th Birthday Bash: 10 Vintage Vertical of Latour: This is definitely the 2nd best vintage of Latour in the decade of the 60's. This was my third time tasting this vintage and I enjoy it each time I drink it. While fully mature, it drinks like a 30 year old bottle of Bordeaux. Consistently great and somewhat affordable if you put it up against other older vintages of Latour.
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From a bottle properly poured from a 6L the prior week. This tasted past its prime. Thin, a bit sour/tart, without funk. Our experience did not match some of the other recent reviews with high praise. Enjoyable, but if I had to score it, I'd pick mid/high 80s.
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Blind tasting. Opened at 7pm, and drank at 9:30pm. Orangey-brick red rim, opaque brick red center. Fully mature yet still vibrant. Walnut, sea salt, stewed black fruits, earthy, nectar, and herbal. Excellent structure and powerful. It didn't taste like a 57 years old bottle, and more like a 30 years old one.
I had another taste next day. It was still holding up well. This bottle would age for another 2 decades easily.
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Masculine, chewy, rustic, dense, and charming, the wine is packed with spicy, cassis, earth, leafy herbs, and crispness to the fruits on the palate in the finish. Full-developed, it is perfect for a Latour of its era. Drink from 2023-2030.
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I had forgotten that I’d already had this wine in the past and so fun to see some old notes as well. Yet again this showed better than I expected it to be. It’s ex-cellar and really was quite bright and fresh for a ‘66. Served next to a ‘66 Lafite and it felt like they both were very much their own stereotypes. This was bigger and bolder and more muscle but nice and structured and well aged so just drinking very well. Contender for WOTN.
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Beautiful aromatics, this reminded me of great bottle of Burgundy on the nose much more than old Bordeaux. On the palate, super fresh and clean fruit. More elegant than powerful, although it definitely put on a bit of weight in the glass as it continued to open up. Drinking really well!
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Latour, Latour, Latour (WineWatch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): Luckily this backup bottle was flat out fabulous. I can’t imagine any other bottle of ‘66 Latour showing better than this one which has it all. Healthy deep maroon color. Archetypical Latour bouquet of black, black berry, cassis jam, charcoal and damp earth. Medium full palate. Great energy and thrust. Just the right amount of ripe tannins. Wonderful balance. Wow.
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This was slightly musty at first, but that thankfully blew off with air to reveal a beautiful and complex nose of dark cherry, forest floor, earth, old leather, and cocoa. The palate is still quite fresh with a good amount of fruit (cherry, cassis, sweet plum) and more forest notes. Very long finish. Fantastic wine that improved significantly with air and will probably hold for a number of years.
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Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red center and red/purple rims. The medium+ intensity nose emanated black cherries, soil, plum, and blackberries.
In the mouth, this wine was ripe with great length. It had large, rounded tannin and needed a ton of time to show its best.
The balance of this bottle was more tilted toward the tannin than the best bottles. Would more air time have helped or is that all there was for this bottle?
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More fruit than anticipated, perhaps because it was from magnum. Spice and raspberry, a sweet nose and a long, balanced finish. This is a pretty wine, that has more power than some more recent Latour vintages. Lovely.
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Opened a bottle yesterday one of the best wines I ever had I have done a tasting of the five 1982 first growths every ten years from 1992 None have reached this level It is truly 100 point wine
Mid-shoulder level. Cork came out in one piece; signs of minor seepage. Decanted just prior to serving. This bottle was not close to the level of the previous bottle; different provenance. Originally, the aromas were quite muted, showing some "damage". The wine did improve some in the decanter but never came close to the level of the previous bottle that I opened. As they say: there are only good bottles, not good wines at this point.
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My hopes were not high for this bottle, which had a good 5cm of ullage, but it stood up remarkably well. Warm forest aromas, still some tannin, herbal, long (it only developed a touch of oxidation in the nose the following day).
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This pours medium garnet though still fairly deep ruby at the core. Impressive color for its age. The nose is deep, rich, complex and powerful soaring with notes of pencil shavings, cassis, dark rich cherry, charcoal, celery seed, polished lacquered furniture, a touch of green tobacco leaf and violets. Just a gorgeous aromatic expression. The palate is also just mesmerizing, entering with an abundance of dark fruit. There is still amazingly some firm tannic grip in the mid-palate. The length on the finish is incredibly impressive lingering for several minutes and replaying just about every component on the nose. What a phenomenal, impressive wine. So powerful and aging so gracefully.
This bottle was acquired recently at auction with an upper-shoulder fill. Not a bad fill considering it's age. Otherwise the bottle looked good in pictures and indeed in person. The capsule had very mild corrosion and required some peeling, with a very saturated cork. The durand did it's job well and extracted most to cork, only leaving a small piece behind in the neck which was easily extracted with the worm. The importer tag was from Bellevue, Washington. I'd speculate this bottle then made it's way to BC or Alberta, given the proximity where it was cellared, as this was acquired from an Alberta based auction house. The bottle was absolutely correct in every way I can imagine.
What really struck me with this wine was it's incredible power and youth while still being complex and open. It feels like it must have been a monster in it's youth given some seemingly new oak derived complexity, the deep, rich fruit, and the remaining tannin. The palate is a master piece in Firth Growth Bordeaux combining tannin, rich fruit, and acid in incredibly harmony. I've never had a 1959 or 1961, but have had a lot of old wine, and given the reputation for power in those vintages I'm impressed with how this too has plenty of power. Probably a bit of an overlooked vintage, lurking in the shadows of the more famous peers. An incredible tasting experience. If anyone happens to own this wine and it's in good condition I'd say you'll get plenty of drinking pleasure today but this will have no problem going another 50 years.
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From a good looking bottle with a high shoulder fill, this wine had a very deep red center and red/orange rims. The medium+ intensity nose was classic with its minerals, cherries, clay soil, blueberry, plum and some honey.
In the mouth, this is ripe and rich with refined rounded tannin and very nice acidity. The tannins were quiet at first but slowly built with air make an impressive, but integrated, backbone.
This was very nice, if not quite as structured as it should be, out of the gate. It developed great integrated tannin and acidity with air. It generally improved over 5 hours. Sometimes I would get a sense it was a bit too old and then in the next pour it would hit a new high. A gorgeous bottle in its prime! I wonder if this year has a touch more merlot than other years….
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Getting the gang together @ Wus (plus birthdays!) (Wu's Wonton King): Super treat. We tried it blind although knew it was a '66 (special wine for a birthday). Bordeaux for sure and left bank but that's as far as I got. I will say it's quite a nice wine. Sometimes I don't feel like I always get Latour, but this was drinking very well. Love the age and yet it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Big and powerful. Maybe it's that the wine needs at least 50 years.
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5 of 6 …. Mid shoulder fill opened at 5:00 drank at 8:00. Beautiful deep garnet color. Mature bouquet of dark fruit, tar, spice and leather. Palate of deep cherry fruit, lovely fine tannins, nice acidity, lovely silky palate, clean persistent finish. A very good bottle of mature Latour
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No formal note but served blind. Most thought this was 80s bordeaux, I thought a touch older as late 70s. Quite incredible this was therefore a 60s wine which nobody called. Classic bordeaux nose. Lots of green peppers though which hinted at left bank Cabernet. I felt this was a slightly leaner year like 79 or 81 etc rather than a lusher year. This was a very well stored bottle from an OWC, so I can't imagine stray bottles have aged as well as this, which has a long life left. From Ayub
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Palooza part 2; 7/8/2021-7/10/2021 (Marco Island/Naples): Mark brought this bottle to our dinner in Marco Island and it was fantastic. Sasha says the best bottle she has ever had. Still drinking so well, plenty of fruit but all of the tertiary notes you would expect from a well aged Bordeaux--tobacco, leather, cigar box. Tannins were completely integrated. This wine has reached full maturity as you would expect, but I disagree with Mark's depiction of it as tired. It was full of life with a nice long finish.
Enjoyed tableside at a French place on Marco Island with Jen, Carol and Sasha. Cork was soggy and not able to be fully removed so pushed in and decanted with filtering by our server and placed in a decanter. Color is still suprisingly strong deep garnet red with a lighter almost clear meniscus rim. Enjoyed throughout the meal with a fantastic nose of leather, good old, worn baseball glove leather. Nice, aged cherry fruit. Some mushroom and cigar box as well. The palate reflected well integrated acidity with nary a tannin and still wonderful fruit along with the taste profile felt on the nose. This was a very fine example of this wine, though perhaps just a tad tired, by 1 point over my last bottle 2-3 years ago, in all its tertiary glory. So sad these are gone now.......
A Multi Birthday Celebration (Tocco - Winnetka IL): In vertical. Bottle in great condition (into neck) with great color. Slightly dirty, slightly bretty, but with good underlying fruit. Enjoyable but disappointing.
1.5L Format. Stunningly fresh and youthful. Pure fruit with beautiful mid palate weight and sweetness. Great balance and acid intact. Remarkable 55 year old wine!
Extraordinary. A great mature Latour, sourced 5 years ago from K&L auction, very top shoulder ullage. Mahogany rim, deep ruby center. A blast of spearmint hits you as you approach the glass. But unlike a certain famous California Cabernet, it’s not vulgar since it gradually retreats back into the glass and integrates with the phenomenally intense black and blue fruit, as if someone somehow poured a dollop of the 2010 into the bottle. While there’s lots of secondary development this is more about the bright fruit, tannin and refreshing acidity. If you want leather or dead leaves, look somewhere else. Only a bit of dryness after a few hours betrays its age. I dare you to show me another fifty-five year old wine this impressive that is not Bordeaux.
This wine is really the poster child for aeration. In the first couple hours it showed cellar must, volatile acidity, and was relatively thin. I would maybe have given it 90 points.
Afterwards, it gradually developed lovely structure, a fine grained texture, and excellent length. The volatile acidity disappeared and the old world fruit came forward.
Lots of power here. The tobacco, herbs, spice, crushed rock, leaf, red currant, cigar box and cedar notes are strong here. The wine is full-bodied, concentrated and still shows a lot of intensity. There is a wealth of ripe, tobacco infused, spicy, cedary fruit on the palate, but the tannins are a bit gruff, giving the wine a rustic, old-school, long, classic finish.
More reticent tonight with dark fruit, tobacco, and cassis. Strong core fruit on the palate but missing the nuance one would expect from a 40 year old plus Latour. Still an utterly enjoyable old claret.
A truly stunning bottle that was from an OWC purchased 10 years ago.
This is quintessential bordeaux, classic blackcurrants interwoven with subtle secondary aromas of leather, wood and oak. Whilst a heavy wine with a dark core, the tannins are beautifully integrated and melt in your mouth. This had perfect balance and really was outstanding. From Ayub
From an otherwise nice looking bottle with a high shoulder fill, this wine had a dark red center and orange rims. The high- intensity nose featured blackberries, minerals, black spices, toasted nuts, and a hint of iodine.
In the mouth, this wine was rich with light rounded tannin and firm acidity. It was a touch lean in the mid-palate for the first couple hours. As the wine aired, it became more integrated and the finish became more detailed. It remained a bit less phenolicly ripe than some other bottles.
This bottle had a distinctive dark (cooler year) flavor profile. I would have scored it in the 92-93 range during the first few hours in the decanter. At the end it was very intense and at least 94 points and arguably 95 points. It is drinking well now with air but it is likely to last at this level for a decade or two.
It’s a shame this beautifully structured and classic Pauillac is oft overlooked as it’s camouflaged between the dynamic duo of ‘59 / ‘61 and ‘82 vintages. The ‘66 Latour is an elegant and graceful rendition from this legendary Château.
This Bordeaux reveals seductive aromas of violets, graphite, cedar and cigar wrapper in a mature WILF style! With its savory and rich black currant, ripe cassis, sweet tobacco and vintage leather deliciousness, its easy to see why this Grand Vin is the undisputed Bordeaux of the vintage.
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I’ve had Latour all my life. This is without question the wine of the vintage, and in magnum format it’s the best fully mature vintage of Latour that I have had in magnum format. I’ve had both the 750 and magnum format. They are both sensational with the magnum being noticeably younger and more powerful. Incredible drinking experience. Wow wine!!!
This shows you in great vintages how Latour separates itself from almost all other Bordeaux wines. Unreal!
Probably a bit past its peak but still very impressive. Decanted and it opened up after 60-90 minutes, then continued to improve. Hints of fruit on the nose but mainly leather, tobacco, tar much of which continues on the palate. Very soft and lovely balance once it opened up. Amazing how good it still is.
It was shocking to me how young this wine tasted. It smells a little like a port or dessert wine. Vanilla, caramel. On the palate, the wine is very soft. Hardly any tannin. There is a lot of fruit here with some slight maple accents. Still pretty primary. This was fun to drink but I think the Lafite was more interesting because of the tertiary elements. This one could go for many more years though.
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Liquid coal doesn’t sound like much praise but for Latour it somehow works. Intense and concentrated. Long on flavor, short on subtlety. Terrific balance. It doesn’t really taste like any fruit although it surely began life as a blackberry. There’s a bit of smoke too to add a welcome note of complexity to the monolith. Quite lively and much better than a bottle of the ‘70 version last month.
A bit darker color than the Lynch, slightly more brown, maybe a bit more cloudy (difficult to tell as lighting was very dark). A bit reticent at first, then came out of its shell, showing a darker side, with black fruits, truffle, slight anise, tar, good extract and more seamless than the Lynch, with a smoother long finish. Beautiful structure, balanced, doing very well right now. Perfect with the grilled lamb lollipops, and other beef dishes. Totoraku.
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I think I was the only one of our group of six who appreciated this bottle. I could see why since it’s far from a crowd pleaser. Old fashioned Bordeaux, it is mostly tertiary although there is a vestige of blackberry fruit. The texture is coarse. Meaty and powerful, good balance with both acidity and tannins on the slightly high side. It lasted very well in the glass. From a well preserved bottle, ullage very high shoulder, firm moist cork. This vintage of Latour may be best appreciated in a horizontal of other ‘66 Bordeaux.
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Much better than the previous bottle from last year. Full bodied, concentrated, a bit rustic with loads of cassis, hints of cranberry, tobacco and cedar. Someplace between brawny, chewy and refined, this is at peak, showing what great classic Pauillac is all about.
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Not the best bottle of this I have ever had. Still, the tobacco, earth, herb, cassis, and cigar box notes were divine. It was the pyrazine notes that intruded. With this bottle, on the palate, the wine showed a distinctive green pepper note that some folks, longing for the days of unclean, peppery notes in the Bordeaux are going to love. The brawny finish was long, with more peppery notes.
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Could the great ‘66 Latour be fading into the good night or is it just this bottle? From WineBid, it certainly looked excellent, sporting a top shoulder ullage and the cork was moist and firm, just as it should be. The color too was excellent. Vague unformed nose though, just barely detectable. Exceptionally soft in the mouth with no detectable tannins. The acidity was good but the finish was short. Not defective but not memorable.
Talk about a classic Latour nose: blackcurrant, tea biscuit, cedar, walnut, ginger, a touch of beef blood. One of those wines that would be so easy to peg blind, if not on the vintage then on the chateau! Slightly understated and perhaps slightly lost amidst the youth and attention-grabbing 89 Clinet/Angelus duo, this was still very clearly a special wine that I'd like to drink again soon.
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Level into neck, but cork was soaked through. Used ah-so so extract the cork whole. In excellent condition, no sign of oxidation. Graphite, sous bois and black currant on the nose. Silky, with fine yet surprisingly buoyant tannin. Continued to evolve in the glass, and was a pleasure to drink.
Latour vs. Mouton Mini-Vertical (3030 Ocean, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): Another outstanding example of ‘66 Latour, surely the wine of the vintage at this point in time. Outstanding color, no brown. Deep and black fruity, intense, blackberry and cassis, graphite and charcoal, classic Latour. Fragrant and very complex, holding very well at hour three. A great vintage of Latour and no sign of slowing down.
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Cork completely saturated, soft coming out, eventually crumbled into many pieces. The nose however, is still quite good, full of dark fruit, forest floor. Beautiful dark red in the glass, velour like entry after a 45-60 min decant. In a good spot, but so glad we popped this bottle tonight, I don't think it was much longer for this world. Another hour in the glass throughout dinner and it was really singing. Red fruit, gentle plum, like drinking liquid feathers.........
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Classic in style, but in a good way, the wine combines rustic masculinity with cedar, tobacco, cassis, cigar wrapper, smoke and spice. Full bodied, long and with intensity, this bottle was very good, but perhaps not as good as other examples I've been fortunate to taste.
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Château Latour Vertical (Vaucluse): Oxidative nose unfortunately. Some bold red fruit hanging on. Palate is sweet and has given in to oxidation as well. Fluctuating up and down. A little smoky. Actually, coming back to this glass seems to be softening and opening up... Came back to this at the very end of the night and it had livened up considerably. Maybe a better bottle of this could be really great?
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A disappointing outing for the ‘66 Latour, a recent purchase from Wine Watch and a local collector. Could it be because of the original sourcing from “Big Daddy,” as per the sticker, a long defunct local wine shop of little repute? The cork fell into the bottle as I was cleaning the top. The level was very high shoulder, though, and there were no obvious signs of mistreatment. The color was normal for age. Practically mute, just a little faint hint of charcoal and earth. Acidity is sound, tannins are decent. But not much flavor here, just generic old wine. So decent balance, no big flaws, but no Bordeaux character, much less Latour, and hard to create any enthusiasm. (The ‘66 Mouton from the same source was much better.)
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A day after the still too young Haut-Brion '95 my friend Loek surprised me (blind tasting) with this sublime Latour). A perfect colour, ripe and dense, and an unmistakable pencil Pauillac bouquet (I guessed Mouton), followed by a very classic taste with a superb body, not smooth but also no edges. I suggested the 2004 vintage, so young and lively this wine showed. Pencil from start to finish, not too, but very Pauillac. I give this wine 95 points for its qualities at the moment and 1 for the future this memorable wine has.
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A very great example, beautifully preserved, from a special collection acquired by WineWatch. Dark garnet, as if it were trying to pass for a mere 20 year old. Lovely fragrance of dark plum and rose. Deeply fruity and sweet in the way of old Bordeaux. Sound but well integrated acids and melted tannins. This bottle was a doppelgänger for a splendid Chateau Margaux rather than Latour, being more about juicy fruit than structure or muscle. Striking, idiosyncratic and youthful.
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Haven't had the 66 before, but this is classic mid-60s Latour and drinking very nicely right now. Pure red center with very slight amber at the rim. Highly perfumed. Nose opens with cedar, sous bois, plum, and maybe some slight sweet violet. Some (appealing) green pepper. Maybe even a little eucalyptus. Slight decaying note after about an hour. Eventually, some subtle black truffle comes through. A touch of an oxidized note dissipates with time (for reference, this bottle had a high top shoulder fill level but a slightly oxidized capsule). Cassis, tobacco, leaves, graphite, and leather on the palate. Some sweetness from the mature tannins. Seems a lot younger than expected, with lots of acidity and some tannin remaining. Luxurious mouthfeel. Long, slightly caramelized finish.
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Holding well and maybe even still getting better as one might expect from a well kept Latour, graphite, pencil shavings, refinement, nice silkiness, all the hallmarks of a classic claret.
This was singing tonight and showed extremely well. It gained a bit of weight in the glass and showed off some incredible aromatics. Seemed so young on the nose, with lots of ripe cassis, tobacco, sous bois, and leather. It appeared young on the palate as well, with smooth tannins and well-balanced acidity. A great vintage of Latour.
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Bordeaux Birthday Oldies; 2/10/2017-2/18/2017: Another splendid bottle of '66 Latour, which is proving to be the most reliable of the old Latours, even if not quite reaching the profundity of the very best bottles of '59 and '61. Excellent deep ruby color almost to the rim. Deeply Pauillac aromas of black earth, gravel, porcini and truffle. Medium full body, clean finish. Still lively even deep into its tertiary phase.
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Wonderful wine, which clearly outshone the 75 Latour served alongside. Much more savoury, rich and long. More body here and integrated acidity. Graphite dominates the entry with tobacco and cedar following, and very long and lingering rich plum and cassis finish sticks in the mind. Less mineral than the 62 Latour (which I have a slight preference for) but every bit as good. Held up very well in the glass, but I would actually drink this over the next decade. Thanks Chris! 95-96pts
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After 50 years still going strong. Only a bit of amber at the edges. Drinking beautifully after forty five minutes of decanting. At first the nose was a bit musty and reserved but after a couple hours began to show its stuff although in an understated way. Medium bodied and still vigorous. Flavors of cedar, pencil, black fruit and leaves. Long finish with nuance.
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Acker BYO Holiday Dinner (Tribeca Grille): I am pretty sure that this was flawed. Or maybe it had just been open a bit too long when we got to it. It was a lot like straight alcohol in a bottle. Too bad.
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Nose: Blackberry, Fig Paste, Christmas Spice and inky dark fruit. Touches of smoke and walnut rounded this out. Struck me as a more refined expression of the Baron. Palate: Beautifully resolved with nice black fruit, but I am afraid that I just caught this a bit early and it needed more time to decant. Touches of Ducru-esque gingerbread spice were very nice. Complexity poked out from time to time suggesting other bottles may be much better right now. Finish: Again very nice black fruit supported by good structure and spice/graphite notes.
93++
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From a half with a low-mid shoulder fill, this ended up delivering pretty well. The nose seemed quite tired straight out of the bottle and surprisingly enough, it took 2 hours in the decanter to really reveal itself. Whether it would have been better with more time we'll never know since there were 4 of us tasting it and that was the end. But when it was really ready, it had a beautiful nose full of Latour character; black fruit, fig, walnut, chestnut, biscuit, cedar, mineral with some of the inflections of age: beef blood, caramel. There were little glimpses of a really great wine that, at least in this bottle, had its peak years ago. I imagine that bottles with better fills and in larger format must be quite thrilling now if you enjoy classic claret. I will be on the look-out.
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Color at the core is still solid, separation at the rim. Fruit on the nose is a little reticent, picking up black fruits and charcoal. Palate still has gorgeous (almost youthful) fruit...black cherry, cassis, cedar, pine. Black truffle and mushroom through the mid/back plate. Layered and complex finish...smooth texture, tannins sweetened and resolved
Amazing vibrancy at 50 years old, this is going strong and may have a few decades left in it...perhaps one the "immortal" wines of Bdx? Didn't fade at all during the time we drank it. Exceptional, really a privilege to drink this. Hard to put a number on it as I ave very little comparison, given age and quality at this point one of the better wines I have experienced
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Full bodied, powerful, concentrated, regal, in an old school classic manner, with a blast of cassis, tobacco, cedar chest, forest floor and blackberry. Mascuiline, with complexities and vibrancy, this bottle seemed immortal and might have deserved an extra point. Clearly, this is mature, but well-stored bottles should be great for another few decades or longer.
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From magnums. 50 years old and could probably do with another 50 ! Remarkably young and forceful, this is the finest 1966 Bordeaux I've drunk and is probably 20 years behind the 750ml in terms of evolution. We all admired this, however we all shared the same view that it had much more to show.
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Ex-WW, from a recent cellar acquisition, outstanding appearance, VTS level. The 1966 vintage in Bordeaux demonstrates the "intellectual" side of Bordeaux. A great example, such as this one, while still containing a splendid core of blackcurrant and cassis fruit, is subtle and elusively complex. There are hints of charcoal, shiitake and black truffle in a medium bodied format and the texture is smooth but not soft. The acidity is sound and the tannins are just ripe enough. Beautiful Latour that may be just a bit beyond peak, but full of interest.
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Youthfully tight on opening, clear ruby in glass with some fading at the rim. Nose and palate showed great structure and the fruit was very much still present. Lovely wine to sit and explore for a couple hours. Never faded before it was gone. This wine had years ahead of it. Beautiful.
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DRC Tasting Group: Bordeaux Night (Seattle, WA): Tasted blind. A little green pepper to start, leading into a nicely aged nose with some spice mix. Delicate, lovely body. Dried fruit, cherry, leather, tea, tobacco, cigar, and even chocolate. Super fine tannins. Elegant, lovely finish.
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Wow! With a wine this age, you have to be ready to refrain from rating the wine if the particular bottle was not stored properly. This bottle was in excellent condition. Mid to high shoulder fill, cork in reasonably good condition but breaking during extraction. It took but a second to see that this wine was still in prime condition: still deep ruby color, bright and intense aromatics, little to no sediment floating around after decanting. this wine is still remarkably youthful. If I had any additional bottles, I would keep them another 5-10 years. Bright aromatics, lively acidity, textbook balance with tannins not yet completely resolved but of excellent quality. Long, intense finish. Classy wine....
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Magnum. Purchased at Langtons 10 years ago. Cork somewhat soft and broke. Gentle cedary and blackcurrant fragrance. Delicate and refined. A beautiful aged Bordeaux, pure Cabernet with a lightly cedary complexity. Has faded but it only appears marginally, flavour intensity is strong. Superb length and overall finish. Delicious.
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Mostly 1966 Bordeaux and other surprises (Ripple Restaurant in Washington D.C.): Well, Latour is known to be one of the very top of the 1966s. Alas the fill level was not the best, and indeed it showed too much volatile acidity to be really appreciated. Having said this, getting past that aspect, the density in this wine was unmistakable - and very impressive. I did not drink it really but appreciated the potential greatness of this wine!
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66 Bordeaux dinner (Ripple Restaurant in DC): Low shoulder fill. Starts with noticeable VA and a hint of oxidation. VA blows off with air but madeira note remains which is bothersome. It displays incredible concentration and generous fruits. Intense cassis, leather and cedar. Thought this bottle is off, I strongly recommend to seek this in auction market, especially in magnum format. Should be high 90s point wine.
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Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red center with oranging rims. The medium+ intensity nose displayed currants, brown spices, honey, and soil.
In the mouth, this wine was consistently gorgeous. While somewhat refined at first, it developed nicely with air. It had light, rounded tannin, solid acidity, and great length. This wine went through several stages of development. Throughout all of these different stages, its balance and integration were impeccable.
I guessed this was the 1982 Latour which tells you how the wine is aging. Could it get even better with age? Very impressive!
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Three Nights In San Juan; 8/27/2015-8/29/2015: I've had perfect ex-chateau bottles of this, and it can be a real stunner. For me, this bottle was a bit weak, but others really liked it. Maybe it was me.
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Color deep rich dark ruby. Aromatics tobacco leather cedar brown wood like inside a aged cedar chest. Inside mouth velvety mixed with initial silky texture, cherry fruit dark bing red stone fruit with seemingly endless opening of the earth . Both Bacchus and Ceres predict this wine will continue to be fabulous for another decade. Latour continuous evolution and flowering. Opened 2 hr before steak mushroom grilled sweet onion dinner 11- midnight welcoming August with a gorgeous moon. Cheers.
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Food: French (Petrus Hong Kong) Condition: mid neck Duration: 3 hours Aroma: Forrest, blueberry, blackberry, mint Notes: amazing aroma and a deep and appealing aftertaste. The dark and mysterious aroma drags your nose into the wine. Like most latour, this is very full bodied and still appears to be very young for its age. With some sort of nutty aftertaste, this is an interesting wine to have on any occasion. It is a mistake to not decant this in the beginning, I feel that this wine can still live for at least another 20 years. Drink now-2050.
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A bruising, classic style of Latour with just a bit of animal in it. Deeply flavored with dark fruits, graphite, tar and soy. Full and expansive with good acids to balance the big flavors which leads to a deep, complex finish with notes of grilled nuts, smoky minerals and tar pit. A Latour for the ages but it's quite drinkable now and harks back to an older style of Latour that is actually quite authentic and attractive if not as clean as modern day vintages. At Rarities, Cafe Boulud. 96+
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Dark earth, cigar box and cedar on the classic nose. An overall smokiness that repeats on the palate. With air time the back of the nose also brings mint, menthol and herbs. Smoky, musty, and earthy palate with typical tar notes and background dark fruit. Strong but elegant. Paired with lamb. 95+
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From a bottle with a slightly depressed cork (branded) and a high shoulder fill, this wine had a very deep red center and orange rims. The medium+ intensity nose went through a number of phases. In the end, it showed currants, mocha, walnuts, black spices, and soil.
As with the nose, this wine went through a number of phases during its 4 hour aeration. It was somewhat angular and first and then somewhat watery. After 4 hours it was medium bodied with nice richness and fantastic length. It displayed gorgeous balance. It was ripe, structured, and yet still danced on your palate. The tannins were noticeable but rounded and the acidity was firm.
This wine was impressive. It became better and better with air so I would encourage extended decanting. This will easily last for many decades. However, I doubt it will get better. An excellent showing!
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There is a reason why people covet, cellar and pay for great, mature Bordeaux. If you want to know why this has been going on for centuries, 1966 Latour could be the wine to explain it. The incredible nose, with its tobacco, cigar box, cedar chest, pipe tobacco and dark cherry perfume really lights you up. The wine is deep, full bodied, concentrated, long and complex, with a fresh, spicy cassis driven that is hard to forget. This is the perfect combination of regal and masculine in a mature Bordeaux.
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This is all about the cassis, leather, cigar box, cedar wood and smokey, truffle scented nose. Powerful, regal, but not exactly refined, the wine has character, style and class. Fully mature, perfectly stored bottles can last for at least another 10, 15 or 20 years, but I doubt they will get better.
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Amazing wine. Great surprise. In spite of the ullage a great wine. Great experience that got better as the evening progressed.
Popped the cork. Bottle was perfectly stored since it was bought when it first hit the market. Great nose that signaled everyone that this was was going to be amazing. Color was dark and beautiful. First taste on the palate was fruit with a nice backbone with enough tannins to support it.
The fruit was plentiful given its age. Beautiful finish. This was just an elegant wine and a true expression of what can be done. A truly spectacular experience.
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Latour Vertical Tasting; 12/19/2013-12/20/2013 (Switzerland): Another one of the mature Latour prototypes, showing flavors of truffle, cherries and currants. All is very well integrated, the tannins are very smooth, the acidity and sweetness is very well balanced. Again a true Pauillac beauty. Drink now 2025.
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Still plenty of life left in this old man. Very moist cork, very high shoulder level, excellent color, from Premier Cru maybe 10 years ago. Strong pipe tobacco on the nose is very pleasing. Deep into the secondary phase as expected but the fruit is definitely there. Austere as are most 1966 Bordeaux still alive. Interesting, but a little too much work to find the pleasure for me. Surprisingly, the '66 Mouton won the battle on this day.
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Upon opening the thing that struck me was how much it smelled like a 10 yr. old Bordeaux. The same wet leathery smokey barn yard notes that all good clarets have. No prunes or over ripe fruit smells you get with old USA. I decanted it for an hour and a half before serving and it opened up beautifully from the first smidgen I had at decanting. It was amazing that a 47 yr. old wine could have so much to offer. Still having black fruit mixed with cherry flavors, but blended with the subtle complexities of age. My wife said it tasted and smelled of an antique store. Absolutely enjoying the experience. I have to conquer.
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This wine is still amazing after 47 years. The color was a deep ruby with a slightly rust colored rim. The wine is viscous with long slender fingers. The nose is rich with fig and cinnamon which fades away . There is also a sweet tobacco note with black cherry and a hint of cassis. There is also a rich well worn leather to it as well. The palate confirms the nose. The tannins are rich but smooth and well rounded. The finish is extremely long, giving a nice warmth to the mouth. The mouthfeel is rich and unctuous. The body is smooth and full with silk like texture. I did not feel the need to decant this wine and the tasting confirms this decision. This truly a marvelous and mature example of a fine Pauillac of exemplary pedigree! The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Fig, Black currant (cassis), Plum, Cinnamon, Cedar, Mineral, and Tobacco. It tastes like Black currant (cassis), Fig, Mineral, Cedar, Cinnamon, Tobacco, and Alcohol/Hot. The body is Full. The wine has Polished texture. The wine finishes Long.
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From 750ml, fill VTS. Served at The Square restaurant in London. Decanted and served 90mins later. Colour was rich, dark red. No hint of brown and even the edges showed only faint traces of brown. This looked like 25 year old wine not a 45 year old wine. On the nose there was quite a heavy amount of funk and forest floor, perhaps too much. The Sommelier was worried the wine was on the edge but over the next 2 hours the nose cleared. Nose also had plenty of leather, game, dried blood and a bit of oyster shell sulphur. On the palate this wine was far better. Lots of the same leather and earthiness, but the midpalate still had some dusty fruit and the finish was very long. Amazingly this wine is still quite tannic, but they are now beautifully integrated so the whole wine is balanced and elegant. I've been lucky enough to have 4 or 5 '66 Latours over the last 15 years and this was certainly a bottle on the way down. Some have been 99/100 pointers but this sadly was not. The fruit is pretty faded now and this bottle certainly has lots of funk and maybe a touch too much of the secondary notes now. The tannins will keep this wine alive for years to come but there seems little reason to do this. There are 629 bottles on Cellartracker at present and I now just have one left in the case. Dare I say it...but time to drink up?
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This bottle, sourced from Acker, was in superb condition - excellent color, clean label, moist cork, ullage just a few millimeters from the neck. Not much on the nose at first but eventually yielded that classical old Bordeaux aromas of cedar and leather. Simply amazing in the mouth; velvety texture, mature of course and deep into its secondary phase with just a whisper of blackberry and walnut. Yet the cedar, healthy acidity and totally melted tannins were in such great harmony the total impression was stunning. Improved in the decanter and glass for at least 3 hours. Very much alive Stunning example of old Bordeaux. This must be the wine of the vintage.
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bijzondere ervaring, wijn is nog rood van kleur, een iets bruine rand verraad zijn leeftijd, neus geeft ook blijk van de ouderdom, licht muffig , wat later minder wordt, echt klassiek, potloodsplijpsel, grafiet, cederhout, het fruit is vrijwel verdwenen, sneufelwijn, smaak is nog heel levendig, mooie volheid, zachte tonen, heel aangenaam, heeft echt nog inhoud en wat diepgang.
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Still young as it approaches its 50th birthday, the perfume is loaded with truffles, Cuban cigar, cassis, cedar chest, walnuts, spice, damp forest floor and tobacco. Concentrated with fruit and still tannin, the wine fills your mouth with a long, powerful, spicy, cassis filled finish.
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There may be a question about this bottle. Although the fill was excellent(all the way to the base of the neck), the cork showed some oxidative material on the outside and was easily pushed into the bottle in trying to remove it. The bottle itself was in excellent condition, the label unmarred. We tasted it immediately and then after an hour and 2 hours of decanting. The hour was sufficient. Their was a modest amount of bricking, but the color was still fairly dark. The nose was wonderful, with spice the predominant note. The palate was fairly undistinguished. The wine was gentle, smooth, but lacked the complexity that I expected. The finish was long lasting and soft. Overall, I didn't think it was nearly worth the cost. I am still looking for the magical bordeaux premier grand cru that lives up to the price.
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Great ruby color with no real fading. Beautiful nose of roasted walnuts, black earth and cigar box. Just a gorgeous, youthful Latour that is finally starting to show itself with wonderful flavors of black cherries, pitched black earth and Asian spices. Has a lovely, regal texture with a loaded middle-palate and a tremendously classy and firm finish. The wine is overall made in a vin de garde style and is incredibly precise and very finely concentrated. This finish is very complex with notes of charred cedar, roasted nuts and spices. Based on this bottle, I'm saying this is a hundred-year wine. Absolutely fantastic and still well short of it's peak. I rank this amazing Latour just behind the incredible '59 drunk a few months ago. Wow! 97+
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Staggeringly great and vigorous at age 46. Purchased many years ago from Premier Cru and in perfect condition; level just below the neck, moist tight cork, deep, deep ruby. Gorgeous bouquet of black cherry, blackcurrent jam, just a hint of cedar. On the palate, no letdown at all. The silkiest Latour I have ever tasted, bursting with fruit, perfectly round, medium full, sweet. Seems like the Merlot is dominating the Cabernet, whatever the percentages are. It looks and tastes decades younger than it is but the cork and label confirmed it was 1966, not 1996.
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Purchased via auction. Low to mid-shoulder with some signs of past seepage. Cork split on opening but otherwise was solid. SIGHT: Deep cola colored core with outer layers of rust, brick, copper, salmon, gold, and a watery edge. Medium concentration and viscocity. NOSE: soy, black cherry, caramel, toffee, spice, forest floor, dried pepper, shoe polish, leather boot, wet earth. PALATE: cinnamon, dried black cherry, leather boot, dried mushroom, forest floor. ASSESSMENT: medium alcohol, medium plus acidity, medium to medium low tannins, medium plus complexity, medium plus to high finish. Amazing acidity and balance. Tannins have softtened. Still some fruit hidden behind earth notes there. This wine certainly drank well right away, but was clearly fading 30 minutes later. Drink up quickly.
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Bottle and fill excellent, the cork broke in half with extraction, but was solid. Still a big wine, evening out with an hour or 2 in the decanter and excellent with standing rib roast. We tasted this wine blind with the 1969 Heitz Martha's (not a good showing) and the 1965 Charles Krug Vintage selection (superb and holding its own). I thought that this bottle was just a bit off compared to previous bottles, but the dinner group gave it a unanimous thumbs up.
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Vertical of 15 vintages Latour followed by a 3* Michelin dinner and 11 magnums. (@ the Librije in Zwolle, Netherlands.): 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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2011 Simple Series 9: Sean BOD (Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck @ Paragon): Alcohol :: NA 1966, 45yrs old by now but still so fresh, lively and having intense dark ruby core. The beautiful bouquet is fully matured and while dominated by the secondary notes, this still has very intense dark fruits core as well as dried flower that well accompany by cedar, pencil shaving, antique furniture, leather as well as earth. I really love the nose here, pure, complex and harmonious. The palate is equally compelling with its lively and vibrant profile, still wonderfully structured and so much to offer: layers of fig, dried floral, sweet currant and mushroom all perfectly integrated along with little touch of really silky tannin that flow through the palate with care, so silky smooth that culminated to the medium length, persistent complex finish with autumn leaves, dried floral, sweet plum nuanced that lingered. Latour once again demonstrated its stunning aging potential. This lacks a little bit of depth and length to be extraordinary but still, this is a classy, outstanding Latour that is drinking at its peak now.
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Sean Birthday (Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck): If there ever was an essence of Pauillac this would be it. Every identifiable aspect of what a Pauillac should have is here in its most bare-bones. Definitely at its peak now and probably on the slow way down too. Still very enjoyable now but probably time to drink up. Not much words can be used to describe it except I'm glad I got to drink it now.
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2011 Simple Series VII: Sean's Birthday (Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck, Paragon): Absolutely beautiful stuff. This was probably the red wine that was drinking the best on the night. It had a wonderful nose that drew me in and won me over on first sniff. Starting with gentle washes of tobacco and spice, then little earthy notes, a touch of capsicum and darjeeling tea, and finally a wonderfully lush layer of very Pauillac cassis scents. Beautiful, profound stuff. The palate did not quite match it all the way unfortunately, but was still nonetheless top class. The tannins here still had a touch of grippiness to it, on the attack and right at the finish, making me guess 1966, but the rest of wine had otherwise softened into a velvety caress. Matched with fine acidity, this made a lovely backdrop for melting cassis notes that spread across the mid-palate before melding into a gentle finish with black tea and autumn leaves floating around like a halo. Unsurprisingly, this was beautifully integrated by now and really harmonious, but what stood out for me was how the wine, at 45 years of age, still showed lovely purity, definition and balance. Superb stuff, which made me guess Latour. My only issue was perhaps the lack of power at the finish, but that was nitpicking - with time, it kept unfolding with those lovely autumnal tones, filling any gaps that might have been there at first. This was brilliant - a wine that I will remember for a long, long time.
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Deeply colored, massive and concentrated, this was loaded with ripe cassis, black fruits, tar, smoke and cedar. This wine perfectly marries power with grace in an old school style.
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Tasting ‘Chateau Latour’ at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival: decanted before the tasting; rubin red color; started with a cork-like, flawed smell; luckily after some swirling the unpleasant odor disappeared and gave way to a classic bouquet of red and black berries, noble wood and walnut aromas/flavors; well-balanced with well-integrated tannins on the palate; medium/full body; round texture.
From 750 ml. Level TS. Decanted 1 hour before drinking. Brick red core, extraordinarily bright for a wine of this age. Colour clears to almost transparent at edge. Initially some funk on the nose but this cleared with time to reveal a well developed Pauillac nose. On the palate, complete, perfectly balanced and still amazingly youthful. Long finish with powerful mid palate, although little obvious fruit remains. In many ways this wine exemplifies perfectly aged Claret. Terrific and made the accompanying 1961 Leoville Barton seem a little one dimensional. Other bottles I have drunk had more primary fruit but this is unquestionably an outstanding Latour. Despite bottle level, would still last another decade or so.
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The cork was soaked all the way through and crumbled on extraction due to its softness. A small sip was poured and the wine was declared as intact, but I did not taste. The wine was allowed to slowly oxygenate in the bottle for 4 hours at 63 degrees. Upon serving it was an utter disappointment. The only thing left was an after taste of grippy tanin. It was weak and flabby with little to no flavor.
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66 Latour offers cedar, truffle, cassis, walnuts, forest floor and tobacco notes. This powerful, structured wine is a little on the rustic side with slightly rough tannins. The wine ends in a long cassis filled finish that is slightly marred by some tart sensations. I've had better examples of this wine. But you know what they say about bottles with more than two decades of life... There's no such thing as a great wine, only great bottles.
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Pale garnet colour, hazy appearance with a brick- brown tone. Delicate, rich, complex and layered nose with fresh red fruit backed earth, leather, forest ground notes, tobacco and coffee. A wine of ultimately perfect structure, powerful and elegant after 44 years of age. Definitely well balanced and still young and fresh.
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This bottle (from AMC) was double-decanted just before serving. There was a huge blast of mint for a minute or two, then it settled down into a more classical profile of this icon of the vintage. There's more than secondary notes of leather, earth and tobacco; the mature but regal blackcurrant fruit is still on display. Not at all too dry. The tannins are soft and of course it's fully mature. Lovely old wine with no sign of fatigue. At first I thought the '70 Latour was the better of the pair, but this '66 gained in intensity over two hours and emerged triumphant.
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Decanted. Very funky nose of fish and rotting fruit that took a long time to blow off. Much better after coming back to it 30 minutes later. Consensus was that this bottle was on the decline.
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This was to be the highlight of a wine dinner at Table 8 with Nic and Marie-Claude. The gold sticker on the back indicated it came from that Acker auction called "THE Cellar." Yet depite an excellent appearance and a moist firm cork, it was madeirized and no amount of air time or wishful thinking could bring it back to life.
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A bit austere in style. Almost a bruiser for Latour. Cassis, lead pencil and earthy tones on the nose. Very full bodied. The finish was a bit clipped. I liked the finish as it still showed fruit, but, its shortness bothered all of us.
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From a recent Acker Internet auction, the bottle looked in excellent condition with a VTS level and a moist firm cork . But immediately the overpowering smell of prunes anounced this was not right. I let it breathe a few hours hoping for a miracle but it was not to be. Not overtly acidic in flavor, but not pleasant. I think it was madeirized.
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taste: very pretty feel and wonderful weight on this with deep red fruit tones, anise, allspice, cedar, and some truffle shavings, and tobbacco tones
overall: this bottle was just missing that next thing that takes it to the next level. Really outstanding wine that hits the palate in all parts and leaves a really beautiful tobbaccoy finish
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On my 42th Birthday night. This is my 2nd bottle, the 1st was 2 years ago when I was 40.
I never have any inspire to drink Ch. Latour but everytime when drinking old Latour...my words is the same....
This is truly the Great Great Wine in the world !!!
Still dark garnet and seductive colour, deep and beautiful.
Loads nose of cassis, beautiful fruit, licorice, truffle, mineral and herbs comes together supported by a wonderful oak, getting not far behind from 1961.
Firm tannin, great structure, nice sweetness, a bit spiciness, round and brilliant.
Aftertaste Wow...stretch down deep very slowly and stay long....very very long...maybe 10 minutes or more.
The finish is different style from the bottle in 2006.
Drink now - 2012...........96-97/100...........
Suggestion : Don't drink it longer than 2.45 hours, it's gone so bad.
This is the only unusual vintage for Latour that fade away too fast, last bottle too.
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This was a very recent Acker Internet auction purchase, described as "outstanding color and condition." The ullage was high, but not top, shoulder. (The other bottle in the lot was top shoulder.) It was obvious from decanting that this would be special. The color was amazingly dark with no orange, just a bit of lightening at the edge. Then there's that beautiful Latour nose of deep, dark berry up front, on a background of cedar and minerals. This is an old-school style which appears to be living on its acidity rather than tannin. Of course it's fully mature now, but surely has many more years of useful life.
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consumed at an offline with Jeff Leve at cafe 15 in DC. My WOTN. Seemed like a young wine. This could last another 100 years. This was a great bottle with fantastic core of red fruits with cedar and leather. 1 minute finish! Could be a perfect wine....
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While the '66 Latour can usually be relied on to best the '70, not tonight (at Cafe Boulud, "Latour by Four"). The leanness of the '66 vintage was very apparent. After the almost lush '70, this seemed a bit too severe. But the color, length and finish were all correct. Not as thrilling as usual, but there's still a wealth of cabernet fruit hiding a bit behind the acids.
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The wine sports a deep, ruby color with a nose screaming old Bordeaux! Wet forest smells with exotic spice, leather, black fruit, tobacco, truffle and cassis fill the air. And that’s without swirling! This dense, full-bodied, old school styled wine is still not fully mature.
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Historical note from March 1, 06. Brought it to Per se, paid $70 corkage fee but for me more reasonable than buying a similar quality wine off the list.
Just beginning to enter maturity. Not quite as perfect as an 82 Latour I had a few years ago, but close. Tannins have come together with copious fruit to combine into a full-bodied but not overblown wine.
Had a second bottle that ngiht at the Carlyle Hotel and same taste.
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I tested this wine on my 40th birthday in May 2006 along with Pichon Lalande 1982.
Still beautiful deep, dark ruby colour and darker than PL 1982. Nose of classic Latour '' elegance '' with a deep and beautiful aroma of the gravel soil on the vineyard. So perfect in the mouth and wonderful aftertaste. I have a very long testing note on this wine that beating PL 1982 like father and son.
So lucky, I still have two more bottles left to complete my need when needed in next 5 years.
For Latour fan club...don't miss it !!!
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Wonderful wine, right at its best or marginally past it. Full color, modest but attractive nose of blackcurrent, cedar and minerals. Full in the mouth, excellent roundness and depth of flavor. Very well preserved despite its mid- to high- shoulder level. This is the third in a parcel from P.C. and all were satisfying experiences despite the ullage. Especially fine on the long, lingering finish. Should last well for at least another 5 - 8 years.
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Rocking out at Chez Leve with Hermitage and a whole lot more (Los Angeles, CA): Wow, what a hammer of a wine! On first pour it was black and forbidding and fairly stern on the palate. Some cedar and graphite sneaks out, but it's not giving much. I took my next sip 15 minutes later while chatting with Jeff in the kitchen, and I nearly dropped my glass. Wow and I mean WOW, this has just exploded into a huge, tannic monster of a wine, loaded with black fruit and graphite. Great bottle HH!
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The '66 Latour seems to be getting better and better with advancing age, just as the cliché would have it. A 3 hour decant proved to be just about right for the bottle recently purchased from Premier Cru with an alarmingly low mid- to high- shoulder level. But not to worry; it was sweet and sound from beginning to end. Full as expected, but although not terribly complex, it beguiles the taster with its wealth and beauty of blackberry (not black currant) fruit. Very lively, even luscious in Latour terms, this is a real winner with plenty of life for the future, but certainly at its apogee.
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The cork completely disintegrated as the bottle was being opened. However, happily the wine was in perfect condition. Double decanted 4 hours before consuming, this wine still needed a couple of hours to blossom. And then blossom it did! Aromas of cedar, lead pencil and black fruits, the fruit/acid/tannin balance was perfect. A rich dark garnet colour, the wine was showing beautifully, with rich sweetness and a lovely long finish. A completely decadent drink. Too bad it was the last bottle!
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This outstanding beauty was a recent purchase from Premier Cru with an alarmingly low level - mid shoulder, which I would have probably rejected had I known. This proves that provenance is more important than ullage, especially at almost 40 years. I decanted it for 2 hours, but it could have stood up to more and there was additional evolution over another 2 hours in the glass at Cafe Maxx. Deep, deep, ruby red with just a hint of orange at the rim. Not a complex wine, this Latour intrigues with its concentration of ripe dark berry fruit and minerals. Intense but not tiring and the tannins are definitely there but well woven into the massive fruit. Simply stunning, maybe even better than the lovely 1970.
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Drank to commemorate my hiring as Senior VP at Disney. Beautiful bottle of wine. I detected virtually no loss of the wine's deep ruby color at the edges, and the nose reflected a beautifully soft balance of cedar, and, to my nose and palate at least, a fair amount of crushed violets ala an '83 Margaux. The wine was beautifully balanced right out of the bottle -- we were afraid to decant. But while it didn't improve all that much, it certainly held its own over the course of a 3-hour dinner and was even a tad more developed after an hour in the glass. If I ever find another one of these at auction, I will snap it up if it's not prohibitive. The wine easily has 10 more years left.
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Very tight on the opening, but opened up beautifully after one hour. Yet still quit youthful. Great depth and balance and richness. A fairly “big” bordeaux with some elegance. Showing great breed. A real treat!
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Wine tasting. Bottle not particularly in great condition to start. very lively and bright to start. Still showed good dark fruit towards middle and reasonable spice. Soft towards the middle, giving lots of balance and pleasure today.
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Wine tasting. First tried immediately after opened. Nose showed lots of charming primary and secondary character with big spice and cedar elements. Palate seemed a bit more reticent. Revisited 30-40 minutes later and palate was largely secondary but with wonderful spice elements. Another 20-30 minutes later the palate seemed more faded and muddy, but that might have been the sediment.
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PINK ORANGE ON THE EDGE, STILL A LOT OF RUBY RED IN THE BOWL. CASSIS, LEATHER, AND DEEP FRUIT IN THE NOSE. FLAVOR LIKE THE NOSE W/ BLACKBERRIES & LICORICE. NICE COMPLEXITY & ELEGANCE. LONG FNSH
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Hugh’s bottle. Finally, a truly magnificent ‘66 Latour. Excellent color throughout. Superb, classic, cool and elegant. Excellent grip. Fully mature. Will go on. Archetypal Latour. Wonderful. Too bad they are not all like this.
Marin Wine Cellar bottle. Superb color. Brilliant deep ruby center, barely tuilé rim. Reticent pure nose of Cabernet Sauvignon. Cool and correct. Good cassis attack. Definitely lean, though, unusual for Latour. Too meager on the mid palate. Finishes with power and tartaric acidity. Mouth cleansing, not mouth filling. Showing age. Will not improve. Fine, not great.
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Marin Wine Cellar bottle. Good color. Faint amber rim. Faint bouquet which peaked in one hour, then faded. Excellent attack and mid palate. Blackberry and cassis but still not distinctively Latour. Slightly acidic finish. All in all, a mature satisfying excellent bottle of claret. But not thrilling.
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Richard’s bottle. This bottle is very, very good but short of great. Good dark color, not inky. Subdued distinctive Latour nose. Not as concentrated or stylish as the very best Latours. Lacks a bit of zip.
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Richard’s bottle. Classical Latour. Not much bouquet though. Completely mature at age thirty. Great balance. Masculine Gravelly fruit. Black fruits and cassis. Long. Just lacks undefinable flair for great.
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Typical Latour. Medium weight. Gravelly. Distinctive Latour bouquet. Medium finish. Stylish and aristocratic. Not another ‘61 or ‘45 to be sure but very fine.
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THANKSGIVING TASTING WITH THE WINE GROUP (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Rich, well balanced, beautiful, nice red, hint of hot purple color in the glass, no brown color at this age, rich, smooth, well balanced, typical Chateau Latour, nice, creamy finish.
Superb. Very deep color, little or no tuilé. Classic, “cool,”clean, masculine bouquet. Cedar, cassis, black currant. Great grip. Long finish. Not the epitome of elegance but really impressive. Young, just about ready. Some tannin and acid in the finish.
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With MPL and BLR (and BLR's friend Kevin) at the LWB. Very attractive dark ruby color. Nose is dense, earthy and closed, but there is loads of fruit underneath. A huge wine on the palate, with plenty of acid. Not as good as the 1/2 bottle from S&F. Still extremely tannic. Needs more time. 5-11-14-7: 87/100.
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With MPL at S&F survey of '66 Bordeaux. From a 1/10th bottle. Very darkly colored--WOW! Very deep nose. Amazing concentration. It's tremendous. What fruit! What balance! What concentration! How can such an old wine from such a small bottle be so young, so rich, and so good? This is great! 5-12-18-9: 94/100.
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3/19/2024 - wineappreciation wrote: 94 Points
Pencil lead, blackberry, cigar box, with faint hints of black currant and chocolate
Big and powerful, but with length and elegance, notably thinning out for much of the finish; mellowed and fading
After 1.5 Hours: Nose is similar but with hints of cherry; a slightly greater integration and sweetness, and some of the richness is brought out further; an elegance amidst the power and a certain austerity
After 2.5 Hours: Cherry notes have now turned more sour but with a sensuality, elegance, and persistence that is now also more prominent; faded and declining but with a powerful grace
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3/4/2024 - VINNICK Likes this wine: 98 Points
An absolutely stellar bottle of wine. So fresh for the age, medium bodied, gorgeous nose ripe with the essence of Pauillac after 60 years of being stored. One of the best and most memorable bottles of wine I have ever had.
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2/11/2024 - Francophile1 Likes this wine:
Super Bowl LVIII 2024 (Alpharetta, GA): Cellar Diving: I've now had the pleasure of tasting this wine four times each time loving it! Tonight, it did not disappoint. Incredible mature but incredibly fresh bottle of '66 Latour. What I loved most was the touch of rosemary on the nose that reminded me of my tasting of the '45 Latour back in December '23. This is the second best vintage of Latour from the decade of the '60s.
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12/25/2023 - Philolesen Likes this wine: 95 Points
Truly a great experience tasting a wine with almost 58 years of age from a bottle in pristine condition. Bought in the seventies and stayed in the same cellar until yesterday.
Bouquet showing notes of cedar, cigar box, blackberry, black currant, dried rose petals, mushroom, earth and cassis.
What amazed me the most was the lively and vibrant acidity the wine showed. Simply incredible. The tannins were fully integrated.
The color was dark brick with hint of orange/red rim.
Still fully alive hours after opening.
94-95p.
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12/25/2023 - paulst Likes this wine: 92 Points
Mature and austere; cedar and light blackberry; moderate finish.
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12/1/2023 - Francophile1 Likes this wine:
50th Birthday Bash: 10 Vintage Vertical of Latour: This is definitely the 2nd best vintage of Latour in the decade of the 60's. This was my third time tasting this vintage and I enjoy it each time I drink it. While fully mature, it drinks like a 30 year old bottle of Bordeaux. Consistently great and somewhat affordable if you put it up against other older vintages of Latour.
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9/30/2023 - Montesquieu wrote:
From a bottle properly poured from a 6L the prior week. This tasted past its prime. Thin, a bit sour/tart, without funk. Our experience did not match some of the other recent reviews with high praise. Enjoyable, but if I had to score it, I'd pick mid/high 80s.
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7/21/2023 - GuanYu Likes this wine: 97 Points
Blind tasting. Opened at 7pm, and drank at 9:30pm. Orangey-brick red rim, opaque brick red center. Fully mature yet still vibrant. Walnut, sea salt, stewed black fruits, earthy, nectar, and herbal. Excellent structure and powerful. It didn't taste like a 57 years old bottle, and more like a 30 years old one.
I had another taste next day. It was still holding up well. This bottle would age for another 2 decades easily.
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7/4/2023 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Masculine, chewy, rustic, dense, and charming, the wine is packed with spicy, cassis, earth, leafy herbs, and crispness to the fruits on the palate in the finish. Full-developed, it is perfect for a Latour of its era. Drink from 2023-2030.
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6/22/2023 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
I had forgotten that I’d already had this wine in the past and so fun to see some old notes as well. Yet again this showed better than I expected it to be. It’s ex-cellar and really was quite bright and fresh for a ‘66. Served next to a ‘66 Lafite and it felt like they both were very much their own stereotypes. This was bigger and bolder and more muscle but nice and structured and well aged so just drinking very well. Contender for WOTN.
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6/5/2023 - Burgnick wrote: 90 Points
From owc. For this particular bottle, the fruit was a bit thin.
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3/9/2023 - Malarky997 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Still very strong. Beautiful bottle.
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2/1/2023 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful aromatics, this reminded me of great bottle of Burgundy on the nose much more than old Bordeaux. On the palate, super fresh and clean fruit. More elegant than powerful, although it definitely put on a bit of weight in the glass as it continued to open up. Drinking really well!
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1/7/2023 - sdr Likes this wine: 97 Points
Latour, Latour, Latour (WineWatch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): Luckily this backup bottle was flat out fabulous. I can’t imagine any other bottle of ‘66 Latour showing better than this one which has it all. Healthy deep maroon color. Archetypical Latour bouquet of black, black berry, cassis jam, charcoal and damp earth. Medium full palate. Great energy and thrust. Just the right amount of ripe tannins. Wonderful balance. Wow.
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1/7/2023 - sdr Does not like this wine: 86 Points
Latour, Latour, Latour (WineWatch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): Not obviously spoiled or corked but far from a good example of this variable vintage. Just dull and tired. Sad.
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12/30/2022 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 96 Points
This was slightly musty at first, but that thankfully blew off with air to reveal a beautiful and complex nose of dark cherry, forest floor, earth, old leather, and cocoa. The palate is still quite fresh with a good amount of fruit (cherry, cassis, sweet plum) and more forest notes. Very long finish. Fantastic wine that improved significantly with air and will probably hold for a number of years.
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11/2/2022 - fclarity wrote: 94 Points
Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red center and red/purple rims. The medium+ intensity nose emanated black cherries, soil, plum, and blackberries.
In the mouth, this wine was ripe with great length. It had large, rounded tannin and needed a ton of time to show its best.
The balance of this bottle was more tilted toward the tannin than the best bottles. Would more air time have helped or is that all there was for this bottle?
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10/22/2022 - PDavisMarble wrote: 95 Points
More fruit than anticipated, perhaps because it was from magnum. Spice and raspberry, a sweet nose and a long, balanced finish. This is a pretty wine, that has more power than some more recent Latour vintages. Lovely.
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10/22/2022 - englishman's claret wrote:
A facsimile of my august 1, 2018 note save for the fact that the style here was more brawny and the nose slightly less fine and articulate. En magnum.
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10/1/2022 - sdr wrote: flawed
Seemed okay with a very heavy charcoal motif but later an acetone note spoiled it, similar to a previous bottle from the same source.
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10/1/2022 - sdr wrote: flawed
Weird acetone smell.
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5/10/2022 - ippon wrote: 100 Points
Opened a bottle yesterday one of the best wines I ever had
I have done a tasting of the five 1982 first growths every ten years from 1992
None have reached this level
It is truly
100 point wine
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4/26/2022 - vagrantone Likes this wine:
Mid-shoulder level.
Cork came out in one piece; signs of minor seepage.
Decanted just prior to serving.
This bottle was not close to the level of the previous bottle; different provenance.
Originally, the aromas were quite muted, showing some "damage".
The wine did improve some in the decanter but never came close to the level of the previous bottle that I opened.
As they say: there are only good bottles, not good wines at this point.
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2/27/2022 - oz11779 wrote:
My hopes were not high for this bottle, which had a good 5cm of ullage, but it stood up remarkably well. Warm forest aromas, still some tannin, herbal, long (it only developed a touch of oxidation in the nose the following day).
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12/11/2021 - Wine Canuck wrote: 96 Points
This pours medium garnet though still fairly deep ruby at the core. Impressive color for its age. The nose is deep, rich, complex and powerful soaring with notes of pencil shavings, cassis, dark rich cherry, charcoal, celery seed, polished lacquered furniture, a touch of green tobacco leaf and violets. Just a gorgeous aromatic expression. The palate is also just mesmerizing, entering with an abundance of dark fruit. There is still amazingly some firm tannic grip in the mid-palate. The length on the finish is incredibly impressive lingering for several minutes and replaying just about every component on the nose. What a phenomenal, impressive wine. So powerful and aging so gracefully.
This bottle was acquired recently at auction with an upper-shoulder fill. Not a bad fill considering it's age. Otherwise the bottle looked good in pictures and indeed in person. The capsule had very mild corrosion and required some peeling, with a very saturated cork. The durand did it's job well and extracted most to cork, only leaving a small piece behind in the neck which was easily extracted with the worm. The importer tag was from Bellevue, Washington. I'd speculate this bottle then made it's way to BC or Alberta, given the proximity where it was cellared, as this was acquired from an Alberta based auction house. The bottle was absolutely correct in every way I can imagine.
What really struck me with this wine was it's incredible power and youth while still being complex and open. It feels like it must have been a monster in it's youth given some seemingly new oak derived complexity, the deep, rich fruit, and the remaining tannin. The palate is a master piece in Firth Growth Bordeaux combining tannin, rich fruit, and acid in incredibly harmony. I've never had a 1959 or 1961, but have had a lot of old wine, and given the reputation for power in those vintages I'm impressed with how this too has plenty of power. Probably a bit of an overlooked vintage, lurking in the shadows of the more famous peers. An incredible tasting experience. If anyone happens to own this wine and it's in good condition I'd say you'll get plenty of drinking pleasure today but this will have no problem going another 50 years.
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11/13/2021 - fclarity wrote: 96 Points
From a good looking bottle with a high shoulder fill, this wine had a very deep red center and red/orange rims. The medium+ intensity nose was classic with its minerals, cherries, clay soil, blueberry, plum and some honey.
In the mouth, this is ripe and rich with refined rounded tannin and very nice acidity. The tannins were quiet at first but slowly built with air make an impressive, but integrated, backbone.
This was very nice, if not quite as structured as it should be, out of the gate. It developed great integrated tannin and acidity with air. It generally improved over 5 hours. Sometimes I would get a sense it was a bit too old and then in the next pour it would hit a new high. A gorgeous bottle in its prime! I wonder if this year has a touch more merlot than other years….
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11/12/2021 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Getting the gang together @ Wus (plus birthdays!) (Wu's Wonton King): Super treat. We tried it blind although knew it was a '66 (special wine for a birthday). Bordeaux for sure and left bank but that's as far as I got. I will say it's quite a nice wine. Sometimes I don't feel like I always get Latour, but this was drinking very well. Love the age and yet it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Big and powerful. Maybe it's that the wine needs at least 50 years.
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8/7/2021 - paulst Likes this wine: 99 Points
Outstanding; has it all - perfect nose of terrior and berry; layered and complex; secondary flavors with cedar and earth; smooth, long, long finish.
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8/2/2021 - paul195 wrote: 94 Points
5 of 6 …. Mid shoulder fill opened at 5:00 drank at 8:00. Beautiful deep garnet color. Mature bouquet of dark fruit, tar, spice and leather. Palate of deep cherry fruit, lovely fine tannins, nice acidity, lovely silky palate, clean persistent finish. A very good bottle of mature Latour
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7/31/2021 - _water.into.wine_ wrote:
No formal note but served blind. Most thought this was 80s bordeaux, I thought a touch older as late 70s. Quite incredible this was therefore a 60s wine which nobody called. Classic bordeaux nose. Lots of green peppers though which hinted at left bank Cabernet. I felt this was a slightly leaner year like 79 or 81 etc rather than a lusher year. This was a very well stored bottle from an OWC, so I can't imagine stray bottles have aged as well as this, which has a long life left. From Ayub
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7/8/2021 - Decanting Queen Likes this wine: 96 Points
Palooza part 2; 7/8/2021-7/10/2021 (Marco Island/Naples): Mark brought this bottle to our dinner in Marco Island and it was fantastic. Sasha says the best bottle she has ever had. Still drinking so well, plenty of fruit but all of the tertiary notes you would expect from a well aged Bordeaux--tobacco, leather, cigar box. Tannins were completely integrated. This wine has reached full maturity as you would expect, but I disagree with Mark's depiction of it as tired. It was full of life with a nice long finish.
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7/8/2021 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 96 Points
Enjoyed tableside at a French place on Marco Island with Jen, Carol and Sasha. Cork was soggy and not able to be fully removed so pushed in and decanted with filtering by our server and placed in a decanter. Color is still suprisingly strong deep garnet red with a lighter almost clear meniscus rim. Enjoyed throughout the meal with a fantastic nose of leather, good old, worn baseball glove leather. Nice, aged cherry fruit. Some mushroom and cigar box as well. The palate reflected well integrated acidity with nary a tannin and still wonderful fruit along with the taste profile felt on the nose. This was a very fine example of this wine, though perhaps just a tad tired, by 1 point over my last bottle 2-3 years ago, in all its tertiary glory. So sad these are gone now.......
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6/30/2021 - Burgundy Al wrote:
A Multi Birthday Celebration (Tocco - Winnetka IL): In vertical. Bottle in great condition (into neck) with great color. Slightly dirty, slightly bretty, but with good underlying fruit. Enjoyable but disappointing.
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6/9/2021 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
Acker's Post-COVID BYO, Dinner and Auction Simulcast (Craft - New York NY): Late night, small glass from magnum, brief note. Complex combo of mature plum, black currant, mushroom, cigarbox coming across as wonderfully layered. Long, elegant finish. Best I can ever recall for this wine.
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5/16/2021 - AB16 Likes this wine: 98 Points
1.5L Format. Stunningly fresh and youthful. Pure fruit with beautiful mid palate weight and sweetness. Great balance and acid intact. Remarkable 55 year old wine!
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3/21/2021 - sdr Likes this wine: 97 Points
Extraordinary. A great mature Latour, sourced 5 years ago from K&L auction, very top shoulder ullage. Mahogany rim, deep ruby center. A blast of spearmint hits you as you approach the glass. But unlike a certain famous California Cabernet, it’s not vulgar since it gradually retreats back into the glass and integrates with the phenomenally intense black and blue fruit, as if someone somehow poured a dollop of the 2010 into the bottle. While there’s lots of secondary development this is more about the bright fruit, tannin and refreshing acidity. If you want leather or dead leaves, look somewhere else. Only a bit of dryness after a few hours betrays its age. I dare you to show me another fifty-five year old wine this impressive that is not Bordeaux.
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12/12/2020 - fclarity wrote: 95 Points
This wine is really the poster child for aeration. In the first couple hours it showed cellar must, volatile acidity, and was relatively thin. I would maybe have given it 90 points.
Afterwards, it gradually developed lovely structure, a fine grained texture, and excellent length. The volatile acidity disappeared and the old world fruit came forward.
This is a lovely wine that is fully mature.
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11/11/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Lots of power here. The tobacco, herbs, spice, crushed rock, leaf, red currant, cigar box and cedar notes are strong here. The wine is full-bodied, concentrated and still shows a lot of intensity. There is a wealth of ripe, tobacco infused, spicy, cedary fruit on the palate, but the tannins are a bit gruff, giving the wine a rustic, old-school, long, classic finish.
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10/17/2020 - mfkidd wrote: 94 Points
Lovely. Oldest wine I have ever had.
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9/30/2020 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 95 Points
Degustateurs Penfolds Grange (My home with social distancing): From a deceased members cellar out of magnum. Great condition and special for the group to taste and reminisce.
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9/28/2020 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 92 Points
More reticent tonight with dark fruit, tobacco, and cassis. Strong core fruit on the palate but missing the nuance one would expect from a 40 year old plus Latour. Still an utterly enjoyable old claret.
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7/28/2020 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine: 96 Points
A truly stunning bottle that was from an OWC purchased 10 years ago.
This is quintessential bordeaux, classic blackcurrants interwoven with subtle secondary aromas of leather, wood and oak. Whilst a heavy wine with a dark core, the tannins are beautifully integrated and melt in your mouth. This had perfect balance and really was outstanding. From Ayub
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4/18/2020 - fclarity wrote: 94 Points
From an otherwise nice looking bottle with a high shoulder fill, this wine had a dark red center and orange rims. The high- intensity nose featured blackberries, minerals, black spices, toasted nuts, and a hint of iodine.
In the mouth, this wine was rich with light rounded tannin and firm acidity. It was a touch lean in the mid-palate for the first couple hours. As the wine aired, it became more integrated and the finish became more detailed. It remained a bit less phenolicly ripe than some other bottles.
This bottle had a distinctive dark (cooler year) flavor profile. I would have scored it in the 92-93 range during the first few hours in the decanter. At the end it was very intense and at least 94 points and arguably 95 points. It is drinking well now with air but it is likely to last at this level for a decade or two.
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4/1/2020 - hargy wrote:
corked - not rated
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3/3/2020 - La Flama Blanca Likes this wine: 96 Points
It’s a shame this beautifully structured and classic Pauillac is oft overlooked as it’s camouflaged between the dynamic duo of ‘59 / ‘61 and ‘82 vintages. The ‘66 Latour is an elegant and graceful rendition from this legendary Château.
This Bordeaux reveals seductive aromas of violets, graphite, cedar and cigar wrapper in a mature WILF style! With its savory and rich black currant, ripe cassis, sweet tobacco and vintage leather deliciousness, its easy to see why this Grand Vin is the undisputed Bordeaux of the vintage.
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3/2/2020 - misterstarre wrote: flawed
Bummer. Had structure, but nose was TCA and palate was dumb.
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2/8/2020 - Rabun wrote: 96 Points
I’ve had Latour all my life. This is without question the wine of the vintage, and in magnum format it’s the best fully mature vintage of Latour that I have had in magnum format. I’ve had both the 750 and magnum format. They are both sensational with the magnum being noticeably younger and more powerful. Incredible drinking experience. Wow wine!!!
This shows you in great vintages how Latour separates itself from almost all other Bordeaux wines. Unreal!
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1/19/2020 - wgilbert3 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Probably a bit past its peak but still very impressive. Decanted and it opened up after 60-90 minutes, then continued to improve. Hints of fruit on the nose but mainly leather, tobacco, tar much of which continues on the palate. Very soft and lovely balance once it opened up. Amazing how good it still is.
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12/21/2019 - Outplaying wrote:
It was shocking to me how young this wine tasted. It smells a little like a port or dessert wine. Vanilla, caramel. On the palate, the wine is very soft. Hardly any tannin. There is a lot of fruit here with some slight maple accents. Still pretty primary. This was fun to drink but I think the Lafite was more interesting because of the tertiary elements. This one could go for many more years though.
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12/14/2019 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Liquid coal doesn’t sound like much praise but for Latour it somehow works. Intense and concentrated. Long on flavor, short on subtlety. Terrific balance. It doesn’t really taste like any fruit although it surely began life as a blackberry. There’s a bit of smoke too to add a welcome note of complexity to the monolith. Quite lively and much better than a bottle of the ‘70 version last month.
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11/5/2019 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
A bit darker color than the Lynch, slightly more brown, maybe a bit more cloudy (difficult to tell as lighting was very dark). A bit reticent at first, then came out of its shell, showing a darker side, with black fruits, truffle, slight anise, tar, good extract and more seamless than the Lynch, with a smoother long finish. Beautiful structure, balanced, doing very well right now. Perfect with the grilled lamb lollipops, and other beef dishes. Totoraku.
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6/20/2019 - sdr Likes this wine: 92 Points
I think I was the only one of our group of six who appreciated this bottle. I could see why since it’s far from a crowd pleaser. Old fashioned Bordeaux, it is mostly tertiary although there is a vestige of blackberry fruit. The texture is coarse. Meaty and powerful, good balance with both acidity and tannins on the slightly high side. It lasted very well in the glass. From a well preserved bottle, ullage very high shoulder, firm moist cork. This vintage of Latour may be best appreciated in a horizontal of other ‘66 Bordeaux.
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5/29/2019 - MC2 Wines wrote: flawed
Route 66 - Bordeaux Exploration (Vaucluse Townhouse): Pauillac B: Bummer. We didn't have a back-up for this one.
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3/4/2019 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 94 Points
Classic Paulliac. Very structured and dense on the palate. Kept improving in the glass with cedar, cassis and tobacco. Very refined and elegant.
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2/3/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Much better than the previous bottle from last year. Full bodied, concentrated, a bit rustic with loads of cassis, hints of cranberry, tobacco and cedar. Someplace between brawny, chewy and refined, this is at peak, showing what great classic Pauillac is all about.
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12/23/2018 - paulst Likes this wine: 96 Points
Tar and leather; rugged blackberry; coarse and layered; tannic and still youthful; wait 10 more years; long structured finish.
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11/8/2018 - fcxj wrote: 86 Points
Savory, soy sauce version of this wine.
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10/10/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 92 Points
Not the best bottle of this I have ever had. Still, the tobacco, earth, herb, cassis, and cigar box notes were divine. It was the pyrazine notes that intruded. With this bottle, on the palate, the wine showed a distinctive green pepper note that some folks, longing for the days of unclean, peppery notes in the Bordeaux are going to love. The brawny finish was long, with more peppery notes.
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9/1/2018 - sdr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Could the great ‘66 Latour be fading into the good night or is it just this bottle? From WineBid, it certainly looked excellent, sporting a top shoulder ullage and the cork was moist and firm, just as it should be. The color too was excellent. Vague unformed nose though, just barely detectable. Exceptionally soft in the mouth with no detectable tannins. The acidity was good but the finish was short. Not defective but not memorable.
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8/1/2018 - englishman's claret wrote: 95 Points
Talk about a classic Latour nose: blackcurrant, tea biscuit, cedar, walnut, ginger, a touch of beef blood. One of those wines that would be so easy to peg blind, if not on the vintage then on the chateau! Slightly understated and perhaps slightly lost amidst the youth and attention-grabbing 89 Clinet/Angelus duo, this was still very clearly a special wine that I'd like to drink again soon.
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7/23/2018 - Rani Likes this wine: 93 Points
Level into neck, but cork was soaked through. Used ah-so so extract the cork whole. In excellent condition, no sign of oxidation. Graphite, sous bois and black currant on the nose. Silky, with fine yet surprisingly buoyant tannin. Continued to evolve in the glass, and was a pleasure to drink.
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3/28/2018 - chatters wrote:
Cellartracker in the flesh with Stefan, Mats, Tomas and Basil (La Rochelle, Tokyo): Leather, umami, red currant, earthy, spiced, autumn leaves. Juicy, fleshy, long, fine but persistent tannins. Excellent quality, fully mature. With time it begins to gain weight. I called this as Old Bordeaux
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2/28/2018 - sdr Likes this wine: 95 Points
Latour vs. Mouton Mini-Vertical (3030 Ocean, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): Another outstanding example of ‘66 Latour, surely the wine of the vintage at this point in time. Outstanding color, no brown. Deep and black fruity, intense, blackberry and cassis, graphite and charcoal, classic Latour. Fragrant and very complex, holding very well at hour three. A great vintage of Latour and no sign of slowing down.
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2/24/2018 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
Cork completely saturated, soft coming out, eventually crumbled into many pieces. The nose however, is still quite good, full of dark fruit, forest floor. Beautiful dark red in the glass, velour like entry after a 45-60 min decant. In a good spot, but so glad we popped this bottle tonight, I don't think it was much longer for this world. Another hour in the glass throughout dinner and it was really singing. Red fruit, gentle plum, like drinking liquid feathers.........
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2/17/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Classic in style, but in a good way, the wine combines rustic masculinity with cedar, tobacco, cassis, cigar wrapper, smoke and spice. Full bodied, long and with intensity, this bottle was very good, but perhaps not as good as other examples I've been fortunate to taste.
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1/13/2018 - hargy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still going strong! Unmistakably Latour - sublime
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11/15/2017 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 91 Points
Château Latour Vertical (Vaucluse): Oxidative nose unfortunately. Some bold red fruit hanging on. Palate is sweet and has given in to oxidation as well. Fluctuating up and down. A little smoky. Actually, coming back to this glass seems to be softening and opening up... Came back to this at the very end of the night and it had livened up considerably. Maybe a better bottle of this could be really great?
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11/2/2017 - mattiasjansson wrote: flawed
Latour and Sine Qua Non weekend; 11/2/2017-11/3/2017 (Edina, MN): Drinkable but most likely heat damaged. Underlying fruit dominated by notes of prunes and raisins.
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10/28/2017 - sdr wrote: 88 Points
A disappointing outing for the ‘66 Latour, a recent purchase from Wine Watch and a local collector. Could it be because of the original sourcing from “Big Daddy,” as per the sticker, a long defunct local wine shop of little repute? The cork fell into the bottle as I was cleaning the top. The level was very high shoulder, though, and there were no obvious signs of mistreatment. The color was normal for age. Practically mute, just a little faint hint of charcoal and earth. Acidity is sound, tannins are decent. But not much flavor here, just generic old wine. So decent balance, no big flaws, but no Bordeaux character, much less Latour, and hard to create any enthusiasm. (The ‘66 Mouton from the same source was much better.)
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10/26/2017 - FransS wrote: 96 Points
A day after the still too young Haut-Brion '95 my friend Loek surprised me (blind tasting) with this sublime Latour). A perfect colour, ripe and dense, and an unmistakable pencil Pauillac bouquet (I guessed Mouton), followed by a very classic taste with a superb body, not smooth but also no edges. I suggested the 2004 vintage, so young and lively this wine showed. Pencil from start to finish, not too, but very Pauillac. I give this wine 95 points for its qualities at the moment and 1 for the future this memorable wine has.
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8/26/2017 - sdr Likes this wine: 97 Points
A very great example, beautifully preserved, from a special collection acquired by WineWatch. Dark garnet, as if it were trying to pass for a mere 20 year old. Lovely fragrance of dark plum and rose. Deeply fruity and sweet in the way of old Bordeaux. Sound but well integrated acids and melted tannins. This bottle was a doppelgänger for a splendid Chateau Margaux rather than Latour, being more about juicy fruit than structure or muscle. Striking, idiosyncratic and youthful.
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8/13/2017 - paulst Likes this wine: 97 Points
Cedar and tar; blackberry; textured with a tannic backdrop; long and deep.
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8/12/2017 - paulst Likes this wine: 98 Points
Outstanding; still youthful with unresolved tannins; smooth and textured; long sweet finish.
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5/4/2017 - MaxSiegel Likes this wine: 96 Points
Haven't had the 66 before, but this is classic mid-60s Latour and drinking very nicely right now. Pure red center with very slight amber at the rim. Highly perfumed. Nose opens with cedar, sous bois, plum, and maybe some slight sweet violet. Some (appealing) green pepper. Maybe even a little eucalyptus. Slight decaying note after about an hour. Eventually, some subtle black truffle comes through. A touch of an oxidized note dissipates with time (for reference, this bottle had a high top shoulder fill level but a slightly oxidized capsule). Cassis, tobacco, leaves, graphite, and leather on the palate. Some sweetness from the mature tannins. Seems a lot younger than expected, with lots of acidity and some tannin remaining. Luxurious mouthfeel. Long, slightly caramelized finish.
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3/15/2017 - Lype Likes this wine: 92 Points
Holding well and maybe even still getting better as one might expect from a well kept Latour, graphite, pencil shavings, refinement, nice silkiness, all the hallmarks of a classic claret.
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2/18/2017 - DrinkBordeaux wrote: 95 Points
This was singing tonight and showed extremely well. It gained a bit of weight in the glass and showed off some incredible aromatics. Seemed so young on the nose, with lots of ripe cassis, tobacco, sous bois, and leather. It appeared young on the palate as well, with smooth tannins and well-balanced acidity. A great vintage of Latour.
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2/18/2017 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Bordeaux Birthday Oldies; 2/10/2017-2/18/2017: Another splendid bottle of '66 Latour, which is proving to be the most reliable of the old Latours, even if not quite reaching the profundity of the very best bottles of '59 and '61. Excellent deep ruby color almost to the rim. Deeply Pauillac aromas of black earth, gravel, porcini and truffle. Medium full body, clean finish. Still lively even deep into its tertiary phase.
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1/31/2017 - JulianSkeels Likes this wine: 96 Points
Wonderful wine, which clearly outshone the 75 Latour served alongside. Much more savoury, rich and long. More body here and integrated acidity. Graphite dominates the entry with tobacco and cedar following, and very long and lingering rich plum and cassis finish sticks in the mind. Less mineral than the 62 Latour (which I have a slight preference for) but every bit as good. Held up very well in the glass, but I would actually drink this over the next decade. Thanks Chris! 95-96pts
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1/24/2017 - mclanew Likes this wine: 96 Points
After 50 years still going strong. Only a bit of amber at the edges. Drinking beautifully after forty five minutes of decanting. At first the nose was a bit musty and reserved but after a couple hours began to show its stuff although in an understated way. Medium bodied and still vigorous. Flavors of cedar, pencil, black fruit and leaves. Long finish with nuance.
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12/13/2016 - MC2 Wines wrote: flawed
Acker BYO Holiday Dinner (Tribeca Grille): I am pretty sure that this was flawed. Or maybe it had just been open a bit too long when we got to it. It was a lot like straight alcohol in a bottle. Too bad.
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12/10/2016 - RockinCabs wrote: 93 Points
Nose: Blackberry, Fig Paste, Christmas Spice and inky dark fruit. Touches of smoke and walnut rounded this out. Struck me as a more refined expression of the Baron. Palate: Beautifully resolved with nice black fruit, but I am afraid that I just caught this a bit early and it needed more time to decant. Touches of Ducru-esque gingerbread spice were very nice. Complexity poked out from time to time suggesting other bottles may be much better right now. Finish: Again very nice black fruit supported by good structure and spice/graphite notes.
93++
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12/10/2016 - englishman's claret wrote: 94 Points
From a half with a low-mid shoulder fill, this ended up delivering pretty well. The nose seemed quite tired straight out of the bottle and surprisingly enough, it took 2 hours in the decanter to really reveal itself. Whether it would have been better with more time we'll never know since there were 4 of us tasting it and that was the end. But when it was really ready, it had a beautiful nose full of Latour character; black fruit, fig, walnut, chestnut, biscuit, cedar, mineral with some of the inflections of age: beef blood, caramel. There were little glimpses of a really great wine that, at least in this bottle, had its peak years ago. I imagine that bottles with better fills and in larger format must be quite thrilling now if you enjoy classic claret. I will be on the look-out.
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12/9/2016 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 93 Points
Pure red fruit with hints of spice. Some upside remaining in this bottle. 93+
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10/15/2016 - tinybubbles wrote: flawed
From magnum. Corked.
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10/15/2016 - walkerjfw wrote: 97 Points
A Decadent Wine Day...Zachy's Vault II and Dinner with special guest CVA and friends (Le Bernardin, New York and Chez Walker in Princeton, NJ): At Zachy's auction in NYC, among a fantastic group of wines served during the auction. From a magnum, splash decanted and drank over about 30 minutes.
Color at the core is still solid, separation at the rim. Fruit on the nose is a little reticent, picking up black fruits and charcoal. Palate still has gorgeous (almost youthful) fruit...black cherry, cassis, cedar, pine. Black truffle and mushroom through the mid/back plate. Layered and complex finish...smooth texture, tannins sweetened and resolved
Amazing vibrancy at 50 years old, this is going strong and may have a few decades left in it...perhaps one the "immortal" wines of Bdx? Didn't fade at all during the time we drank it. Exceptional, really a privilege to drink this. Hard to put a number on it as I ave very little comparison, given age and quality at this point one of the better wines I have experienced
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9/15/2016 - sjwshiraz wrote:
Another brilliant bottle. Perfect condition, still in original tissue and OWC
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8/19/2016 - Cgrant1029 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted 2 hours, was really singing by then for the next couple hours. Slowed down a bit for the last hour.
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8/7/2016 - paulst Likes this wine: 95 Points
Broad and tannic; lots of texture; tobacco and earth; solid backbone and finish.
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7/28/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
Full bodied, powerful, concentrated, regal, in an old school classic manner, with a blast of cassis, tobacco, cedar chest, forest floor and blackberry. Mascuiline, with complexities and vibrancy, this bottle seemed immortal and might have deserved an extra point. Clearly, this is mature, but well-stored bottles should be great for another few decades or longer.
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7/23/2016 - sjwshiraz wrote:
From magnums. 50 years old and could probably do with another 50 ! Remarkably young and forceful, this is the finest 1966 Bordeaux I've drunk and is probably 20 years behind the 750ml in terms of evolution. We all admired this, however we all shared the same view that it had much more to show.
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7/16/2016 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Ex-WW, from a recent cellar acquisition, outstanding appearance, VTS level. The 1966 vintage in Bordeaux demonstrates the "intellectual" side of Bordeaux. A great example, such as this one, while still containing a splendid core of blackcurrant and cassis fruit, is subtle and elusively complex. There are hints of charcoal, shiitake and black truffle in a medium bodied format and the texture is smooth but not soft. The acidity is sound and the tannins are just ripe enough. Beautiful Latour that may be just a bit beyond peak, but full of interest.
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5/3/2016 - hiker_guy Likes this wine:
Youthfully tight on opening, clear ruby in glass with some fading at the rim. Nose and palate showed great structure and the fruit was very much still present. Lovely wine to sit and explore for a couple hours. Never faded before it was gone. This wine had years ahead of it. Beautiful.
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5/2/2016 - dpolivy wrote: 96 Points
DRC Tasting Group: Bordeaux Night (Seattle, WA): Tasted blind. A little green pepper to start, leading into a nicely aged nose with some spice mix. Delicate, lovely body. Dried fruit, cherry, leather, tea, tobacco, cigar, and even chocolate. Super fine tannins. Elegant, lovely finish.
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4/30/2016 - sdr wrote: flawed
Ugly brown and corked, VTS level.
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4/24/2016 - vagrantone Likes this wine: 96 Points
Wow!
With a wine this age, you have to be ready to refrain from rating the wine if the particular bottle was not stored properly. This bottle was in excellent condition. Mid to high shoulder fill, cork in reasonably good condition but breaking during extraction. It took but a second to see that this wine was still in prime condition: still deep ruby color, bright and intense aromatics, little to no sediment floating around after decanting.
this wine is still remarkably youthful. If I had any additional bottles, I would keep them another 5-10 years. Bright aromatics, lively acidity, textbook balance with tannins not yet completely resolved but of excellent quality. Long, intense finish. Classy wine....
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3/10/2016 - TCP wrote: 50 Points
poured it out
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1/26/2016 - Vini Ciclismo Likes this wine: 96 Points
Magnum.
Purchased at Langtons 10 years ago.
Cork somewhat soft and broke.
Gentle cedary and blackcurrant fragrance. Delicate and refined.
A beautiful aged Bordeaux, pure Cabernet with a lightly cedary complexity. Has faded but it only appears marginally, flavour intensity is strong. Superb length and overall finish. Delicious.
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1/13/2016 - PanosKakaviatos wrote: flawed
Mostly 1966 Bordeaux and other surprises (Ripple Restaurant in Washington D.C.): Well, Latour is known to be one of the very top of the 1966s. Alas the fill level was not the best, and indeed it showed too much volatile acidity to be really appreciated. Having said this, getting past that aspect, the density in this wine was unmistakable - and very impressive. I did not drink it really but appreciated the potential greatness of this wine!
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1/12/2016 - dcwino wrote: flawed
66 Bordeaux dinner (Ripple Restaurant in DC): Low shoulder fill. Starts with noticeable VA and a hint of oxidation. VA blows off with air but madeira note remains which is bothersome. It displays incredible concentration and generous fruits. Intense cassis, leather and cedar. Thought this bottle is off, I strongly recommend to seek this in auction market, especially in magnum format. Should be high 90s point wine.
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1/2/2016 - fclarity wrote: 96 Points
Tasted blind, this wine had a deep red center with oranging rims. The medium+ intensity nose displayed currants, brown spices, honey, and soil.
In the mouth, this wine was consistently gorgeous. While somewhat refined at first, it developed nicely with air. It had light, rounded tannin, solid acidity, and great length. This wine went through several stages of development. Throughout all of these different stages, its balance and integration were impeccable.
I guessed this was the 1982 Latour which tells you how the wine is aging. Could it get even better with age? Very impressive!
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12/24/2015 - Jiverest wrote: 89 Points
Slightly musky barnyard nose. Still fruity with slight tannins, which is amazing for such an old wine.
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8/29/2015 - BradE wrote:
Three Nights In San Juan; 8/27/2015-8/29/2015: I've had perfect ex-chateau bottles of this, and it can be a real stunner. For me, this bottle was a bit weak, but others really liked it. Maybe it was me.
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8/1/2015 - Bacchus&Ceres Likes this wine: 96 Points
Color deep rich dark ruby. Aromatics tobacco leather cedar brown wood like inside a aged cedar chest. Inside mouth velvety mixed with initial silky texture, cherry fruit dark bing red stone fruit with seemingly endless opening of the earth . Both Bacchus and Ceres predict this wine will continue to be fabulous for another decade. Latour continuous evolution and flowering. Opened 2 hr before steak mushroom grilled sweet onion dinner 11- midnight welcoming August with a gorgeous moon. Cheers.
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6/21/2015 - TWSA wrote: 94 Points
Food: French (Petrus Hong Kong)
Condition: mid neck
Duration: 3 hours
Aroma: Forrest, blueberry, blackberry, mint
Notes: amazing aroma and a deep and appealing aftertaste. The dark and mysterious aroma drags your nose into the wine. Like most latour, this is very full bodied and still appears to be very young for its age. With some sort of nutty aftertaste, this is an interesting wine to have on any occasion. It is a mistake to not decant this in the beginning, I feel that this wine can still live for at least another 20 years. Drink now-2050.
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5/27/2015 - dream Likes this wine: 96 Points
A bruising, classic style of Latour with just a bit of animal in it. Deeply flavored with dark fruits, graphite, tar and soy. Full and expansive with good acids to balance the big flavors which leads to a deep, complex finish with notes of grilled nuts, smoky minerals and tar pit. A Latour for the ages but it's quite drinkable now and harks back to an older style of Latour that is actually quite authentic and attractive if not as clean as modern day vintages. At Rarities, Cafe Boulud. 96+
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5/26/2015 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dark earth, cigar box and cedar on the classic nose. An overall smokiness that repeats on the palate. With air time the back of the nose also brings mint, menthol and herbs. Smoky, musty, and earthy palate with typical tar notes and background dark fruit. Strong but elegant. Paired with lamb. 95+
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5/16/2015 - fclarity wrote: 96 Points
From a bottle with a slightly depressed cork (branded) and a high shoulder fill, this wine had a very deep red center and orange rims. The medium+ intensity nose went through a number of phases. In the end, it showed currants, mocha, walnuts, black spices, and soil.
As with the nose, this wine went through a number of phases during its 4 hour aeration. It was somewhat angular and first and then somewhat watery. After 4 hours it was medium bodied with nice richness and fantastic length. It displayed gorgeous balance. It was ripe, structured, and yet still danced on your palate. The tannins were noticeable but rounded and the acidity was firm.
This wine was impressive. It became better and better with air so I would encourage extended decanting. This will easily last for many decades. However, I doubt it will get better. An excellent showing!
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2/26/2015 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 94 Points
Ch Latour Birthyear Wines with Friends (Goosefoot Restaurant Chicago, IL): Deep color, vegatal,sweet, long finish. Way to go Stephanie.
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1/7/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
There is a reason why people covet, cellar and pay for great, mature Bordeaux. If you want to know why this has been going on for centuries, 1966 Latour could be the wine to explain it. The incredible nose, with its tobacco, cigar box, cedar chest, pipe tobacco and dark cherry perfume really lights you up. The wine is deep, full bodied, concentrated, long and complex, with a fresh, spicy cassis driven that is hard to forget. This is the perfect combination of regal and masculine in a mature Bordeaux.
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12/9/2014 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 95 Points
IWFSC 800th Dinner (The Raquet Club): Deep color, long finish, young nose, fair amt of acidity, tannins still in place to preserve the wine.
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11/11/2014 - tinybubbles Likes this wine: 92 Points
Corky but not corked. One of the darker character wines of the evening. Smooth tannins.
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10/26/2014 - Old Claret wrote: 94 Points
Decanted and drank immediately. Despite significant seepage, a magnificent bottle. But it faded after half an hour.
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8/18/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
This is all about the cassis, leather, cigar box, cedar wood and smokey, truffle scented nose. Powerful, regal, but not exactly refined, the wine has character, style and class. Fully mature, perfectly stored bottles can last for at least another 10, 15 or 20 years, but I doubt they will get better.
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3/22/2014 - Coffeecup wrote: 94 Points
Amazing wine. Great surprise. In spite of the ullage a great wine. Great experience that got better as the evening progressed.
Popped the cork. Bottle was perfectly stored since it was bought when it first hit the market. Great nose that signaled everyone that this was was going to be amazing. Color was dark and beautiful. First taste on the palate was fruit with a nice backbone with enough tannins to support it.
The fruit was plentiful given its age. Beautiful finish. This was just an elegant wine and a true expression of what can be done. A truly spectacular experience.
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12/20/2013 - Wine_lvr Likes this wine: 95 Points
Latour Vertical Tasting; 12/19/2013-12/20/2013 (Switzerland): Another one of the mature Latour prototypes, showing flavors of truffle, cherries and currants. All is very well integrated, the tannins are very smooth, the acidity and sweetness is very well balanced. Again a true Pauillac beauty. Drink now 2025.
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10/19/2013 - sdr wrote: flawed
corked
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10/17/2013 - sdr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still plenty of life left in this old man. Very moist cork, very high shoulder level, excellent color, from Premier Cru maybe 10 years ago. Strong pipe tobacco on the nose is very pleasing. Deep into the secondary phase as expected but the fruit is definitely there. Austere as are most 1966 Bordeaux still alive. Interesting, but a little too much work to find the pleasure for me. Surprisingly, the '66 Mouton won the battle on this day.
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10/15/2013 - LWI wrote: 96 Points
27 Vintages of Latour: Impressive, sweet and deep fruit; cedar and spice, actually some primary fruit left. Rich, glorious finish.
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8/20/2013 - winemad wrote: 96 Points
Upon opening the thing that struck me was how much it smelled like a 10 yr. old Bordeaux. The same wet leathery smokey barn yard notes that all good clarets have. No prunes or over ripe fruit smells you get with old USA. I decanted it for an hour and a half before serving and it opened up beautifully from the first smidgen I had at decanting. It was amazing that a 47 yr. old wine could have so much to offer. Still having black fruit mixed with cherry flavors, but blended with the subtle complexities of age. My wife said it tasted and smelled of an antique store. Absolutely enjoying the experience. I have to conquer.
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7/2/2013 - seanellis777 Likes this wine: 98 Points
This wine is still amazing after 47 years. The color was a deep ruby with a slightly rust colored rim. The wine is viscous with long slender fingers. The nose is rich with fig and cinnamon which fades away . There is also a sweet tobacco note with black cherry and a hint of cassis. There is also a rich well worn leather to it as well. The palate confirms the nose. The tannins are rich but smooth and well rounded. The finish is extremely long, giving a nice warmth to the mouth. The mouthfeel is rich and unctuous. The body is smooth and full with silk like texture. I did not feel the need to decant this wine and the tasting confirms this decision. This truly a marvelous and mature example of a fine Pauillac of exemplary pedigree!
The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Fig, Black currant (cassis), Plum, Cinnamon, Cedar, Mineral, and Tobacco. It tastes like Black currant (cassis), Fig, Mineral, Cedar, Cinnamon, Tobacco, and Alcohol/Hot. The body is Full. The wine has Polished texture. The wine finishes Long.
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6/7/2013 - JamesTye Likes this wine: 94 Points
From 750ml, fill VTS. Served at The Square restaurant in London. Decanted and served 90mins later. Colour was rich, dark red. No hint of brown and even the edges showed only faint traces of brown. This looked like 25 year old wine not a 45 year old wine. On the nose there was quite a heavy amount of funk and forest floor, perhaps too much. The Sommelier was worried the wine was on the edge but over the next 2 hours the nose cleared. Nose also had plenty of leather, game, dried blood and a bit of oyster shell sulphur. On the palate this wine was far better. Lots of the same leather and earthiness, but the midpalate still had some dusty fruit and the finish was very long. Amazingly this wine is still quite tannic, but they are now beautifully integrated so the whole wine is balanced and elegant.
I've been lucky enough to have 4 or 5 '66 Latours over the last 15 years and this was certainly a bottle on the way down. Some have been 99/100 pointers but this sadly was not. The fruit is pretty faded now and this bottle certainly has lots of funk and maybe a touch too much of the secondary notes now. The tannins will keep this wine alive for years to come but there seems little reason to do this.
There are 629 bottles on Cellartracker at present and I now just have one left in the case. Dare I say it...but time to drink up?
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3/23/2013 - sdr Likes this wine: 96 Points
This bottle, sourced from Acker, was in superb condition - excellent color, clean label, moist cork, ullage just a few millimeters from the neck. Not much on the nose at first but eventually yielded that classical old Bordeaux aromas of cedar and leather. Simply amazing in the mouth; velvety texture, mature of course and deep into its secondary phase with just a whisper of blackberry and walnut. Yet the cedar, healthy acidity and totally melted tannins were in such great harmony the total impression was stunning. Improved in the decanter and glass for at least 3 hours. Very much alive Stunning example of old Bordeaux. This must be the wine of the vintage.
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12/9/2012 - Biglama Likes this wine: 94 Points
bijzondere ervaring, wijn is nog rood van kleur, een iets bruine rand verraad zijn leeftijd, neus geeft ook blijk van de ouderdom, licht muffig , wat later minder wordt, echt klassiek, potloodsplijpsel, grafiet, cederhout, het fruit is vrijwel verdwenen, sneufelwijn, smaak is nog heel levendig, mooie volheid, zachte tonen, heel aangenaam, heeft echt nog inhoud en wat diepgang.
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11/22/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Still young as it approaches its 50th birthday, the perfume is loaded with truffles, Cuban cigar, cassis, cedar chest, walnuts, spice, damp forest floor and tobacco. Concentrated with fruit and still tannin, the wine fills your mouth with a long, powerful, spicy, cassis filled finish.
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10/4/2012 - woody57 wrote: 89 Points
There may be a question about this bottle. Although the fill was excellent(all the way to the base of the neck), the cork showed some oxidative material on the outside and was easily pushed into the bottle in trying to remove it. The bottle itself was in excellent condition, the label unmarred.
We tasted it immediately and then after an hour and 2 hours of decanting. The hour was sufficient.
Their was a modest amount of bricking, but the color was still fairly dark. The nose was wonderful, with spice the predominant note. The palate was fairly undistinguished. The wine was gentle, smooth, but lacked the complexity that I expected. The finish was long lasting and soft. Overall, I didn't think it was nearly worth the cost. I am still looking for the magical bordeaux premier grand cru that lives up to the price.
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9/20/2012 - dream wrote: 97 Points
Great ruby color with no real fading. Beautiful nose of roasted walnuts, black earth and cigar box. Just a gorgeous, youthful Latour that is finally starting to show itself with wonderful flavors of black cherries, pitched black earth and Asian spices. Has a lovely, regal texture with a loaded middle-palate and a tremendously classy and firm finish. The wine is overall made in a vin de garde style and is incredibly precise and very finely concentrated. This finish is very complex with notes of charred cedar, roasted nuts and spices. Based on this bottle, I'm saying this is a hundred-year wine. Absolutely fantastic and still well short of it's peak. I rank this amazing Latour just behind the incredible '59 drunk a few months ago. Wow! 97+
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9/16/2012 - sdr Likes this wine: 98 Points
Staggeringly great and vigorous at age 46. Purchased many years ago from Premier Cru and in perfect condition; level just below the neck, moist tight cork, deep, deep ruby. Gorgeous bouquet of black cherry, blackcurrent jam, just a hint of cedar. On the palate, no letdown at all. The silkiest Latour I have ever tasted, bursting with fruit, perfectly round, medium full, sweet. Seems like the Merlot is dominating the Cabernet, whatever the percentages are. It looks and tastes decades younger than it is but the cork and label confirmed it was 1966, not 1996.
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3/28/2012 - MGrange wrote: flawed
Wine dinner at L'Etranger:
Unfortunately this wine was gone, what was not a surprise with the low level in the bottle
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2/7/2012 - stealthman_1 wrote: 96 Points
- Medium/Full body. Silky texture with a long finish - 3/13/06. Birthday wine. Fabulous, only bested by the Grange
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1/21/2012 - LWI wrote: flawed
A Weekend in Excess; 1/20/2012-1/21/2012 (Trondheim, Norway): Oxidised
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12/2/2011 - jlimberg wrote: 91 Points
Purchased via auction. Low to mid-shoulder with some signs of past seepage. Cork split on opening but otherwise was solid. SIGHT: Deep cola colored core with outer layers of rust, brick, copper, salmon, gold, and a watery edge. Medium concentration and viscocity. NOSE: soy, black cherry, caramel, toffee, spice, forest floor, dried pepper, shoe polish, leather boot, wet earth. PALATE: cinnamon, dried black cherry, leather boot, dried mushroom, forest floor. ASSESSMENT: medium alcohol, medium plus acidity, medium to medium low tannins, medium plus complexity, medium plus to high finish. Amazing acidity and balance. Tannins have softtened. Still some fruit hidden behind earth notes there. This wine certainly drank well right away, but was clearly fading 30 minutes later. Drink up quickly.
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10/30/2011 - vindictive wrote:
Bottle and fill excellent, the cork broke in half with extraction, but was solid. Still a big wine, evening out with an hour or 2 in the decanter and excellent with standing rib roast. We tasted this wine blind with the 1969 Heitz Martha's (not a good showing) and the 1965 Charles Krug Vintage selection (superb and holding its own). I thought that this bottle was just a bit off compared to previous bottles, but the dinner group gave it a unanimous thumbs up.
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9/9/2011 - Zweder wrote: 95 Points
Vertical of 15 vintages Latour followed by a 3* Michelin dinner and 11 magnums. (@ the Librije in Zwolle, Netherlands.): 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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9/9/2011 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 93 Points
Verticaal Latour (De Librije, Zwolle): Kleur: Oranjerood, minder evolutie in de kleur Aroma / bouquet: Prachtige aroma, iets minder concentratie, duidelijk een wat vitaler wijn, subtiel, wat gedroogd fruit, paddestoelen. Restje donker fruit. Smaak / Afdronk: Mooie zachte aanzet, opvallend kruidig, prachtige mooie balans, tannines wat meer uitgesproken, duidelijke bite, ook in de finale, net iets te hard voor echte grootsheid Algemeen / potentieel: Meer stoere wijn, spannend, maar een minder fraaie balans. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 11 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 93/100
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9/1/2011 - Sleepy Dave wrote: 92 Points
2011 Simple Series 9: Sean BOD (Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck @ Paragon): Alcohol :: NA
1966, 45yrs old by now but still so fresh, lively and having intense dark ruby core. The beautiful bouquet is fully matured and while dominated by the secondary notes, this still has very intense dark fruits core as well as dried flower that well accompany by cedar, pencil shaving, antique furniture, leather as well as earth. I really love the nose here, pure, complex and harmonious. The palate is equally compelling with its lively and vibrant profile, still wonderfully structured and so much to offer: layers of fig, dried floral, sweet currant and mushroom all perfectly integrated along with little touch of really silky tannin that flow through the palate with care, so silky smooth that culminated to the medium length, persistent complex finish with autumn leaves, dried floral, sweet plum nuanced that lingered. Latour once again demonstrated its stunning aging potential. This lacks a little bit of depth and length to be extraordinary but still, this is a classy, outstanding Latour that is drinking at its peak now.
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9/1/2011 - Dbrane wrote: 93 Points
Sean Birthday (Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck): If there ever was an essence of Pauillac this would be it. Every identifiable aspect of what a Pauillac should have is here in its most bare-bones. Definitely at its peak now and probably on the slow way down too. Still very enjoyable now but probably time to drink up. Not much words can be used to describe it except I'm glad I got to drink it now.
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9/1/2011 - Paul S wrote: 94 Points
2011 Simple Series VII: Sean's Birthday (Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck, Paragon): Absolutely beautiful stuff. This was probably the red wine that was drinking the best on the night. It had a wonderful nose that drew me in and won me over on first sniff. Starting with gentle washes of tobacco and spice, then little earthy notes, a touch of capsicum and darjeeling tea, and finally a wonderfully lush layer of very Pauillac cassis scents. Beautiful, profound stuff. The palate did not quite match it all the way unfortunately, but was still nonetheless top class. The tannins here still had a touch of grippiness to it, on the attack and right at the finish, making me guess 1966, but the rest of wine had otherwise softened into a velvety caress. Matched with fine acidity, this made a lovely backdrop for melting cassis notes that spread across the mid-palate before melding into a gentle finish with black tea and autumn leaves floating around like a halo. Unsurprisingly, this was beautifully integrated by now and really harmonious, but what stood out for me was how the wine, at 45 years of age, still showed lovely purity, definition and balance. Superb stuff, which made me guess Latour. My only issue was perhaps the lack of power at the finish, but that was nitpicking - with time, it kept unfolding with those lovely autumnal tones, filling any gaps that might have been there at first. This was brilliant - a wine that I will remember for a long, long time.
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6/15/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Deeply colored, massive and concentrated, this was loaded with ripe cassis, black fruits, tar, smoke and cedar. This wine perfectly marries power with grace in an old school style.
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3/2/2011 - Fatty Cat wrote: 95 Points
Tasting ‘Chateau Latour’ at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival: decanted before the tasting; rubin red color; started with a cork-like, flawed smell; luckily after some swirling the unpleasant odor disappeared and gave way to a classic bouquet of red and black berries, noble wood and walnut aromas/flavors; well-balanced with well-integrated tannins on the palate; medium/full body; round texture.
Great, ripe Latour.
Flight IV: 1937 - 1953 - 1961 - 1966 - 1970 - 1971
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1/18/2011 - Brainprusnek wrote: 97 Points
Had at a Bordeaux tasting in 2010. Smoked meat, deep rich leather. Absolutely amazing how well this wine aged.
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12/28/2010 - JamesTye wrote: 97 Points
From 750 ml. Level TS. Decanted 1 hour before drinking. Brick red core, extraordinarily bright for a wine of this age. Colour clears to almost transparent at edge. Initially some funk on the nose but this cleared with time to reveal a well developed Pauillac nose. On the palate, complete, perfectly balanced and still amazingly youthful. Long finish with powerful mid palate, although little obvious fruit remains. In many ways this wine exemplifies perfectly aged Claret. Terrific and made the accompanying 1961 Leoville Barton seem a little one dimensional. Other bottles I have drunk had more primary fruit but this is unquestionably an outstanding Latour. Despite bottle level, would still last another decade or so.
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11/1/2010 - Lakejoy10808@hotmail.com wrote: flawed
The cork was soaked all the way through and crumbled on extraction due to its softness. A small sip was poured and the wine was declared as intact, but I did not taste. The wine was allowed to slowly oxygenate in the bottle for 4 hours at 63 degrees. Upon serving it was an utter disappointment. The only thing left was an after taste of grippy tanin. It was weak and flabby with little to no flavor.
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9/2/2010 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
66 Latour offers cedar, truffle, cassis, walnuts, forest floor and tobacco notes. This powerful, structured wine is a little on the rustic side with slightly rough tannins. The wine ends in a long cassis filled finish that is slightly marred by some tart sensations. I've had better examples of this wine. But you know what they say about bottles with more than two decades of life... There's no such thing as a great wine, only great bottles.
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8/1/2010 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
Elements: Truffly, soft mud, sous bois, a bit old character with some musty notes, but really a great drink. Hiro’s b-day.
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8/1/2010 - Lord Rayas wrote: 92 Points
Dinner with Dr Poon, Juliano and Brian (The Square, London): Dark and youthful. Classic Latour nose with a touch of lead pencil. Well integrated tannins.
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3/7/2010 - Umay Ceviker wrote: 96 Points
Pale garnet colour, hazy appearance with a brick- brown tone. Delicate, rich, complex and layered nose with fresh red fruit backed earth, leather, forest ground notes, tobacco and coffee. A wine of ultimately perfect structure, powerful and elegant after 44 years of age. Definitely well balanced and still young and fresh.
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9/12/2009 - mimik wrote: 83 Points
Wine Guy Weekend Chez Doktas Take 3; 9/11/2009-9/13/2009 (Collingwood, Ontario): Surprisingly dark colour for a wine of this age. Typical aged bordeaux nose of cassis and oak and pencil shavings. Soft palate with delicate texture and which fell apart 30 minutes later. Short finish.
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8/20/2009 - plitton wrote: 98 Points
Spectacular, harmonious and resonates with my soul.
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12/25/2008 - happynothing wrote: flawed
bummer...heavily oxidized.
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12/5/2008 - sdr wrote: 91 Points
This bottle (from AMC) was double-decanted just before serving. There was a huge blast of mint for a minute or two, then it settled down into a more classical profile of this icon of the vintage. There's more than secondary notes of leather, earth and tobacco; the mature but regal blackcurrant fruit is still on display. Not at all too dry. The tannins are soft and of course it's fully mature. Lovely old wine with no sign of fatigue. At first I thought the '70 Latour was the better of the pair, but this '66 gained in intensity over two hours and emerged triumphant.
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9/28/2008 - BradE wrote:
A perfect example of this wine. VERY good.
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7/19/2008 - JimN wrote: 90 Points
Decanted. Very funky nose of fish and rotting fruit that took a long time to blow off. Much better after coming back to it 30 minutes later. Consensus was that this bottle was on the decline.
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7/5/2008 - sdr wrote: flawed
This was to be the highlight of a wine dinner at Table 8 with Nic and Marie-Claude. The gold sticker on the back indicated it came from that Acker auction called "THE Cellar." Yet depite an excellent appearance and a moist firm cork, it was madeirized and no amount of air time or wishful thinking could bring it back to life.
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6/6/2008 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
A bit austere in style. Almost a bruiser for Latour. Cassis, lead pencil and earthy tones on the nose. Very full bodied. The finish was a bit clipped. I liked the finish as it still showed fruit, but, its shortness bothered all of us.
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5/31/2008 - sdr wrote: flawed
From a recent Acker Internet auction, the bottle looked in excellent condition with a VTS level and a moist firm cork . But immediately the overpowering smell of prunes anounced this was not right. I let it breathe a few hours hoping for a miracle but it was not to be. Not overtly acidic in flavor, but not pleasant. I think it was madeirized.
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5/18/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
ERI Pre Auction tasting (union league club, chicago IL): nose: nice up front red fruit tones centralize the wine with notes of allspice, cedar, tobbacco, and bits of truffles. Wonderfully balanced nose
taste: very pretty feel and wonderful weight on this with deep red fruit tones, anise, allspice, cedar, and some truffle shavings, and tobbacco tones
overall: this bottle was just missing that next thing that takes it to the next level. Really outstanding wine that hits the palate in all parts and leaves a really beautiful tobbaccoy finish
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5/4/2008 - noppakit s. wrote: 97 Points
On my 42th Birthday night. This is my 2nd bottle, the 1st was 2 years ago when I was 40.
I never have any inspire to drink Ch. Latour but everytime when drinking old Latour...my words is the same....
This is truly the Great Great Wine in the world !!!
Still dark garnet and seductive colour, deep and beautiful.
Loads nose of cassis, beautiful fruit, licorice, truffle, mineral and herbs comes together supported by a wonderful oak, getting not far behind from 1961.
Firm tannin, great structure, nice sweetness, a bit spiciness, round and brilliant.
Aftertaste Wow...stretch down deep very slowly and stay long....very very long...maybe 10 minutes or more.
The finish is different style from the bottle in 2006.
Drink now - 2012...........96-97/100...........
Suggestion : Don't drink it longer than 2.45 hours, it's gone so bad.
This is the only unusual vintage for Latour that fade away too fast, last bottle too.
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3/29/2008 - sdr wrote: 93 Points
This was a very recent Acker Internet auction purchase, described as "outstanding color and condition." The ullage was high, but not top, shoulder. (The other bottle in the lot was top shoulder.) It was obvious from decanting that this would be special. The color was amazingly dark with no orange, just a bit of lightening at the edge. Then there's that beautiful Latour nose of deep, dark berry up front, on a background of cedar and minerals. This is an old-school style which appears to be living on its acidity rather than tannin. Of course it's fully mature now, but surely has many more years of useful life.
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2/14/2008 - Serge Birbrair wrote:
Food friendly, cedar, walnuts, long finish
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12/4/2007 - astrauss wrote: 99 Points
consumed at an offline with Jeff Leve at cafe 15 in DC. My WOTN. Seemed like a young wine. This could last another 100 years. This was a great bottle with fantastic core of red fruits with cedar and leather. 1 minute finish! Could be a perfect wine....
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4/21/2007 - sdr wrote: 89 Points
While the '66 Latour can usually be relied on to best the '70, not tonight (at Cafe Boulud, "Latour by Four"). The leanness of the '66 vintage was very apparent. After the almost lush '70, this seemed a bit too severe. But the color, length and finish were all correct. Not as thrilling as usual, but there's still a wealth of cabernet fruit hiding a bit behind the acids.
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12/22/2006 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
The wine sports a deep, ruby color with a nose screaming old Bordeaux! Wet forest smells with exotic spice, leather, black fruit, tobacco, truffle and cassis fill the air. And that’s without swirling! This dense, full-bodied, old school styled wine is still not fully mature.
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11/25/2006 - kkazaks wrote: 98 Points
Historical note from March 1, 06. Brought it to Per se, paid $70 corkage fee but for me more reasonable than buying a similar quality wine off the list.
Just beginning to enter maturity. Not quite as perfect as an 82 Latour I had a few years ago, but close. Tannins have come together with copious fruit to combine into a full-bodied but not overblown wine.
Had a second bottle that ngiht at the Carlyle Hotel and same taste.
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9/10/2006 - parrot wrote: 96 Points
It rocks!! stunning juice - and plenty of life left - beautiful bottle of Latour.
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5/15/2006 - noppakit s. wrote: 97 Points
I tested this wine on my 40th birthday in May 2006 along with Pichon Lalande 1982.
Still beautiful deep, dark ruby colour and darker than PL 1982. Nose of classic Latour '' elegance '' with a deep and beautiful aroma of the gravel soil on the vineyard. So perfect in the mouth and wonderful aftertaste. I have a very long testing note on this wine that beating PL 1982 like father and son.
So lucky, I still have two more bottles left to complete my need when needed in next 5 years.
For Latour fan club...don't miss it !!!
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4/23/2006 - sdr wrote: 91 Points
Wonderful wine, right at its best or marginally past it. Full color, modest but attractive nose of blackcurrent, cedar and minerals. Full in the mouth, excellent roundness and depth of flavor. Very well preserved despite its mid- to high- shoulder level. This is the third in a parcel from P.C. and all were satisfying experiences despite the ullage. Especially fine on the long, lingering finish. Should last well for at least another 5 - 8 years.
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2/19/2006 - Eric wrote:
Rocking out at Chez Leve with Hermitage and a whole lot more (Los Angeles, CA): Wow, what a hammer of a wine! On first pour it was black and forbidding and fairly stern on the palate. Some cedar and graphite sneaks out, but it's not giving much. I took my next sip 15 minutes later while chatting with Jeff in the kitchen, and I nearly dropped my glass. Wow and I mean WOW, this has just exploded into a huge, tannic monster of a wine, loaded with black fruit and graphite. Great bottle HH!
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2/11/2006 - sdr wrote: 94 Points
The '66 Latour seems to be getting better and better with advancing age, just as the cliché would have it. A 3 hour decant proved to be just about right for the bottle recently purchased from Premier Cru with an alarmingly low mid- to high- shoulder level. But not to worry; it was sweet and sound from beginning to end. Full as expected, but although not terribly complex, it beguiles the taster with its wealth and beauty of blackberry (not black currant) fruit. Very lively, even luscious in Latour terms, this is a real winner with plenty of life for the future, but certainly at its apogee.
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12/22/2005 - la turque wrote: 100 Points
The cork completely disintegrated as the bottle was being opened. However, happily the wine was in perfect condition. Double decanted 4 hours before consuming, this wine still needed a couple of hours to blossom. And then blossom it did! Aromas of cedar, lead pencil and black fruits, the fruit/acid/tannin balance was perfect. A rich dark garnet colour, the wine was showing beautifully, with rich sweetness and a lovely long finish. A completely decadent drink. Too bad it was the last bottle!
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12/17/2005 - sdr wrote: 95 Points
This outstanding beauty was a recent purchase from Premier Cru with an alarmingly low level - mid shoulder, which I would have probably rejected had I known. This proves that provenance is more important than ullage, especially at almost 40 years. I decanted it for 2 hours, but it could have stood up to more and there was additional evolution over another 2 hours in the glass at Cafe Maxx. Deep, deep, ruby red with just a hint of orange at the rim. Not a complex wine, this Latour intrigues with its concentration of ripe dark berry fruit and minerals. Intense but not tiring and the tannins are definitely there but well woven into the massive fruit. Simply stunning, maybe even better than the lovely 1970.
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8/15/2005 - nvandyk wrote: 97 Points
Drank to commemorate my hiring as Senior VP at Disney. Beautiful bottle of wine. I detected virtually no loss of the wine's deep ruby color at the edges, and the nose reflected a beautifully soft balance of cedar, and, to my nose and palate at least, a fair amount of crushed violets ala an '83 Margaux. The wine was beautifully balanced right out of the bottle -- we were afraid to decant. But while it didn't improve all that much, it certainly held its own over the course of a 3-hour dinner and was even a tad more developed after an hour in the glass. If I ever find another one of these at auction, I will snap it up if it's not prohibitive. The wine easily has 10 more years left.
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5/5/2005 - bdenuyl wrote: 95 Points
Very tight on the opening, but opened up beautifully after one hour. Yet still quit youthful. Great depth and balance and richness. A fairly “big” bordeaux with some elegance. Showing great breed. A real treat!
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3/22/2003 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
Wine tasting. Bottle not particularly in great condition to start. very lively and bright to start. Still showed good dark fruit towards middle and reasonable spice. Soft towards the middle, giving lots of balance and pleasure today.
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3/1/2002 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Wine tasting. First tried immediately after opened. Nose showed lots of charming primary and secondary character with big spice and cedar elements. Palate seemed a bit more reticent. Revisited 30-40 minutes later and palate was largely secondary but with wonderful spice elements. Another 20-30 minutes later the palate seemed more faded and muddy, but that might have been the sediment.
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7/23/2000 - buckeye76 wrote: 95 Points
PINK ORANGE ON THE EDGE, STILL A LOT OF RUBY RED IN THE BOWL. CASSIS, LEATHER, AND DEEP FRUIT IN THE NOSE. FLAVOR LIKE THE NOSE W/ BLACKBERRIES & LICORICE. NICE COMPLEXITY & ELEGANCE. LONG FNSH
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12/1/1997 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Andy’s bottle. Very typical ‘66, lean and intense. Very dark. No hint of age. Terrific.
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10/1/1997 - sdr Likes this wine: 97 Points
Hugh’s bottle. Finally, a truly magnificent ‘66 Latour. Excellent color throughout. Superb, classic, cool and elegant. Excellent grip. Fully mature. Will go on. Archetypal Latour. Wonderful. Too bad they are not all like this.
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4/1/1997 - sdr Likes this wine: 89 Points
Marin Wine Cellar bottle. Superb color. Brilliant deep ruby center, barely tuilé rim. Reticent pure nose of Cabernet Sauvignon. Cool and correct. Good cassis attack. Definitely lean, though, unusual for Latour. Too meager on the mid palate. Finishes with power and tartaric acidity. Mouth cleansing, not mouth filling. Showing age. Will not improve. Fine, not great.
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12/1/1996 - sdr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Marin Wine Cellar bottle. Good color. Faint amber rim. Faint bouquet which peaked in one hour, then faded. Excellent attack and mid palate. Blackberry and cassis but still not distinctively Latour. Slightly acidic finish. All in all, a mature satisfying excellent bottle of claret. But not thrilling.
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12/1/1996 - sdr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Richard’s bottle. This bottle is very, very good but short of great. Good dark color, not inky. Subdued distinctive Latour nose. Not as concentrated or stylish as the very best Latours. Lacks a bit of zip.
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1/1/1996 - sdr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Richard’s bottle. Classical Latour. Not much bouquet though. Completely mature at age thirty. Great balance. Masculine Gravelly fruit. Black fruits and cassis. Long. Just lacks undefinable flair for great.
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12/1/1994 - sdr wrote: flawed
From an OWC. Off bottle. Good color. Bitter and dried out. Not corked but way off. Bad storage?
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10/1/1994 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Typical Latour. Medium weight. Gravelly. Distinctive Latour bouquet. Medium finish. Stylish and aristocratic. Not another ‘61 or ‘45 to be sure but very fine.
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5/15/1993 - tomandlu wrote: 93 Points
Drank with Easley Blackwood and Alex Matro.
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11/14/1992 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 96 Points
THANKSGIVING TASTING WITH THE WINE GROUP (Walnut Creek, Ca.): Rich, well balanced, beautiful, nice red, hint of hot purple color in the glass, no brown color at this age, rich, smooth, well balanced, typical Chateau Latour, nice, creamy finish.
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8/1/1992 - sdr wrote: flawed
Corked. But even so, the power of the wine underneath could be discerned.
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6/1/1990 - sdr Likes this wine: 96 Points
Superb. Very deep color, little or no tuilé. Classic, “cool,”clean, masculine bouquet. Cedar, cassis, black currant. Great grip. Long finish. Not the epitome of elegance but really impressive. Young, just about ready. Some tannin and acid in the finish.
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3/15/1990 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 87 Points
With MPL and BLR (and BLR's friend Kevin) at the LWB. Very attractive dark ruby color. Nose is dense, earthy and closed, but there is loads of fruit underneath. A huge wine on the palate, with plenty of acid. Not as good as the 1/2 bottle from S&F. Still extremely tannic. Needs more time. 5-11-14-7: 87/100.
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12/30/1989 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine: 94 Points
With MPL at S&F survey of '66 Bordeaux. From a 1/10th bottle. Very darkly colored--WOW! Very deep nose. Amazing concentration. It's tremendous. What fruit! What balance! What concentration! How can such an old wine from such a small bottle be so young, so rich, and so good? This is great! 5-12-18-9: 94/100.
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