1996 Château Latour Grand Vin |
| Vintage | 1996 |  | |
| Type | Red | ||
| Producer | Château Latour (web) | ||
| Variety | Red Bordeaux Blend | ||
| Designation | Grand Vin | ||
| Vineyard | n/a | ||
| Country | France | ||
| Region | Bordeaux | ||
| SubRegion | Médoc | ||
| Appellation | Pauillac | ||
| UPC Code(s) | 0400009708967, 263998504855, 3364420028684, 3700218209871, 412950111823, 606899700436 |
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2014 and 2041 (based on 122 user opinions) | |
| Wine Market Journal quarterly auction price: See Latour on the Wine Market Journal. |
| Community Tasting History |
Community Tasting Notes (average and median of 96 pts. in 329 notes) | |
| Tasted by ricknat1 on 5/1/2024: The Latour was theft of the three 96s, beating the Mouton, which was not evolved enough to drink and the Lafite which showed no lafite character. The condense scars these are just not ready yet which is surprising given they are 28 years old. (572 views) | |
| Tasted by toppcats@aol.com on 4/20/2024 & rated 96 points: 2 bottles of the '96 Latour opened for a family/friends dinner party. Low Neck bottle levels. Corks removed intact via Durand - no evidence of seepage. Color - translucent edge to opaque-deep garnet/no bricking. Nose - Dark fruit, earthiness and tar (not prominent). Palate - Dark fruit forward with suis bois, pencil and tobacco. Mouthfeel - full bodied with medium to long pleasant finish ending with soft/fine mouth drying tannins. Wine was enjoyed by all as it seemed to strike an excellent balance for those wanting a fruit forward wine, versus those who wanted a more complex wine experience. For me personally, while excellent, this was perhaps not a classic Latour showing as I would have expected less of the Left-bank classic style graphite/pencil aromas versus more tobacco/cigar humidor type aromas that Latour is known for. (I know - I'm being a bit picky here! Rating 95/96) (438 views) | |
| Tasted by Edclr on 4/15/2024 & rated 96 points: This bottle was really singing. Maybe just because its been so long since I had a Latour. (1027 views) | |
| Tasted by Fuel55 on 3/30/2024 & rated 93 points: Much leaner showing than 4 years ago. This bottle was tighter and more mineral driven like a Pessac - still a great wine but I have had greater. (1222 views) | |
| Tasted by aquacongas on 3/29/2024 & rated 97 points: blind Some fruit elements but this bottle was a bit too evolved. Great to drink now but normally should be fresher and more compact and less accessible. 97 (1395 views) | |
| Tasted by Lord of the Bottles on 3/14/2024 & rated 94 points: The highlight of the Bordeaux dinner, but the host noted this bottle had slight brett (I did not notice). Still seems young even at 28 years. Walnut and spicy aromas along with a green pepper and black fruit palate and more walnut with a 10-15 second finish. No fireworks here just very classic and put together. Better in 5-10 years. Only my second time drinking Latour and remarkable how much it reminds me of its neighbour Montrose. 94+ (1623 views) | |
| Tasted by melvinyeowq on 2/2/2024 & rated 95 points: Bordeaux first-growth lunch: Dcwino's previous note pretty much nailed it. One of my bucket list wines and it lived up to expectations in terms of sheer power. Incredibly powerful structure and concentration of black fruit that made it a little brutish. Also had a similar pencil lead note to the '01. Not sure if this beast will ever settle down, but a treat to have tried this. (2259 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 1/19/2024 & rated 94 points: Sleek, polished, secondary, dark fruited. (2087 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 1/13/2024 & rated 98 points: The best deal on a Latour with age kicks off with cedar, mint, cigar box, spice, currants and graphite. The full-bodied palate is balanced, spicy, vibrant, and multi-layered, with waves of sweet, pure, tobacco/laden currants and spice. The almost seamless finish carries. Decanted for 60 minutes, this is about to go up in score. Drink from 2024-2055. (3194 views) | |
| Tasted by jamesabdavis on 12/25/2023: Classic claret/pauillac nose: pencil lead, earth, discreet deep cassis fruit, Lovely elegance & richness. No wow (1934 views) | |
| Tasted by nicholswfu on 12/24/2023: Gone.poured out. (1742 views) | |
| Tasted by dcwino on 12/7/2023 & rated 97 points: Holiday Dinner - Mostly Bordeaux (Taberna del Alabardero, Washington D.C.): Wine 1 - Expressive nose displaying intense black fruit with a hint of red, crème de cassis, blackberry jam, lead pencil, red flowers, caramel and earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of concentrated perfectly ripe black fruit, beautiful balance and precision, silky and polished, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, very fine tannins and a long concentrated black fruit driven finish. My guess is Chateau Margaux based on the floral note. (2064 views) | |
| Tasted by DCHawkeye on 10/6/2023 & rated 98 points: Decanted at the start of dinner at La Piquette in D.C., this absolutely benefited from the decant. I was surprised at how youthful this bottle (purchased from the old Sam's Wines in Chicago, probably about 25 years ago) was - still dark in color with obvious tannin, but in the glass with the entrees, this was everything you could want from a '96 First Growth - cedar, tobacco, leather, currants - beautiful nose, with fruit and structure to match. This bottle, at least, would have had years ahead of it. (2303 views) | |
| Tasted by hajoha on 8/14/2023 & rated 92 points: Chateau Latour 1996. Forførende nese. Dypt og sofistikert med begynnende modningstoner. Smooth i inngangen. Høy konsentrasjon og balansert syre, men frukten er litt småtørr dessverre. Ikke krise - det er en rimelig bra vin. Jeg takker ikke nei til et glass til. Meget lang, dog litt rufsete finish. Tanninene er faste, men frukten tørker litt inn her også. Imponerende, selv om den underpresterer litt. Her finnes det nok enda bedre flasker. 92-93p? (3322 views) | |
| Tasted by luHar1423 on 7/28/2023 & rated 99 points: Close to perfection and a must-have for every left-bank lover. Was obviously part of our Summer of 96 Blind Tasting event and scored easily first place! Huge value for the buck - and I am definitely going to look out for some bargains on this vintage in due time. This is for sure a wine, which you can drink during the next decade. On my overall rating as of today: new number 3 (behind the perfect 1982 Mouton and the close to perfect 1990 Pichon Baron). (3276 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 7/4/2023 & rated 98 points: Offering a sublime tasting experience., the wine is packed with all the spicy cedar, tobacco leaf, cigar box, ash, currants, blackberries, and smoke you could ask for. Full-bodied, deep, long, earthy, rich, and long, the wine unfurls on your palate and stays there. This is still the best buy for a Latour that is close to maturity on the market today. Drink from 2023-2055. (5415 views) | |
| Tasted by Burgundy Al on 5/22/2023 & rated 95 points: Pausing for the Cause Fundraiser and Dinner (Galit - Chicago IL): What a treat. OK, not nearly as exciting as the 1990 from a few nights ago, or as perfectly composed as the 1982 that same night, but this has the stuffing and finesse to stand alongside those vintages. A great wine that is just now really finding its feet. (4630 views) | |
| Tasted by Vinumming & Ahhing on 5/17/2023 & rated 95 points: Amazing Bordeaux To Mark A Special Birthday (Noizé, London): Another outstanding wine. I'm sure in 20 years this will be right up there. Somehow just outside my top five on the night primarily as I rated based on their readiness / pleasure giving on the night. This has a young and exotic nose with the damson and raspberry core being complimented by a brandy snap ginger / creaminess. There are also elements of rosehip and a faint grenadine sweetness. Palate, whilst not fully resolved is rich, savoury, more-ish and with great length. (3528 views) | |
| Tasted by dcwino on 3/17/2023 & rated 98 points: Another great wine dinner with Bernard Burtschy (Taberna del Alabardero, Washington D.C.): Classic refined nose displaying perfectly ripe black and blue fruit, crème de cassis, blackberry, blueberry concentrate, strong lea pencil, cedar, dark flowers, dark spices and earth. Excellent concentration, very finely layered pure concentrated black fruit, powerful yet very precise and detailed, perfect amount of acidity and mineral, very fine tannins and a seamless long pure black fruit driven finish with lead pencil at the end. This beautifully demonstrates the classic 96 vintage character. IMO, the most classic vintage going back to the 80s. (4207 views) | |
| Tasted by hectic on 3/17/2023 & rated 97 points: Brilliant. Tremendously complex and layered. On the upswing of it's drinking window with decades of life still to go. (3003 views) | |
| Tasted by liber on 2/25/2023 & rated 97 points: Chez Gr, decanted 90 minutes, perfect cork and level, bit tight at first with Cheval 96 more interesting, roles reversed after an hour or so with the layering starting to unfurl, rich, round and classy mouthfeel, v persistent and concentrated and best bottle yet, upside, 40+ years in this superb left bank vintage. VF+ (19). (3382 views) | |
| Tasted by soyhead on 1/14/2023: nose- grassy, green pepper, minty mouth - dark fruits, smooth and delicious, showing some tertiary flavors but still very much a wine of fruit. smooth and delicious and for many the WOTN; showing better than the '01 but the birthday boy nevertheless prefers the '03 (4663 views) | |
| Tasted by sdr on 1/7/2023 & rated 95 points: Latour, Latour, Latour (WineWatch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): This backup bottle showed just how good the ‘96 is when it’s sound. Really fresh, bright, intensely fruity. Not mature yet since there's not much secondary development but so promising. No denying how delicious it is right now so don’t feel guilty if you guzzle it down. But try to save some for your grandchildren. (3787 views) | |
| Tasted by sdr on 1/7/2023 flawed bottle: Latour, Latour, Latour (WineWatch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida): An off bottle since it was more advanced than it should have been. Moody and stern and the tannins were too bitter. (3265 views) | |
| Tasted by LIE-user on 1/3/2023 & rated 91 points: To be honest:I expected more. This potion made a somewhat watered-down impression. This was a surprise, as this bottle had been in the same automatically regulated cellar since arrivage. Let's hope for more luck with the next one. Considering the vintage, the chateau and the ratings, there should be much more fun in these. (3098 views) | |
| Tasted by jusuf on 11/5/2022 & rated 98 points: Super fine nose. Very very elegant. Not enough power on the palate for 100 points, but very very nice to drink. (3832 views) | |
| Tasted by remyworldpeace on 10/11/2022 & rated 97 points: Brilliant nose of huge complexity: spices, dark cherries, touch of raspberry, black and red currants, wood, liquorish, earth and forest floor, touch of graphite/pencil shavings. On the palate, blackberry, red currant, pencil lead, smokey meat, and a really enjoyable charcoal note I'd not really come across before. Long finish showing the many layers of complexity. Excellent structure and tanins. Lovely integrated oak with a tobacco touch. Another wonderful showing from Latour and pleasure to drink. Still young and fresh; indeed, I find the 1996 vintage is perhaps the very best for drinking these days, striking a perfect balance between fresh vibrant fruit while still being mature and complex. (3342 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 10/5/2022 & rated 94 points: Text book Claret, very clean. (3483 views) | |
| Tasted by Purple Tooth on 10/3/2022 & rated 98 points: 1996 Produced some really beautiful wines. I remember the first time I tried this, I thought wow, this has so much balance between its exotic and dense fruit yet has that distinct bordeaux earth and cedar, and an iron fist! Even after all this time, the wine is still too young and showy for my taste and has lots of upside promise to deliver. Its still crammed with fruited delight, but its throwing more cool earth and cedar. I think this is a long long Latour, nowhere near its tickle spot. HOLD (4159 views) | |
| Tasted by jmoon on 9/22/2022 & rated 100 points: Can’t remember ever giving 100pts, but i cant remember ever having a wine so thrilling, so deep, so complex, and so BANGINGLY GOOD. From reading other helpful notes i decided on a long decant, which paid off… 5 hours of patience, smiling at me across the bench. I wont attempt to descibe the complex intermingling of flavours, but lets just say there’s a LOT going on, with dark fruit wrangling for attention, wrapped by earthy goodness, and finishing with a deliciously moreish saline twang. I had bad dreams after drinking this, i was chased by a corkscrew throughout the night. (3742 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 7/29/2022 & rated 93 points: Obviously, this was not designed to be drunk alongside a Fourrier village Gevrey, and it took a while to assert itself. And it was drunk outside on a warm evening. It's classic cedar-y claret, fine, serious. Next time we'll treat it with more respect. (3642 views) | |
| Tasted by Mario17 on 7/22/2022 & rated 95 points: Un super beau nez, classique, fin, élégant, complexe, graphite, cèdre, cassis, tabac. La bouche est presqu’aussi belle, équilibré et profond abec une très belle longueur. 94-95 Very classic nose, graphite, blackcurrant, cedar, tobacco. The palate is almost as good, balanced, and deep, great length. Excellent. (3342 views) | |
| Tasted by Yassine23 on 6/30/2022: Served side by side with a Leoville Las-Cazes 86, both wines shown blind and triple decanted 4 hours prior to serving. The Latour only started to show it's class towards the last glass. Minty note and structure clearly pointed to Pauillac. Still young for my taste and if I had any, I would definitely leave them alone for another 10 years or more. Beautiful wine but has so much more to give. (3325 views) | |
| Tasted by Mchiarot on 5/21/2022 & rated 97 points: spectacular. elegant power. tremendous (3498 views) | |
| Tasted by Gilles Dupont on 5/3/2022 & rated 97 points: Pop and poured and then enjoyed over the course of 3 hours. Kept getting better until the last glass. In a nice spot at the moment, but not at its peak yet. But a grand Latour that totally met my expectations. (3799 views) | |
| Tasted by werdna39 on 4/30/2022: Wonderful nose. Not quite enough fruit to balance out the acid and tannin. Hopefully just this bottle… (3183 views) | |
| Tasted by VinhoVerde on 3/31/2022 & rated 90 points: Medium dark red with just a hint of brick. Complex cassis/ tobacco bouquet. Soft forward entry and mid-palate, it is a mature wine that fades ever so slightly in the finish. Corked popped 4 hours before serving. Drink up (3832 views) | |
| Tasted by Jonny Cash on 3/12/2022 & rated 97 points: a little earthy, The palate is full-bodied, concentrated and packed with muscular fruit, with a firm, ripe, grainy backbone and epically long finish, i like this, many years to go, drank it over six hours. (3636 views) | |
| Tasted by dream on 3/3/2022 & rated 95 points: The nose on this is heavenly and the palate delivers if still in a youthful way. I love the precision of this wine with it's chiseled character and electric acidity. Still rather lean in style but there are gorgeous Latour notes of dark earth, cedar and walnuts emerging and the finish is so satisfying with a beautiful streak of graphite minerals. It's best days are still ahead but this was wonderful to drink with the Chateaubriand at Quality Bistro. Double-decanted for 6+ hours. 95+ (3520 views) | |
| Tasted by Rezy13 on 2/6/2022 & rated 94 points: Super Bowl 2022 (Alpharetta, GA): Darker garnet, dull violet rim; lovely claret, good mix of earth and non fruit descriptors, red and black currant, dirty, green, sand, violets pop in there, tanned leather, cedar, so complex and shows better balance than #1, in a good spot with aged complexity and newer fresher fruit and floral notes; while this is really good it doesn't seem to show the deepest or most noble; '96 Ducru? (1208 views) | |
| Tasted by Francophile1 on 2/6/2022: Super Bowl 2022 (Alpharetta, GA): Tasted double blind. Wow! This knocked my socks off. Equal parts nose and finish. Pauillac nobility through & through. Loads of cedar with a greenish note on the finish. Muscular & grainy tannin signaling that this has many years to go to reach full maturity. I called it '00 Pichon Lalande. (3412 views) | |
| Tasted by liber on 2/5/2022 flawed bottle: Chez G, CORKED...........grrrrh!!!! underlying richness and structure evident, stripped of fruit! Normally at least very fine, ie 96+ (3533 views) | |
| Tasted by HotelHarrington on 2/3/2022 & rated 96 points: Initially wasn’t jumping out of the glass the way it had on my last bottle, one year ago. But really started to show beautifully after 90 mins in the decanter. Great tertiary development, plenty of fruit, some oak notes, good acidity, soft tannins. A pleasure. (3155 views) | |
| Tasted by ikkaariainen on 12/31/2021 & rated 98 points: At Hall's Chophouse in Greenville SC for NYE. 1st of 2 bottles recently acquired as part of a much larger cellar contents purchsse. Cork absolutely pristine, tonged not corkscrewed and wine decanted 30-45 minutes tableside - could easily have gone 1-2 hours in the decanter, this wine likes air right now. Up to this point Latour was the only 1st growth we had not yet had and it did NOT disappoint. Very deep purple with some peripheral bricking, big wine, full bodied, smooth as silk with a long lingering aftertaste and very well integrated, complex and balanced yet enough of a well structured core present that this wine still has a LONG cellar life left and is still rather youthful despite being 25 years old and from a somewhat lesser vintage. Masculine and still somewhat youthful were the 2 initial impressions we both had. Initial funk blew off quickly in the decanter with nose unexpectedly soft and complex with dark stone fruit up front as well as lilac, cofee, black pepper a hint of grilled smoky meat. Flavor profile up front was balanced oak, dark stone fruit and cassis with dark cherry and stone on the midpalate with an earthier forest floor, mushroom and cigar box finish. The last drops and dregs of this wine make a young man cry and give an older man chest pains. HIGHLY recommend despite price point and difficulty finding this - this wine is simply worth the $$ to a connoisseur, what an experience and this experience defines why 1st growth Bdx's are indeed 1st growth Bdx's... (3580 views) | |
| Tasted by lifebreath on 12/25/2021 & rated 95 points: My last two bottles consumed tonight. Wonderful precision that blossoms with an hour or two decant. Sadly no more in the cellar. (3444 views) | |
| Tasted by SimonPh on 12/14/2021 & rated 96 points: Great (3257 views) | |
| Tasted by blacktruffle on 12/10/2021 & rated 95 points: Dark ruby. More dilute compared to other wines from the vintage, but still shows plenty of fruit. Very elegant and approachable. Almost no tannins. This was perfect to drink just before a 2016 Rousseau Clos St Jacques as the palate densities were not that much different. (3443 views) | |
| Tasted by Burgundy Al on 12/2/2021 flawed bottle: Certainly drinkable, but musty and slightly hollow. Slightly corked. (4062 views) | |
| Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 12/2/2021: Kinda mind blowing. (3216 views) | |
| Tasted by Grand Amateur on 11/28/2021 & rated 96 points: Nice fruit at opening. 4 hours later, very enjoyable, masculine. Tough tannins though. More aging is probably a good thing. Decanter day after: Very nice, fruity. (2962 views) | |
| Tasted by Burgundy Al on 11/20/2021 & rated 95 points: Wine Tasted at Acker Auction (Marea - New York NY): From magnum. Double blind. Clearly left bank, I correctly thought Pauillac based on the lead pencil. Great density and balance. Long, seamless, so tasty (3835 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 11/13/2021 & rated 94 points: Balanced, secondary stage palate with waves of clean, black fruit. (2974 views) | |
| Tasted by Floyd77 on 10/12/2021 & rated 97 points: Youthful and nearly flawless. (3471 views) | |
| Tasted by burlingtonm on 10/1/2021 & rated 95 points: Despite a short decant, this was surprisingly evolved and was all the better for it as it is in a really good drinking window at this time with sweet, black fruit and showing elegance rather than power. (3396 views) | |
| Tasted by dcwino on 9/30/2021 & rated 97 points: Burgundy and Barolo dinner - Krug, Raveneau, Giacosa, Monfortino, Mugnier and etc. (Capital Grille, Tysons, VA): Classic Pauillac nose displaying intense black fruit with a hint of red, crème de cassis, blackberry, black cherry, noticeable bell pepper/green, lead pencil and earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of intense cassis, silky and polished, excellent balance and precision, noticeable but fine tannins, and a long concentrated cassis driven finish with lead pencil at the end. This is a classic claret. There is a lot more green and lead pencil compare to the 96 Margaux which is my favorite FG. (3781 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 9/2/2021 & rated 98 points: This keeps getting better and better. With a few more years, I would think it is going to get an upgraded score. And why not? The fruit displays a beautiful sense of purity, harmony, refinement, power, and elegance. The wine is incredibly concentrated, yet balanced, sweet, elegant and complex. Mouthcoating and seamless, there is still more to come with perhaps 4-5 years or more in the cellar. (5171 views) | |
| Tasted by petitblanc on 9/1/2021: Questionable provenance, this bottle was plainly too advanced, looking fairly dingy and showing almost no fruit and lots of tobacco and barnyard. But the depth and balance still made this somewhat enjoyable. Not scored. At A&S house. (3497 views) | |
| Tasted by Norwegian Commandeur on 8/13/2021 & rated 97 points: One of the best wines I've ever had. So silky smooth, elegant, like a piano symphony in wine. Balanced, elegant, beautiful, harmonious. A more or less a perfect wine. And with still years ahead of it. (3394 views) | |
| Tasted by beatles on 7/23/2021 & rated 95 points: Very rich, needs time to settle - gets better and better in the glass. Initially a bit pruny on the nose, whiffs off and leves room for quite a big wine with blackberries, chocolate, tabocco galore, sweet and sexy. Will hold - easily. #Kandestederne (4042 views) | |
| Tasted by witsend23903 on 7/13/2021: Fabulous!!! (3559 views) | |
| Tasted by aquacongas on 6/12/2021 & rated 98 points: blind This was a semiblind flight of Latour 59, 75, 90 and 96. 1st one I guessed 96, most guessed 90. Silky, elegant and nice black currant scent. Tannins fine and elegant. At least 20 more years. 98 2nd This time I guessed 1975 but it was 1959. in perfect shape. Everything at the right place. Still fresh, at his peak. 99 3rd One of the best 1975s I had. Not over his peak. 95 4th I love the hedonistic 1996. Beautifully young but even in this stage it makes more than fun. 98 (3960 views) | |
| Tasted by JonnyG on 6/3/2021 & rated 93 points: Thoroughly enjoyable, but slightly divisive. Some saw this bottle as beautiful, albeit primary, with restrained and balanced notes of cedar and earthy cassis, a touch austere but very indicative of a classic Latour from the era; others detected brett, but I thought the wine was clean and wonder if the stemware might have been at issue. In any case, the verdict is out as to whether this vintage will prove out with more time, though I would lay odds in favor, to my palate at least. (3618 views) | |
| Tasted by cos65 on 6/3/2021 & rated 96 points: Dbl decanted 3 hours prior to serving Deep, opaque ruby black with barely a hint of garnet at the rim Piercing iodine, leather, game, and a hint of dark cherry nose. Palate full of black walnut, leather, cinnamon, bitter orange peel, dark cherry and just a hint of edgy austerity in comparison to the 89 HB served beside it. Great stuff (3416 views) | |
| Tasted by bigredPA on 5/27/2021 & rated 96 points: Stunning wine. Early aromas of ash & cedar up front gave way to rich, dark, glazed red berries a little later. Remarkably fresh on the palate, with a perfect balance of structure and elegance that only fine Bordeaux can deliver. Wonderful experience shared with a couple of good friends. (3388 views) | |
| Tasted by dream on 5/20/2021 & rated 96 points: A marvelous bottle of this which showed more open than I expected which is great news! Classic Latour flavors slowly emerge with dark fruits, black truffles and walnuts. A voluminous wine with a fantastic lengthy and complex finish. 96+ Double-decanted 6 hours. (3546 views) | |
| Tasted by KenK on 5/3/2021 & rated 96 points: Out of magnum at French Laundry: a classic Latour well proportioned with a sleek dense dark berry fruit with a slight earthy black char and a clear hint of bret. The texture is rich, creamy, and mouth coating. Quite regal and refined with plenty of fruit and an elegant structure. In the prime drinking window, but decades to go. (3688 views) | |
| Tasted by timcos1987 on 4/23/2021 & rated 98 points: Close to perfection. Still needed an hour or so in the decanter, but when it opened up: what a beauty! (3508 views) | |
| Tasted by pavel_p on 1/5/2021 & rated 94 points: 6 years since I had a chance to taste the 96 Latour. Since back then it was not showing much, was a bit worried this might still not be ready. Hence opened in the morning and brought to restaurant for dinner, where the wine got a good 90 min decant. Medium garnet to the rim, this was surprisingly “airy” and light footed for a Latour from a top vintage. Nicely perfumed nose with red and dark fruit and some sous bois. On the palate medium weight, nicely layered fruit, some cedar, fine to medium tannins. Very good length. This was excellent and my wife loved it and the sommelier complimented on how well the wine was showing but I felt just a little disappointed as it was not the wow wine it should have been. Have had First Growth from much lesser vintages with more depth, and overall it felt a bit more St. Julien than Pauillac to me (not much of the pencil lead, iron and the dark layered fruit). (5460 views) | |
| Tasted by novocane on 12/27/2020 & rated 97 points: Delightful. With Christmas dinner. High shoulder, cork came out like new. Pop, 10 minute decant, pour. Color - Deep purple with ever so slight browning Nose - blueberries with a little menthol and petroleum Blueberry, raisin, cinnamon. Fresh fruit, tastes like it could have been bottled yesterday. Not closed at all. Little sweet. Little cola. Tannins are still here, but it goes down so easily. With the back graduating to red leather, cigar box, hint of forest floor. Lots of complexity, lingering a good 20 seconds. This is Pauillac power with Latour balance. Fantastic wine. (4670 views) | |
| Tasted by Waël on 12/24/2020 & rated 94 points: Decanted for 3h and tasted over 6 hours after that. At initial pour, it did not show much. After a 3h decant, the dark aromas emerged on the nose- wert earth, leather, mushrooms, black olives, oil, petrol. However, as time went by, the fruit became apparent on the nose, with cassis, blackcurrant, ripe red berries, leading into honey and caramel. Initially full bodied, but lessened in intensity with time. The tannins remained present throughout but the finish became longer as time went by. Like the nose, the palate evolved in complexity initially revealing notes of earth, leather, and olive, evolving into red berries, and dark chocolate. The finish was exquisitely spicy with notes of black pepper and cigar leaf. Ready to drink if you are patient with it and allow it time to evolve with your evening. (4498 views) | |
| Tasted by Trent Walker on 12/23/2020 & rated 98 points: A complete baby. Wait another decade or two. (4442 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 12/19/2020 & rated 95 points: Seamless, beautifully balanced. The usual cedar and blackcurrant profile, but somehow the flavours have an extra level of detail. A real beauty. (4301 views) | |
| Tasted by Fuel55 on 12/18/2020 & rated 96 points: Deep garnet with only a hint of fading at the rim. Explosive nose even after 4 hours in the decanter. Berries/graphite/cedar – it’s all there. Very full bodied, very bright. Very very Latour. All black fruit and cedar in the mouth – tannic, but not too tannic if you know what I mean – maybe a tiny bit of black olive in there too? Finish goes on forever. So elegant and delicious. Gotta call this at 95-96pts. Will see how it progresses over dinner. (3300 views) | |
| Tasted by Sean Tay on 12/10/2020 & rated 95 points: Spices, gamey, vanilla, black fruits. Pronounced nose and flavour intensity. Long finish. Decant for 2 hours. (3603 views) | |
| Tasted by mrgarreth on 11/24/2020 & rated 98 points: This is one of those heavenly wines that gives me goosebumps. You know this is seriously good wine from the moment you breathe in its aromas of cassis, deepest black fruits, black olives, and truffle. Very ripe, very concentrated fruit in the mouth and it length goes on for minutes. Fabulous now but will give for many years to come. (3891 views) | |
| Tasted by Kitchener on 11/20/2020 & rated 93 points: CT maturity window open to 2040. Glad we drank it now. Color bright and clear; no rusting. Cork broke when I pulled it out but no fragmentation or discoloration. (3503 views) | |
| Tasted by NickA on 11/11/2020 & rated 96 points: 1996 Pauillac with Jane Anson (Zoom!): Latour has gravel over heavy clay, as at Pichon Baron, but Latour more than any other property in Pauillac has its own terroir – the clay giving its power but also freshness. 78% CS, 17% M, 4% CF, 1% PV. Really inky centre, although there are some signs of age on the rim. Very fine on the nose, with cigar box, leather and some minty airiness that immediately distinguishes this wine from the others tonight. Then it's hard not to moan with pleasure when you drink this... intense concentration and tannic impact, but the fruit isn't overpowered. Tobacco, black truffle and bitter black olive on the finish, but the overall feel is surprisingly elegant (partly because it’s only 13% alcohol). JA thinks this won’t be at peak for a while, and comments that the 1995 is currently more open. (4317 views) | |
| Tasted by hprphf on 11/6/2020 & rated 94 points: Double magnum. Great layers upon each other, although missing on continuity after two times of decanting. Not as minty nor with the strength on palate of big format. 94? (3687 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 10/27/2020 & rated 98 points: Youthful, but even at this stage it is an absolute pleasure to imbibe. Full-bodied, concentrated, deep, long and intense, the wine lingers, builds and expands at every stage. You can enjoy this now quite easily. Or if you are patient, you can wait another 2 decades for a different experience. (5523 views) | |
| Tasted by Francophile1 on 10/24/2020 & rated 96 points: World Series Mondo Wine Event (Duluth, GA): Tasted blind. This took #2 WOTN and rightly so. While not as evolved as the '82 Pichon Lalande, it will eventually be as good with more age on it. It like trying to compare Lebron James vs. Michael Jordan to say who is the best player of all time. Nevertheless, I loved the nose that screamed "I come from nobility and should be served to kings & queens" and the classic Pauillac flavors on the finish went on and on. The nose was better than the finish in this tasting. I picked up an iron rustic character on the finish that should mellow out with more cellar age. Delicious! (3678 views) | |
| Tasted by vinodonpedro on 10/11/2020 & rated 97 points: Fantastic! Pour and decanted for 3 hours. Tannins very soft. Balanced on the palate and packed with bold red fruits and earthy notes. Cedar, pencil lead, tobacco. This was pretty much as good as it gets. (3520 views) | |
| Tasted by Zweder on 10/10/2020 & rated 98 points: Bordeaux 1996 Left bank versus 1998 Right bank (more or less) (By SK In Vught Aan het Fornuis): In the bouquet a true Pauillac with stable smells, leather, dark berries, luxurious oak, graphite and smoke. Same impressions on the palate. Some chocolate as well. Good acidity and round tannin which still hold a promise for many years to come. Truly great wine! 98+ (4303 views) | |
| Tasted by Serge Birbrair on 9/13/2020: Amazing bottle drunk with the company of amazing people. Great match! (3853 views) | |
| Tasted by europat55 on 8/16/2020 & rated 93 points: Nose: A- Palate: A- My #5, Group's #3 (62 pts). Tasted blind. Yummy nose and palate with many layers of flavors. (4030 views) | |
| Tasted by Miceri on 7/12/2020 & rated 98 points: Medium dark red; expressive nose, lots of cedar, light tobacco and leather; deep, rounded, sweetness (some in the party disagreed), ripe and perfectly ready; long aftertaste; a treat! (4275 views) | |
| Tasted by winelover1808 on 6/29/2020 & rated 96 points: WOTN. excellent classic left bank bordeaux. tons of dark red fruits, pencil lead and tobacco, hints of black licorice on the nose. a full bodied wine that is all in harmony and balance. so full in flavor - dark red fruit, some cherry, some blackberry, some currant; medium plus body; long finish. incredible claret so full in flavor and stuffing and only 12.5% alcohol. worth the price. (4241 views) | |
| Tasted by Gas Station Wine Guy on 6/28/2020 & rated 97 points: 2 hours to open up. Darker fruits, with earthy notes, balsamic, soy, perfectly integrated oaky notes, & softer but firm tannins. This is what great Bordeaux is all about folks. (4020 views) | |
| Tasted by winelover1808 on 6/21/2020 & rated 97 points: This was fantastic. Decanted for three hours. The perfume was intoxicating. Tobacco, dark red fruit, some pencil lead, some bay leaf; hints of anise when I first opened it blew off with time. Mouthful was very full in flavor but no heat or wood at all - such purity of dark sweet cherry with only 12.5% alcohol. the finish was so so long with really soft tannins. Had this with an over the top high end bone in rib eye. Probably one of the best bottles I've had this year. (3835 views) | |
| Tasted by Andrea1975 on 6/2/2020 & rated 99 points: Excellent experience! Decanted 2.5 hours. First time I tried Chateau Latour, hard not to fall in love with it. It's all about purity of fruit, balance, strength, and long lasting flavors. Textbook primary, secondary, early tertiary Bordeaux aromas (red fruit, sous bois, green pepper, coffee, graphite, earth, wet leaves), very balanced and integrated structure (refreshing acidity, rounding alcohol, soft but present tannins), yet powerful. Everything is combined with such elegance. Flavors lingers for more than a minute...surreal! In a great drinking window, but fruit, acidity, and tannins suggest long aging potential. My first 99 rating ever! PS. Despite all the glamour in my notes, I remain doubtful about the price/experience ratio compared to other '96 Bordeaux around $200. But oh well, it surely made the 50th birthday of my wife memorable... (4296 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 6/1/2020 & rated 92 points: Sitting on edge, starting to become more saline. (3558 views) | |
| Tasted by Romol on 5/20/2020 flawed bottle: Sligthly corked. Still a pretty good bottle but a rating wouldn't be fair. (3645 views) | |
| Tasted by lifebreath on 5/17/2020 & rated 95 points: Perfectly in stride. Although you can pop n pour, a good 2 hour will do the wine justice and really bring it to life. Excellent with dry aged ribeye, due to some tart cherry and citrus undertones with balanced earthiness. (3543 views) | |
| Tasted by joshabramson on 4/11/2020 & rated 96 points: Still a bit closed out of the bottle, but opened up extremely well over the following 2-3 hours. Very big, rich but very restrained fruit, great texture. (4118 views) | |
| Tasted by BROpus One on 3/22/2020 & rated 96 points: Drinking very well right now. 2+ hour decant and it opened up with big time earthy, cedar and mushroom nose. This and the 96 Margaux are in great spots right now. (4080 views) | |
| Tasted by Wine by Bok on 3/8/2020 & rated 97 points: Had many bottles of Latour 96, this was another bottle that I feel exactly the same as previous bottles, good but not great. Definitely not worth the RP100 rating, as the Lafite 96 sibling suppressed this Latour with no effort. Very typical Latour nose, strong Pauillac style. Content was very slightly green and very thick juice.more tasting note in finewines.com.sg (4303 views) | |
| Tasted by dream on 2/25/2020 & rated 95 points: This was the most interesting of the first growths tonight because it actually put on weight in the glass. In the past, I've mistaken this for being not quite up to snuff in '96 but now it's clear to me that the wine just needs tons of time and there is great depth underneath. Black-fruited with a clear taste of walnuts and sweet earth to go along with the tobacco and graphite mineral notes. The finish remains quite structured with great precision and cut. Keep this cellared for another decade at least. 95+ (4385 views) | |
| Tasted by liber on 2/21/2020 & rated 96 points: Chez W, decanted an hour, perfect cork and level, amazingly little changed from my Feb 15 note, truly aristocratic and with a long life and readily identifiable blind as Latour, just a little 4-square by comparison with the sensational and young Lafite 96 on same night which also showed just a touch more complexity. Both have the scope to gain near perfect marks when fully mature and continue developing beyond 50 years. Currently VF (18.5). (4056 views) | |
| Tasted by Matt Scott on 1/18/2020 & rated 97 points: Decanted for an hour. This is well within its stride and drinking phenomenally well. Blackberry, cassis, leather, a little oak, pencil shavings, sous bois and mineral. Such a round, plush middle palate and a finish that does not quit. So musical and very fine tannins that are lingering in the background. This stunning bottle has a long life ahead and is a true pleasure. I can see this lasting many years to come. Drink now -. (4861 views) | |
| Tasted by NoTrollingerPlease on 1/10/2020: Tasting with some crazy geeks (@Private location, Solingen): *** Brief notes for my own memory, no CT rating. Points expressed are only rough guidelines *** Popped and poured. Perfect bottle. Very young, almost no signs of aging. Beautiful fruit, very juicy. Silky texture. Deep, concentrated, but never fat/broad. Long and lingering finish. Great potential! 95-96+ (4478 views) | |
| Tasted by Gooddummy on 1/10/2020 flawed bottle: Not the same great wine the other bottle I bought was. Four months ago it was terrific, tonight it was thin and hints of sourness. (3969 views) | |
| Tasted by hprphf on 12/10/2019 & rated 94 points: Acker BYO 2019 (Tribecal Grill): Great balance yet to unpack, lovely spice box. 94+ (4689 views) | |
| Tasted by Elpaninaro on 12/10/2019: deepish red color, pure cassis on the nose with elegant notes of oak and walnut, on the palate a great depth of fruit still developing but on the surface a very approachable elegant cassis framed by a firm- but balanced- structure, plum notes, regal, drying tannins on the tail end, fine length, young days for this and a great future ahead. *(****), 2030+ (4572 views) | |
| Tasted by Mchiarot on 10/28/2019 & rated 97 points: superb, in its prime. Can last a decade and likely more (4546 views) | |
| Tasted by bordeauxmartini on 9/27/2019 & rated 99 points: Pencil lead, dark red fruits and licorice, tobacco. Long finish. Superb. Great wine to have on my 40th birthday with friends. Corkage at the Fat Duck. They decanted for 3 hours prior. Incredible experience. (2827 views) | |
| Tasted by Gooddummy on 9/21/2019 & rated 96 points: Smooth. Nose of bing cherries, chocolate and blackberry. Tastes the same with some spice and a very long finish. Color shows its age. (5045 views) | |
| Tasted by dnnk88 on 9/9/2019 flawed bottle: WCC Stag Wine Night Blind Tasting @ Jade Palace [Solaia 2008, Opus One 2007, Unico 2006, Dominus 1997, Latour 1996]: Final bottle for the night - Nose of black fruits, plums, violets, leather, soil and earth. The bouquet took some time to come out and wasn’t as memorable as compared to some of the other wines tonight - something amiss? Palate of black fruits, cherries, black pepper, soil, herbs, spices, espresso - tasted lethargic but at the same time, you get spikes of cherry sours. Resolved tannins; acidity still present. Unfortunately there was no magic - the group was quite perplexed and disappointed with this showing and agreed it is likely to be a flawed bottle or bottle variation, especially considering the strong reviews on CT. This deserves a re-match. (5117 views) | |
| Tasted by Bordeaux_Jon on 8/28/2019 & rated 96 points: From a half bottle. Certainly better than the Lafite and Margaux 1996. For me this is the best Latour I've had, better than the 1982 which at this stage lacks some intensity and the 1990, which can be variable and often too bretty (way better than the 1985, 1986, 1988, 1995, 1999, 2001, and 2005). Quite a lot going on, blackberry and cherries, cigar, tobacco, leafy notes, oak, leather, and a little brett, this really covers the spectrum of Pauillac and Latour. It was a bit more elegant and softer than I'd expected based on having a taste from a full bottle in 2012, but it could be the age or half bottle format. For my taste, I wouldn't want to drink this any older, and perhaps even a little younger. It seems like a Latour that showed well in its youth compared to the 1995, 2001, and 2005. I feel like I could have drank a whole bottle and want to some time soon, so that seems like a good sign to me. (5056 views) | |
| Tasted by Ricky99 on 8/10/2019 & rated 96 points: Just stunning... after an hour decant, it was showing like a classic... perhaps more feminine/sophisticated than I expected but a beauty nontheless (4860 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 7/31/2019 & rated 99 points: A stunning wine in every sense of the word. Full-bodied, deep, concentrated, regal and long, the wine is packed with ripe, juicy, sweet, fresh dark red fruits, tobacco, earth and spice. Concentrated, balanced and complex, this is still youthful. The finish really hangs in there. You can enjoy it now with 2 hours of air. Or give it another 5-10-15 years in the cellar for more development. (5859 views) | |
| Tasted by aquacongas on 7/28/2019 & rated 99 points: Blind, Riedel sommelier grand cru bordeaux Glas Almost perfect bordeaux. Hedonistic, primary notes are completely dominating, no aging signs. Killing acidity with firm tannins. For the next 30 years at least. 99(100) I guessed lafite 1996 (4509 views) | |
| Tasted by lifebreath on 5/15/2019 & rated 95 points: Excellent mature Latour. Very consistent from bottle to bottle. PNP is great, but benefits from an hour decant. (4980 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 4/27/2019 & rated 94 points: Latour dinner. There's some volatility, so not as technically competent as current wines but perhaps more charm. Some green aromatics, which I like. Also lighter palate, which I like. Both perhaps due to higher percentage of Cab Franc than normal. (4992 views) | |
| Tasted by Derek Darth Taster on 3/28/2019 & rated 93 points: Judgement of Bishan. Not a fully fair judgement but a judgement nonetheless. Pop and poured. Drank over the next 3+ hours. Tasted semi-blind as we knew it was one of the wines in the blind line-up. Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of green bell peppers, capsicums, black licorice, cassis, blackberries, blackcurrant. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (12.5%), chewy though still fine high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of blackberries, blackcurrant, green bell peppers, black licorice, cassis, black earth. Pencil lead and sweet black cherries with more air. Long finish. Very good quality. Classic lower alcohol aged Left Bank Bordeaux. Stoic and stolid, serious and doesn't bother trying to impress you. Good but easily outshone by the rest of the wines - lowest ranked in the blind line-up for me. My first time trying a Chatour Latour. Disappointed as I was expecting more fireworks. (5915 views) | |
| Tasted by clairenclarence on 3/28/2019 & rated 90 points: Blind(sipping side by side with Domain A Cabernet 00 n Diamond Creek Grsvelly Meadow 80).too much herbaceous.fruits hidden beneath.not vibrant enuff.seems this bttl suffer premature.disappointing (5164 views) | |
| Tasted by aquacongas on 3/6/2019 & rated 97 points: Achim's Magnum Tasting 2017 (Berens am Kai 1 star Restaurant): Mich erinnerte er sehr an den 2000er Latour. Unheimlich maskulin mit viel Primärfrucht und mächtig Dampf. Für mich der klare Sieger in diesem Flight. 96(98) (6255 views) | |
| Tasted by Comte Flaneur on 2/1/2019 & rated 97 points: The 1996 Latour was opened and double decanted in the morning, and it showed its class on the night. The accent is on cool-fruited power, with classic Latour lead pencil, cedar, charcoal, stern acidic backbone and superb texture and length. Some might say this is not as ripe or as giving as it should be. I disagree. A classic in the making. (3182 views) | |
| Tasted by Collector1855 on 11/28/2018 & rated 96 points: Chateau Latour - 30 year vertical (1983-2010) tasted blind (Switzerland): Nose of dark fruit, forest, pine, complex nose but a touch of greenness as well. Improves on the palate but there is an acidic and strict side to it as well which prevents a higher score. Good but not among the best tonight. (9602 views) | |
| Tasted by LiteItOnFire on 11/28/2018 & rated 94 points: Wine Dinner at Atlas. No notes. Amazing experience/education in Burgundy (and others). Would have liked this to have time to open on the glass but with ~20 wines there was no time. Appreciated the look into 1996, expected a bit more which may account for a point reduction (but I am human). (6542 views) | |
| Tasted by Alex G. on 11/27/2018: Burgundy, Bordeaux, and California - Dujac, PYCM, Lafon, Carillon, Niellon, Lafite, Latour, Mayacamas, Montelena, Mondavi, and more: Sweet tobacco nose, balanced with a long finish. Seemed to close down in the glass, I'd be inclined to let this wine sleep another decade. (5725 views) | |
| Tasted by onboisduvin on 11/27/2018 & rated 96 points: Great wine rated in every aspect. Its elegance is not veiled by the explosive power. 20191102 Still great. Pity it's drunk side by side with Groffier Amoureuses 2002. 94 due to misplaced. 20200808 Magnum. One bottle meeting at Bellini. TOO early. 92 (5427 views) | |
| Tasted by Mchiarot on 11/24/2018 & rated 97 points: Stunning. Balanced, long finish. Superb wine, and it can last another 10 years easily (4975 views) | |
| Tasted by DrZett on 11/13/2018 & rated 97 points: WOW - bottle was in perfect condition, bought at an auction a few years ago. Beautiful ripe nose with red fruits and some forest floor. Silk and soft on the palate. Ripe cherries, blackberries and blueberries, some wet forest floor in the back. Very elegant and a great deep structure, tannins integrated beautifully! Long and succulent finish - amazing! In perfect drinking condition right now, no need to wait imo - just let it breathe for an hour. (4765 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 9/26/2018 & rated 94 points: Floral, cassis. Some persistence and depth. Next to this, 2001 felt diluted. (5279 views) | |
| Tasted by Labrador on 8/24/2018 & rated 92 points: What a difference a year makes! Last September it was nearly perfect, but now it has entered a brooding phase. All of the elements of greatness are there, but it seems to be curled up, resting - like a youngster .... growing, taking on weight, structure and depth. When it "comes back to life" it may exceed perfection; it could be other-worldly. Even in its current state, this wine is superior to the legendary 1961 Latour I enjoyed about 8 years ago. (5458 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 8/19/2018 & rated 90 points: Not the best bottle, too saline. (5578 views) | |
| Tasted by dream on 7/27/2018 & rated 94 points: A very pretty Latour that's a bit lighter-bodied but shows the beautiful side of the vintage with classic graphite flavors in a very silky, elegant package. Very finely concentrated on the finish and still tannic even though the tannins are so refined. Quite drinkable tonight but I still think this needs more time although I don't think it will ever compete with the greatest vintages made here. Still, it's so refined and classy. 94+ (6227 views) | |
| Tasted by aquacongas on 6/12/2018 & rated 95 points: Latour Big Vintages (Berens am Kai 1 star Restaurant): Very young and fresh. Black currant dominated, nearly no secondary and tertiary aromas. A lot of power, too few balance but too much compression and fruit in this stage. 95+ (7436 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 5/4/2018 & rated 94 points: Epure blind. 3 hour double decant. Serious depth, cassis city. Needs another 5-10 years. (6529 views) | |
| Tasted by AllRed on 4/22/2018 & rated 94 points: Second Sunday Group: Chateau Latour vertical (Frank's (hosted by Marty)): Double blind. Aromas of tobacco, mixed red and black fruit, turning more red-fruited and floral as it opens in the glass. Flavors of red fruit and iron carry the palate, lingering on the finish. For me the most complete, balanced wine in the lineup today,with wonderful structure, fruit and acidity. 94+ pts. My #1, Domino's #3 Group #3, 45 pts (6793 views) | |
| Tasted by dream on 4/11/2018 & rated 95 points: A lovely Latour very much in the vein of the vintage with a clean crispness to it and great elegance. Plenty of Latour dirt in this young wine that is medium-bodied and beautifully made with a firm backbone but its texture is forgiving enough to drink now with pleasure. Hard to judge at this point but to me it’s a hair below Margaux and Lafite in this vintage but just about above everything else. 10+ years at least to begin to reach peak drinking. 95+ At IB&WS dinner at The Foundry, LIC. (6608 views) | |
| Tasted by jamie24 on 2/12/2018 & rated 96 points: Classic Pauillac. Powerful and firm. At 22 years old this is still in it's youth. I'm going to wait another 5 years minimum before opening another. (6680 views) | |
| Tasted by PanosKakaviatos on 1/30/2018 & rated 96 points: Fireworks for January: plethora of top wines with great friends (Black Salt Restaurant, Washington D.C.): This is far cooler in aspect than either of the two preceding 2003s, as expected. In fact it starts out a bit steely. For California drinkers, the 2003 would be mecca. Over time in glass, it gives off graphite, basil aspects, and cassis. Lower pH to be sure, than the 2003, and this acidity matched the steak well. There is something classy about this wine. Not as sensual as the 2003, but smoother and more refined. 12.5% alcohol. (7295 views) | |
| Tasted by Romol on 1/19/2018 & rated 95 points: Decanted 2,5 hours. This still seemed pretty young. Great nose and palate but a bit too much acidity. It was delicious. I will wait at least 2 years before i open the next bottle. 95+ pts (5520 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 1/12/2018 & rated 98 points: A little more air would have added more to this stunner. Still, it would be impossible not to grasp the power, refinement, purity and length. This is the perfect blend of stoicism, firm tannins and regal fruit and textures. This bottle seemed younger than previous examples. Perhaps as mentioned, more decanting would have added to the experience. (7497 views) | |
| Tasted by nm10 on 12/28/2017 & rated 97 points: Decanted 2.5 hours and drank side-by-side with an’88. Oodles of cassis, blueberries, and damp tobacco. The fruit was much more prominent. We were struck by the exquisite balance, especially compared to its older rival. Excellent! (5711 views) | |
| Tasted by HENNO1 on 12/24/2017 & rated 94 points: Drank alongside a Latour 95 and Las Cases with five friends over a couple of hours. Unanimous agreement. 95 is very ready and it is hard to see it getting better - 94. Just lovely. 96 is stunning but big and I think it has a few years to go. I wouldn't drink another for quite some time. As it stands today a 94 pointer but lots of potential. The las cases won out, just beautiful. Everything was so balanced - a 96 pointer and still has time on its side. Well worth an investment (4935 views) | |
| Tasted by ricknat1 on 12/2/2017 & rated 91 points: I think the 96 is too young to consume now and will earn much better ratings in 5-10 years but it was not easy for me to see at this drinking and it paled next to the 90 (5449 views) | |
| Tasted by The Vines That Bind on 11/15/2017 & rated 95 points: Château Latour Vertical (Vaucluse): Classic Latour: red cedar, damp leather, and some cigar box spice, but above serious brawny red fruit. Forest floor and smoke. Dense red and black fruit on the palate. Gravelly and expansive mouthfeel. Good balance and structure. Consistently great. Wet stone. Always love this. Layers of texture and nuance, but so drinkable and doesn't play hard to get. (6768 views) | |
| Tasted by lifebreath on 11/14/2017 & rated 96 points: This wine has it all! Everything one wants from a mature Bordeaux: a mineral-driven, flinty structure, overlaid with primary fruit, a polished mouthfeel and earthy tertiary aromas and flavors. Needs about 1/2 - 1 hour decant to really open up and integrate well. This bottle, while excellent, was not quite up to the other three I've had from a pristine case. (5684 views) | |
| Tasted by steinersing on 11/11/2017 & rated 95 points: EO - some secondary notes now, tobacco, pine trees, eucalyptus. (5462 views) | |
| Tasted by pablopilot on 11/11/2017 flawed bottle: OUCH! This bottle was ever so slightly corked. Maybe I stood it too long (about a week). Maybe the cork itself was just contaminated and its not my fault at all, no. The wine was not undrinkable, but had little concentration, fruit or character. It was just... blah... like that boring friend you feel guilty about saying no to, but can't wait until the hangout can end with some semblance of dignity. Best open another bottle soon, so I can get to the bottom of this mystery and reassure myself that the case I bought on release and have stored perfectly since is not a complete disaster. (5736 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 9/29/2017 & rated 94 points: Just a baby, felt waaay too early. (5876 views) | |
| Tasted by oxwombat on 9/28/2017 & rated 94 points: Opened at White's in London. 1996 First Growth Dinner. No extensive notes taken, but the most muscular and structured of the flight. Probably needed just a hint more time, and as such didn't come across as elegantly as the Lafite or the Margaux. Still, it was very pleasurable and I look forward to trying this again! (1722 views) | |
| Tasted by Francophile1 on 9/23/2017 & rated 98 points: This Pauillac classic is flirting with perfection. Celebrating life tonight over this great bottle of wine! This is a wine made for kings and queens and it is a treat to taste. Surprisingly mature at 20 years of age. The aroma soars from the glass straight out of the bottle. I could smell it from 6 feet away. This is a signature Pauillac with all the right notes in all the right places. Blackberry, red currant, tobacco, pencil shavings, black licorice, cedar, etc. Smooth tannin that is well integrated with a 60+ second finish that goes on and on. While this can last another 50 years, why wait because we may not last another 50 years. Eat, drink, and be merry! Decanted for 1 hour and consumed over the course of 2 additional hours. (6323 views) | |
| Tasted by Mark1npt on 9/17/2017 & rated 99 points: 5th and final wine of a '96 dream tasting in Bourdeaux with our group. Done 2 separate times over 2 separate weeks. 1st week, 1st bottle corked. New bottle PnP'ed with no decant time....absolutely beautiful nose, full of fruit, slight garnet edge with an earthy nose after a swirl. Classy and smooth would be the best descriptors for this wine. Excellent structure throughout. Mid palate of great red/black fruit. Big ending with nice spice and rich acidity with nice tannins remaining. This should have plenty of life left ahead. My favorite wine of the week but at a pricepoint way above my pay grade. 2nd week? Well......somebody has to do it. More of the same. My life is complete now after this 5 wine '96 tasting. Thank you, Lord. (6701 views) | |
| Tasted by Labrador on 9/1/2017 & rated 98 points: This bottle of wine was truly SPECIAL - powerful, elegant and bordering on perfection. Fresh, vibrant and expressive - a nose of cedar, earth and sweetness, beautifully balanced, great mouth feel, dark & red fruit, and a long finish that goes on and on. Had it been served blind, I would have said it was Chateau Margaux ... that oh-so-rare softness. This is a wine that I will not forget. Clearly WOTN ...... surpassing a very nice 1999 Raphet Chambertin Clos de Beze and a disappointing 2005 Realm Beckstoffer To-Kalon. PS. There was a bit left in the bottle that I finished off the next evening. Darn good - dregs and all. (5778 views) | |
| Tasted by BenBlu on 8/30/2017 & rated 95 points: 50ml by the glass in 67 PM. Left to air for 1 hour in the glass prior to tasting and part of a mini line-up of 1st growths we selected to sample side by side. Starting to look its age and visually more developed then the Lafite 96 side by side. Nicely balanced nose of forest floor, leather - very classic Bordeaux left bank. The palate is medium bodied (a bit lighter then I expected), soft tannins, tobacco notes and some (although subdued) red berry. Finishes a bit shorter then I would have thought/hoped for. Hmmm, very good Bordeaux, no doubt. But maybe just a tiny bit underwhelmed. Not a 100 pointer for sure. Not quite as good as the Lafite 96 (I rate this 96-97 pts) side by side or as good as a bottle of Margaux 96 I had last year (98 pts with upside). (6317 views) | |
| Tasted by lifebreath on 8/11/2017 & rated 99 points: Same as before - excellent. Amazing aroma. Paired with a homemade "Fluerburger" and Pommes Anna. Perfection. (5415 views) | |
| Tasted by aquacongas on 7/15/2017 flawed bottle: Der Latour 1996, zuletzt aus dem Keller von Bernd mit der Höchstnote geadelt, musste aufgrund eines schlimmen Korks ohne Bewertung nach Hause gehen. (6132 views) | |
| Tasted by jmoore431 on 7/9/2017 & rated 95 points: Great nose of lead pencil, leather, cigar box,... Palate seemed too linear and not as complex as the nose. Still clearly outstanding bottle. (5763 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 5/30/2017 & rated 99 points: This is really in the perfect spot, where it will reign for decades. This has it all. The cool, detached power and elegance that comes from Pauillac. Ripe, dense, complex, yet regal, in a kingly manner. The tannins are present, but they are soft. The fruit has an earthy, spicy quality, with a hint of salt, of minerality in the long, expansive, fruit, earth and rock filled finish. 90 minutes or so of air helped the wine soften and fill out. (8251 views) | |
| Tasted by RayOB on 3/22/2017 & rated 96 points: Drank in Hong Kong Very fresh with classic Latour notes of lead pencil, cedar and tobacco. Wonderful. (4944 views) | |
| Tasted by DrinkBordeaux on 3/18/2017 & rated 96 points: The 1996 Latour is still so young, but also so approachable. A dark ruby color. Black currant, cedar, barnyard, espresso, and licorice. Incredibly well balanced on the palate, with silky ripe tannins. A finish with impressive length. Just the right level of acidity. This is open for business now, but it's still a bit shy and doesn't fully open up. In 5-10 years, this will be a stunner. (6989 views) | |
| Tasted by Burgundy Al on 3/9/2017: Zachys La Paulee Auction, Day One (Le Bernardin Prive - New York NY): Small glass, brief note. Decanted an hour. Clearly great concentration, great potential. Very black and supported with wonderful spice and structure. Mid-90s potential, but I'd say 2025 forward (or decant much longer). (7771 views) | |
| Tasted by DrinkBordeaux on 2/10/2017 & rated 96 points: The 1996 is easily one of my favorite vintages of Latour. There is just so much potential, which was easily apparent in this bottle. It's still showing very young, with a dark opaque ruby color. Black currant, cedar, barnyard, espresso, and licorice. Incredibly well balanced on the palate, with silky ripe tannins. A finish with impressive length. Just the right level of acidity. This is open for business now, but it's still a bit shy and doesn't fully open up. In 5-10 years, this will be a stunner. (7219 views) | |
| Tasted by Bob Sacamano on 2/9/2017 & rated 98 points: 2017 GFGWTC Red Wine Red Meat Dinner (Ruth's Chris Minneapolis): Decanted 5+ hours before service. Shows little signs of age. Green bell pepper, smoke, cumin, leaves and earth on the nose, as well as red and black fruit notes. Juicy attack, but then floats effortlessly over the mid-palate -- as an elegant Bordeaux should -- with decadent strawberry and pomegranate flavors. Remarkable for its pureness and cleanliness of fruit, as well as its long, resonating finish. However the word that keeps coming up again and again as we tasted this was "balance". It is just impossibly balanced for how much is going on. (7544 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 2/2/2017 & rated 96 points: Quite young, inky purple, barely bricking. Primary, but very explosive aromatically. Cassis and plum, pencil, bit floral. Really balanced and fresh. There is depth, complexity and length, full package. Great vintage, into window. (6653 views) | |
| Tasted by capacious on 1/28/2017 & rated 99 points: Speechless here- transcendent and superb, ageless, seems like it will go decades. Shared with good friends, and that's what great friends and great wine are about. (6131 views) | |
| Tasted by lifebreath on 1/19/2017 & rated 99 points: Perfection! High neck fill, cork in excellent shape, pristine bottle, nominal fine sediment. Ruby/deep garnet color and nose of lilac, dark fruit and some barnyard/earth. A blossoming palate of blackberry, blueberry, citric acid, leather and exotic spice, esquisitely integrated with polished, yet assertive tannins. Long finish of blackberry, cream de cassis and brambles. Wonderfully balanced and integrated. Good pop and pour, but best after about an hour's decant. (5562 views) | |
| Tasted by RajivAyyangar on 12/10/2016 & rated 92 points: Wines from the Enomatic (Hedonism Wines, London): Medium plus ruby with garnet at the rim. Bretty nose, with new oak, savory stewed peppers, and blackcurrant. Sweet development. Beginning to integrated. Dry, medium body, medium plus alcohol - feels 13.5%, medium plus acid and medium plus tannins - rounded and developed. There's a core of cassis, but this has lots of ancillary flavors - brett is prominent, with pyrazines and oak spice. Massively long finish. Elegant in the mouth with power and structure. This is damn good and still young. (6001 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 11/9/2016 & rated 99 points: I love this wine! If you like the wines I like, that should say it all. But for those that like a bit more detail, while not mature, it's drinking great today. The wealth of fruit, elegant refined tannins, purity of fruit, balance, harmony, length, concentration and complexity are almost off the charts. Drink this now, or wait 20-30 years, either way, it's sublime! (7973 views) | |
| Tasted by The Vines That Bind on 10/25/2016 & rated 94 points: 1996 Bordeaux Blind: Good nose here, forest floor, damp leathers, spent coffee grounds, ripe blackberry and currant fruit. Brooding and robust. Very tannic upfront, grips the teeth. Close call for wine of the night, but ended up giving the nod to the Mouton [Blind] (7132 views) | |
| Tasted by dream on 10/14/2016 & rated 95 points: Quite tight as expected but still fantastic with a real depth of black fruit flavors along with classic notes of walnuts and tarry minerals. A great Latour in the making but even after a 6-hour decant, it's a bit of a waste to drink now given the glories to come. 95+ (6238 views) | |
| Tasted by ShangGuy on 10/8/2016 & rated 98 points: Loved it. Can smell the depth with inky red Colour. First taste explodes in rich tannins, and that deep barnyard oaky everything - meaty, and masculine. What is great about Bordeaux! (6430 views) | |
| Tasted by Collector1855 on 9/16/2016 & rated 99 points: 66x Parker 100-Pointers from Bordeaux 1947-2010 tasted blind (Switzerland): Tasted blind. Dark ruby. Expressive nose of dark fruit, earth, barnyard. Wow, what a kaleidoscope of aromas! Full bodied palate, soft with great structure, freshness and long finish. I really loved it, the group somehow much less. Great wine, alas, a 1’000 bucks a bottle. Nice for all those, who are a bit older than me and had bought this en Primeur. Group score: 17.77, group rank: 34/64 (21059 views) | |
| Tasted by Kim Gerner on 9/9/2016 & rated 96 points: 1. cru Chateaux Haut Medoc 1996 horisontal - Wine tasting dinner (At home): My no. 2 in this tasting. Extremely long finish, high aroma intensity (almost too high), lots of tannins like Lafite '96, outstanding wine but almost too early to drink (3172 views) | |
| Tasted by millesime66 on 8/27/2016 & rated 95 points: Merveilleux vin resté si jeune. Beaucoup de fruit noir (cassis et mûre), de la prune, du sous-bois et du tabac, bref, la totale. (6234 views) | |
| Tasted by Peter Z. on 7/9/2016 flawed bottle: off bottle (2566 views) | |
| Tasted by jkoenen on 7/9/2016 flawed bottle: Off-bottle. NR. (6587 views) | |
| Tasted by Zweder on 7/9/2016 flawed bottle: What a great pity! This bottle was not completely fresh. Not necessarily corked. A bit musty. After my TN of 9/24/2011 I had great hopes… (5426 views) | |
| Tasted by giba ochman on 7/6/2016 & rated 96 points: Always impressive. Many years to go. If you wish to know chateau latour essence, this is a good way to start. Wait 5-10y (6004 views) | |
| Tasted by RISM on 5/29/2016 & rated 98 points: What a blockbuster ! Deep ruby/garnet colour somewhat masks this 20 year-old's age. Initially shy, with some air time the nose yields an array of cassis, blackberry, cedar, pine needle, tobacco and umeboshi plums. Massive, powerful concentration of fruit and acidity on the palate, balanced by well-integrated tannins. Voluptuous, silky and multi-faceted mouthful, followed by seemingly never-ending finish with spicy undertones. This is a magnificent wine, and worth every penny ! (6518 views) | |
| Tasted by Pacherant on 5/21/2016 & rated 94 points: Very young but clearly very classy fruit. Real length, depth of flavor and clarity. Exceptional promise but really should probably be let for a decade (6737 views) | |
| Tasted by Tenuta Stefan on 5/6/2016 & rated 98 points: Perfect bottle. Dark, dense. Starts to get some age with a hint of brick colour on the rim. Cassis, cigar box, tobacco, blueberries, herbs, pencil and a hint of blackberries. Pure elegance!! Complex, multilayered wine with medium plus acidity, firm but softened tannins, minerality and dark elegant fruit. Great aristocratic backbone. Long, long finish. This is a Grand Vin! This wine did I try over 48 h. It performed at its best after 10 - 18 h in decanter. The decanter had foil on top to seal it. Hommage to Denis Malbec! This bottle was opened to pay respect and remember the winemaker Denis Malbec The year 2016 took another great personality away from us. My thoughts goes to his family. (8361 views) | |
| Tasted by KenK on 4/12/2016 & rated 97 points: First Growth that rock (Les Nomades Chicago): A great wine still drinking young, but tons of personality and purity a real treat. A big dense aromatic profile showing sweet cedar, black ink and intense dark cherry and plums. Amazing purity of fruit with great concentration and depth of flavors. A classic iron fist in velvet glove. As so much power, yet silky and smooth. So elegant and nuanced with a wonderful mouth coating texture. A sexy wine with loads of black minerality and long spicy finish. Wow. As good as this was, I would be surprised if this does not have upside in time. (7396 views) | |
| Tasted by dharrison93 on 4/3/2016 & rated 98 points: Sexy juice. Deep ruby with minimal sediment, this wine is mature and good to go. Nose of dark fruit, raspberry & fig compote with Asian spices Lots of stuffing so years of terrific drinking ahead If a date, this was a 30 year old Catherine Deneuve, who shows up looking stunning, and keeps you titillated on your seat all evening. Very highly recommended++ (7115 views) | |
| Tasted by AllRed on 3/13/2016 & rated 93 points: Second Sunday Group: 1996 Bordeaux (high end) (Marty's): Aromas of tobacco, iron, red plum, black fruit and perfumed florals. Full-bodied and balanced, with flavors of red berry, tobacco and iron. Long finish. 93+ pts. Double blind: My #4, Domino's #6 Group #5, 53 pts Single blind guess: Mouton (7110 views) | |
| Tasted by rossi.wine on 3/9/2016 & rated 97 points: Not much discolouration, quite dark core. Incredible depth on the nose - dark forest fruit, graphite, liquorice, tobacco, undergrowth, spices... Backward and almost youthful on the palate. Powerful, but ripe tannins, intense dark fruit, great acidity. The balance is wonderful and the finish is very very persistent. A superb bottle and my WOTN. If I had more of these I would wait a couple of more years. 96-98 (6430 views) | |
| Tasted by Lord Rayas on 1/31/2016 & rated 95 points: David's MNSC (Megan's Kitchen): decanted 1.5hrs. still young, but showing some exotic notes of vanilla and tobacco. (5139 views) | |
| Tasted by Burgnick on 1/27/2016: Brief note: only decanted for two hours. It was clearly insufficient. Nose was reticient with cherries and tobacco. Palate was slightly on the acidic side..very closed. It needs a long decant or wait at least 5 more years. (7289 views) | |
| Tasted by DrinkBordeaux on 1/22/2016 & rated 97 points: Château Latour vertical tasting ((Wine Watch, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)): The 1996 Latour was probably the #3 wine of the night. At times, seemed similar to the 1982 in aromatic profile, but still showing very young. Very dark ruby color. Black currant, cedar, mushroom, and licorice. Like the 1990, incredibly well balanced. Lots of ripe tannins. You can open this now, but if you wait for another 5 years, you will be rewarded. (7234 views) | |
| Tasted by giba ochman on 1/20/2016 & rated 97 points: Monster!!! Great Latour in a infant stage. This baby has a stupendous potential, but can be drink now with great pleasure. A bargain if compared to other top Latour like 1982, 1959, 1961 and 2000. (4944 views) | |
| Tasted by JJYoyo on 12/24/2015 & rated 98 points: Wow. Lighter than usual for Latour (which I find one of the more massive clarets as a rule) but no less fine for that. Spice, earth, cherries -- all seamlessly put together. Very elegant. (4295 views) | |
| Tasted by MEKWINE on 12/16/2015 & rated 92 points: An array of black and red fruit, elegant and refined tannins, gravel and mineral finish. Very long. Served with English cheeses, although I initially winced at the concept, it somewhere worked. (6870 views) | |
| Tasted by SonnyChiba on 12/10/2015 & rated 97 points: Latour Dinner with Frederic from Chateau Latour. This was amazing. As with the 95' I drank recently, still has some time to go. But pure as can be, and picking up so much. So focused on the palate, with excellent finish. (6939 views) | |
| Tasted by dharrison93 on 11/23/2015 & rated 98 points: Liquid porn. Fully mature dark ruby with no sediment. A tantalizing nose of black cherry, kirsch and Asian spice leading to layer upon layer of palate coating brilliance with a 30 second finish. If a date, this was a stunning 36-24-36 Harvard professor who is equally enthusiastic about sex as she is 14th century Middle East philosophy (7208 views) | |
| Tasted by Serge Birbrair on 11/22/2015: amazing pedigree and nose, and finish and, and, and. WOW wine and drinking darn good now. WOTN in the company of Mouton Rothschild 2001, Margaux 1995, Haut Brion 2001, and Leoville Barton 2000 (6203 views) | |
| Tasted by Remony on 11/4/2015 & rated 96 points: At the Point, Bermuda, with Barclay Simmons. Perfect fill. Decanted 1 hour, and poured into very large glasses half an hour before we finished the white wine. Young still, but fully open for business, and definitely the better for its half hour in the glass. Medium colour, but rich and intense. An aroma so good that you defer tasting the wine to go on enjoying it. When eventually you do, it shows splendid rounded and quite deep flavours and good length, but also a sense that there is more of everything still to come. Should be left for another few years, but this was a splendid bottle nonetheless. (6010 views) | |
| Tasted by elamasters on 10/20/2015: Chateau Latour Vertical Tasting - TWG (Des Moines): One of the two bottles was corked. The second bottle came across as distinctively green and herbal with lots of bell pepper. Very tight and tannic. Not showing much fruit. It seems very different from most of the other notes I have seen on this vintage, so perhaps this bottle was not representative. (not scored) (6808 views) | |
| Tasted by The Vines That Bind on 10/14/2015 & rated 96 points: Similar notes to last month. Outstanding from the first growths as the biggest, baddest, and least refined on the block. More black tea in this one with some black liquorice and fennel. (6122 views) | |
| Tasted by AWBryce on 10/4/2015 & rated 93 points: Greenish, baking spices, red fruits. Very young, good acidity. Needs more time in bottle to develop further. (6041 views) | |
| Tasted by The Vines That Bind on 9/16/2015 & rated 96 points: Still inky in the glass. A brooding, monstrous bouquet of black currant, cassis, tar, creosote, damp earth, forest floor, violets, white flowers, and lead pencil. An amazingly powerful piece of work but very drinkable. Enjoyable and not overpowering in a negative way. Tannins are big but are integrating just fine. The wine is giant but still has elegant properties and shows mature fruit with secondary complexity. Clearly still has miles to go. Awesome. [Obviously different but smoked a 1990 Latour enjoyed four days earlier] (6518 views) | |
| Tasted by Alex H on 9/11/2015 & rated 90 points: Fresh capsicum with black pepper and leather. Uncontroversial amiable. Somewhat shut. (6553 views) | |
| Tasted by fcxj on 9/5/2015 & rated 96 points: Not quite resolved. Still bit primary aromas, but pleasant. Pretty round. Very, very enjoyable. (6253 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 9/1/2015 & rated 99 points: This could hit triple digits some day. It's a truly stunning vintage for Latour. It's completely filled with lush, elegant, sweet, perfectly ripe fruits, silky, powerful, regal tannins and a finish that does not quit. I enjoyed drinking it as it approaches its 20th birthday. Meaning, it's more than fine to pop a cork today. But if you can wait another decade, this will be one of the best wines you're ever going to taste. (7644 views) | |
| Tasted by aquacongas on 8/29/2015 & rated 98 points: Got it blind, guessing Premier Cru GCC, after getting recognition guessed Latour because it was so massive. This wine is so young, decanted for 2 hours, drank it over 3 hours, getting better after every zip, still in the primary stage, pure cassis, few tertiary signs, I didn't expect such a giant, even this wine shows its provenance it is not elegant as a typical BX, it could be a softer Cal Cab, will age some decades 98-100 (6215 views) | |
| Tasted by Wine_lvr on 8/1/2015 & rated 98 points: Reinterpreted Paris Tasting 'Best Bottle Circle' Style (Emmen, Switzerland): If I look at my scores from this wine they started at 95 in 2013, the 97 in 2014 and are now at 98 in 2015. This is a legend in the making and I am sure it will hit triple digits in a few years. Still dark garnet in color. Nose shows exotic herbs, dark fruit and coffee and berry notes. Very classic, elegant and balanced at the same time shows perfect harmony and elegance. Multifaceted with all the components fitting perfectly together. The only piece missing for 100pts is another 10 years in the bottle. Amazing stuff. (6797 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 7/10/2015 & rated 98 points: Young, but oh so good. Power, elegance, refinement and sensuality combine to produce a wine that gabs you, and does not let go. With about an hour of air, the wine started to get going. I'm waiting on my few bottles for at least 4-5 more years. This should easily offer great drinking for 50 years. (7414 views) | |
| Tasted by runch30 on 6/13/2015 & rated 99 points: Flawless taste. Superb balanced and not least long taste. Same balance and complex on the nose, though I expected it to be more intense. (6614 views) | |
| Tasted by Indran Rajendra on 4/17/2015 & rated 96 points: This 19 year old Latour has a typical bouquet of pencil shavings and blackcurrant as well as aged aromas. The bouquet has a self confidence. As usual the palate is super viscous but elegant and well balanced. The elements of the wine were beautifully knitted together. It has a masculine nature. An impressive and inspiring wine. It was brought by a friend of mine and sampled at Tetsuyas Restaraunt in Sydney.NS (8147 views) | |
| Tasted by pjaines on 4/17/2015: At last! A Latour that was not entirely shut down. This is quite stupendous - compact, linear, brooding with so much elegance compressed into a lithe frame. There is absolutely no fat on this, just taut black fruit with a rigid spine. Quite brilliant. (7512 views) | |
| Tasted by Indran Rajendra on 3/20/2015 & rated 96 points: This monumental wine was sampled at a blind tasting at the Botswana Butchery in Queenstown, New Zealand. It had a ruby mahogany hue and was opaque. The nose was classically Pauillac with prominent pencil shavings. The primary blackcurrant was complimented with more aged aromas of mushroom and earth. The palate was powerful but elegant. It had a masculine nature. I guessed this wine as a 2000 Latour/Mouton Rotschild or Lafitte. It was equal favourite among the tasters who also liked the Mouton Rotschild 98. (8005 views) | |
| Tasted by capacious on 3/7/2015 & rated 97 points: Double decanted. Yes, we knew it's Latour, and how do you drink Latour without that coloring impressions. That said, this is a remarkable wine that absolutely rewarded 2 decades of patience. And thrills me that I have enough left to try again and again in the future. Remarkable enough that I will keep, and not give in the temptation to sell. It's that special. (7540 views) | |
| Tasted by liber on 2/21/2015 & rated 97 points: 1st of 18, hour decanted, perfect fill - deepish bright garnet, some purple on rim; aristocratic bouquet of cassis and bramble just developing secondaries of graphite, cedar and leather; medium full bodied, outstanding length, persistence and complexity, silky, balanced, quite fresh, at very beginning of long drinking window. WOTN v 89 and LLC 96 and 89. Should improve on current very fine plus (19/20). (7032 views) | |
| Tasted by beatles on 2/14/2015 & rated 95 points: Very good indeed. Seems in complete harmony and still young wine. Complete with tobacco, chocolate galore a fine backbone and an overall elegant appearance. 95+ point #LaTour#Aalborg (4127 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 1/7/2015 & rated 100 points: This is a stunner. If you have the money, run, do not walk and buy this majestic elixir. The fruit is perfect, mouth filling and palate coating. The tannins are soft, silky and refined. There is so much of everything going on in this wine, it knocks on the door of almost too much of a good thing. The wine was produced from a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. (10132 views) | |
| Tasted by Peliot on 12/7/2014 & rated 100 points: Had it last night with cote de boeuf at Spago. Decanted 1 hour. Gorgeous wine. I don't want to ruin it with words, which won't do it justice. The texture of the wine was like nothing I've had before: silky / velvety but also vibrant and dynamic at the same time. Pure classic Pauillac flavors. Absolutely no Brett. Just great. (6857 views) | |
| Tasted by rkjwong on 12/4/2014 & rated 95 points: what you would have expected from a Latour. Classic! (7427 views) | |
| Tasted by clayfu on 11/20/2014: full extracted flavors on the palate with copious amounts of fruit. Out of the 95/96 first growths this night, the latours took the trophy home. (7907 views) | |
| Tasted by tinybubbles on 11/11/2014 & rated 95 points: Decanted for 1.5 hours. Deep dark color. White pepper on the nose and palate and noticeably lacking the tar notes that one often sees in Latour. Continued to improve with two hours in the glass. Lacks the complexity and intensity of the '00 but a great performance in this vintage. (5449 views) | |
| Tasted by pavel_p on 10/31/2014: Cabernet Sauvignon at C's: Complex on the nose and attack with barnyard, salty minerality and dark fruit. A touch of green as well. Medium plus tannins which cover the finish. This is very good, but for me needs 5-10 years more in bottle for the tannins to soften. Hard to rate properly. (8320 views) | |
| Tasted by justburg on 10/30/2014 & rated 93 points: Chateau Latour dinner at Cornerhouse, Botanic Gardens. This was the real deal, the undoubted wine of the evening. Dark red, with such an intense and powerful bouquet which hit you the moment you swirled and had your nose in the glass. Lots of dark currants, cassis, fresh blueberries, chocolate cream and cigar box. Palate was immensely structured, lovely integrated tannins, lots of intense and ripe fruits, currants, pencil shavings, cedar and red tea after about a couple of hours in the glass. The length was immense, with great complexity and a lovely elegant finish. What a fantastic wine! (6864 views) | |
| Tasted by CamWheeler on 8/23/2014 & rated 93 points: Judgement of Sydney Blind Tasting: Soil, blackberry, licorice and light herb aromas. Tannins are still at the fore of this wine and the fruit remains primary, though obviously with plenty of class about it. I like the wine but it is in need of much more time than any other wine in this flight to be at its best. (6079 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 7/14/2014 & rated 98 points: Absolutely stunning in every way. The nose grabs you with its earthy, spicy, tobacco and cassis perfume and never lets go. On the palate, this is even better with its long, lush, polished, deep fruits and silky tannins. Drink this young if you like plush primary fruit, or age it for 2 decades for secondary characteristics. Expensive yes, but it is the best deal for a high quality Latour in the market today. (9600 views) | |
| Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 4/12/2014 & rated 95 points: Bricking dark red violet color; lifted, cedar, tobacco, tart currant, light menthol nose; velvety textured, tart red currant, cedar, tobacco, menthol palate with firm tannins yet; long finish (1792 views) | |
| Tasted by bengti on 3/6/2014 & rated 97 points: Robert Parker Gala Dinner, HK. Intense ruby garnet red, but light as a feather, flavours tightly compacted into a pill of smoke, leather, jamon, cherry, blackberries, charcoal, chocolate. Swirling, smooth and still a fiery finish. Delicious. (9910 views) | |
| Tasted by Purple Tooth on 2/22/2014 & rated 99 points: Firing on all cylinders: Liquid silk. Balanced : Earth, Sweetness, Fresh Cigar Tobacco, and Power, Power, Power. (10648 views) | |
| Tasted by Wine_lvr on 1/17/2014 & rated 95 points: "Best of the Best" Tasting (Switzerland): Tasted blind, 0.75 bottle, double decanted back into original bottle: Clear and deep ruby color. Nose of truffles, currant, dark berries, leather and mint. The tannins are still present, almost a bit dry. At the moment this wine comes over almost as rustic, but behind the curtain one can feel the pedigree of this bottle. Flavors of mint, dark berries, coffee. Enormous power and complexity but definitely still too young. The decanting did not help so the best strategy is patience for another 5-10 years and then the firework will start. A potential candidate for the triple digits. (10977 views) | |
| Tasted by Wine_lvr on 12/19/2013 & rated 97 points: Latour Vertical Tasting; 12/19/2013-12/20/2013 (Switzerland): 97 points today and a 100 points in the making! Red berries, mint, black licorice and tobacco. Wonderful sweetness, red berries. Highly elegant, tannins smooth as silk. Now already approachable but this will be a block buster in a few years. This is such a perfectly crafted wine...can't wait to taste this beauty after 2020. Already wonderful now but only a legendary Latour in about 10 years. (11760 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 11/22/2013 & rated 98 points: WOW! The tannins are soft, ripe and starting to integrate with the powerful, elegant, silky, refined character. Rich, dense and concentrated, there is a great depth of flavor found in the long finish. Great wines almost always show well young. But this is only starting to deliver its essence. In 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, this will only be better. (10126 views) | |
| Tasted by pclin on 11/1/2013 & rated 94 points: Two hrs in decanter. Still dark ruby in color, no sign of aging. Good nose but just not as clean as expected, slightly funky. Notes of forest floor, leather, cedar, tobacco, and red cherry. Tart finish, plenty of acidity. No hints of any heat at finish. Full bodied with plenty of life ahead of it, just not showing as well as I have anticipated. With the amount of fruits and tannins around, cross my fingers that acidity would settle down eventually. 93-95 pts (8493 views) | |
| Tasted by peternelson on 10/5/2013 & rated 96 points: Monopole: Medium ruby red with black core with some fading; not enough adjectives upon sniffing the glass: smoky, perfumy, pencil lead, berries, cherry, cassis, 5 spice, red flowers, dried herbs, dried flower petals, sweet tobacco—simply intoxicating. Mouth is super silky and, yes, elegant, exceptional perfect lift, perfectly balanced tannins with grip that seamed to sit on your palate in exactly the right place so it didn’t interfere with the flavors and all other aspects of the wine. My final notes on this read “floral, complex, aromatic, powerful, balanced, young”. I do not exaggerate here. In our tasting of 10 classified growths tonight this simply stood heads and shoulders above the rest. One of the best wines I have tasted in a very long time. I don’t agree with many of Parker’s 100 point assessments, but I won’t challenge him on this one. Gave it 96 because my high-score threshhold usually hovers around 95. (8504 views) | |
| Tasted by Collector1855 on 7/22/2013 & rated 97 points: Tonight I had my first boss over for dinner. Back then I just started my professional career with an assignment in Asia. He really helped me to get traction and also invited me a few times for a nice dinner. He is a member of the Commanderie de Bordeaux and a cigar lover, enjoying the hedonistic side of life as well. So tonight was pay back time, I pulled all the stops. Wine No2, Tasting note: Dark garnet. Expressive aromas of a fully mature Pauillac. Very classic nose with peat, cedar wood, black fruits and the typical spicy side of Latour. Very complete palate that is medium-full bodied with excellent balance between fruit, tannins and acidity, not as animalic as some recent bottles. Very classic and strong showing of this wine again. I wish all wines could be this complete and have no more alcohol than 13%. (10325 views) | |
| Tasted by Collector1855 on 6/14/2013 & rated 96 points: Chateau Latour vertical with Commercial Director Jean Garandeau (Grand Hotel Dolder, Zurich): At Arvi Chateau Latour tasting, Grand Hotel Dolder. Dark ruby. Expressive nose of dark fruits with forest floor, musty and animalic notes, clearly secondary in style. On the palate full bodied with soft tannins and racy acidity. A strong showing, may be for some a bit too "funky" in its aromatic expression. (11123 views) | |
| Tasted by Lord Rayas on 5/26/2013 & rated 97 points: 龍哥 dinner (潮庭): an hour in decanter. wonderfully expressive. great juice. (9780 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 3/27/2013 & rated 98 points: Richly colored, the wine is deep, powerful, intense, concentrated and packed with layer after layer of juicy, ripe, sweet, pure Cabernet Sauvignon and polished tannins. The long, velvety, fruit drenched finish must last at least 60 seconds! This was about $125 as a future. I remember how shocked people were at the time as well. Glad I bought some! (10399 views) | |
| Tasted by mroyer on 12/19/2012 & rated 95 points: Served with beef filet and following cheese course. This wine is a baby! On the nose, black fruits, cassis, almost no tertiary characteristics. Very tight. The palate also not giving away many flavors. The medium plus acidity and the sweet and integrated tannins combined with a restrained set of fruits lead me to believe this wine has another decade before coming around. (11051 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 11/23/2012 & rated 98 points: The first great vintage produced after Frédéric Engerer joined the property, the nose explodes with wet forest floor aromas, smoke, tobacco, cassis, spice box, cedar chest, cigar wrapper and licorice aromas. Full bodied, rich, intense, concentrated, refined and powerful, with 2 hours of decanting, the wine continued to expand and add layers of complexity in the glass throughout the night. This graceful wine can be enjoyed now, but its best qualities will take at least a decade or more to come around. (11720 views) | |
| Tasted by THA on 11/20/2012: CdBaH 83rd (RDG): Still young and tight. Unevolved in its flavors and aromas. But it has rounded out enough to make it accessible. Not giving up much, though. Not recommended to drink now. Solid core. Precise. Focused. More elegantly styled than expected - as opposed to sheer power. (10675 views) | |
| Tasted by rdsboca on 10/27/2012 & rated 90 points: Oldies but goodies!: It is a lot unfair to score this wine. It followed such beauties like the 61 Haut Brion that it tasted remarked key young. Still had a tannic edge. I know the fruit was pure and well balanced. We just killed a baby. Don't drink another for 20 years. (11200 views) | |
| Tasted by Invinoverytas on 9/19/2012 & rated 98 points: Decanted 2 hours and consumed with cheese and crackers. This wine followed a 1990 Montrose and compared well. It has time to improve but is drinking well now IMO. (11260 views) | |
| Tasted by steinersing on 5/3/2012 & rated 95 points: bunch of Latours - short: Lovely wine, great potential, less ready than the 1995 (13143 views) | |
| Tasted by astrauss on 3/5/2012 & rated 100 points: Decanted for six hours and enjoyed over the precedding four hours this wine rocked! Beautiful bright dark red color. Loads of dark cherry, blackberry, and the beginning of some leather/tobacco on the nose. The palate was more of the same with an amazing addition of chocolate. The wine was seamless, perfectly balanced, and with a long finish. One of the best younger first growths I have ever had and second only to a 75 LMHB I had at Tour D'argent for Wine of the decade so far. (13688 views) | |
| Tasted by prof b on 2/12/2012 & rated 97 points: The 96 Latour was a baby. It was decanted for 12 hours before serving and I kept my glass for a while longer. Despite all this, it remained pretty tight. If anyone has any of this. I would encourage waiting several years before popping one. Anyway, for being tight it was a fabulous wine. Loads of big dark fruits; I picked up blackberries, plums, and black raspberries. The bouquet itself is overwhelming, absolutely remarkable how strong these odors were. The wine completely coats your mouth, with the fruits coming forward right away. Perfect acidity and the tannins, though obvious, were integrated and smooth. The finish was epic. Gorgeous wine. (13358 views) | |
| Tasted by winecowboy on 12/16/2011 & rated 94 points: Intense, powerful and complex nose of a classic claret. Layered with chocolate and black fruits. Beautiful. (13202 views) | |
| Tasted by Lord Rayas on 12/16/2011 & rated 94 points: Long lunch with Alex, KH, 7, Mun, Rich, Gary, Cary and DF (The Principal): ticked all the right boxes, but appeared somewhat boring compared to the exuberant Mouton. (14702 views) | |
| Tasted by SeaBud on 11/22/2011 & rated 95 points: Won't detail beyond the descriptive, and accurate notes already here. Only add that it needs time (5 more years) but has the potential to be a truly exceptional wine. Beautifully made, already balance but just a young wine right now. (14838 views) | |
| Tasted by Burgundy Al on 10/18/2011: Acker Merrall 1996 Left Bank Bordeaux Dinner (Balsan - Chicago IL): Black fruit and really big spice on the nose. Dense, concentrated and almost chewy, but still balanced and harmonious in every way. Obviously just a baby, this has 96-98 point potential Alas, tonight's four1996 1st Growths were served in new glasses that all seemed tainted by an odd combination of dust and soap residue, making them hard to fairly assess. (15430 views) | |
| Tasted by Dave Dalluge on 10/16/2011 & rated 95 points: Three Dinners: Austere but thrilling nose of dark fruit, coffee and lead pencil. Very structured on the palate but also with tons of fresh fruit. Deep, expansive flavors build throughout the taste. Great balance. Great length on the finish. A joy to taste now, but this is perfectly set up to age for many, many years. (15521 views) | |
| Tasted by chablis28 on 9/29/2011 & rated 95 points: Opened about 2 hours before the event started. Decanted for about 75 minutes then put back into the btl and left cork out till drank about 4 hours after opening. Silky, profound, expansive with great nose. Long and elegant. Complete pleasure. (14831 views) | |
| Tasted by Zweder on 9/9/2011 & rated 96 points: Vertical of 15 vintages Latour followed by a 3* Michelin dinner and 11 magnums. (@ the Librije in Zwolle, Netherlands.): This is a very classical Latour; not showing itself at all now. Although there is cassis in the bouquet and there are other elements noticeable but hidden it doesn't show much of its complexity in the bouquet. In the mouth it is in fact the same; too young, even some paprika impressions although the fruits at Latour are always very ripe. This is a wine for the long term. Maybe it starts showing itself better between 2017 and 2020, but from 2025 and the decade after that it really should be great. For today I score it 96, but there certainly is potential to reach 97 or more. Everything is holding back in this bottle. (15318 views) | |
| Tasted by WildeMeeuw on 9/9/2011 & rated 88 points: Verticaal Latour (De Librije, Zwolle): Kleur: Robijnrood met oranjerode rand Aroma / bouquet: Krachtig, maar in de eerste indruk bijna wat 'groenig', royale hoeveelheid laurier, wat strengere neus Smaak / Afdronk: Krachtig, fris en krachtig maar wel een zekere rondeur, royaal in de alcohol, finale is wel wat strak en drogend Algemeen / potentieel: Mooi, niet top. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 10 + Smaak / Afdronk: 15 + Algemeen / potentieel: 8 = 88/100 (16081 views) | |
| Tasted by Sleepy Dave on 8/13/2011 & rated 95 points: Alcohol :: 12.5% Decanted for about 3hrs. 15yrs of age and this show no sign of it, this reassured me how long live Latour is. Expected this is young but already show such class, finesse and harmony. The aromas is seductive, complex and astonishingly pure with layered of blackcurrant and intense floral in the core that surrounded by tobacco, pencil shaving, cedar, leather. This full bodied Latour has so much to offer: delineated, immense mouth feel and freshness, impeccable balance with layer and layer of fruits, cedar, leather with inner perfume that boosted with finesse and class.Structured, massive tannin here, but it is so fine and well buffered by the concentration of fruits and dry extract that you never feel the heaviness and in fact, this wine is approachable though by no mean it showed its full potential. Very very long, intense finish with mineral and floral aftertaste that just wouldn't quit. Bravo! This will easily develop in the bottle for the next 15yrs. (the wine went to sleep again at the end of the dinner) 95-97 (15194 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff Leve on 7/26/2011 & rated 99 points: 1996 Latour offers a complicated nose of truffle, licorice, tobacco, cassis, cloves, cinnamon, cocoa, cigar box, cedar chest, black plums and ash. The perfume gains additional layers of fragrances with each swirl and sniff. This Bordeaux wine is perfectly balanced, harmonious and intense. Full bodied, rich and concentrated with pure dark, spicy fruits, this is easily described as power blended with elegance. The seamless finish ends with countless waves of ripe, cassis, spice and blackberry. While already approachable, this stunning wine will continue evolving and improving for decades. Sonia from Latour made the perfect comment about the wine saying, “The 96 Latour speaks to you for hours, meaning the wine develops well in the glass and continues offering new aromatics with each breath you take of the perfume.” She was right. (16876 views) | |
| Tasted by Nutty08 on 7/23/2011 & rated 96 points: GPL vertical with '96 Pauillacs (Scenic Loop Cafe, San Antonio, TX)): Served double blind. Probably double decanted a few hours prior. Clear setup up in quality from the GPL abd PB with an equally aromatic, but much more complex nose. Showed cocoa, mint, bell pepper, pencil, cigar box—the temperament and tone changed every time I went back. Palate was nicely concentrated with currants and cassis, but it was the polish and softness of the tannins that made this stand out from the group. Incredible length and complexity on the finish. Despite the obvious high tannins, they were soft and caressing. This is probably just coming into it’s drinking window, but at least 10yrs from even approaching peak. Reasonable to open one now if you have several. Stylistically, this was somewhere between the elegant feminine quality of the GPL and the brawniness of the PB—had the best of both. A real treat. I think everyone guessed a first growth, with all the Pauillac’s mentioned. I guessed Lafite as the minty/bell pepper note was similar to the 2 bottles of Laftite I’ve had. This was my 1st Latour. (16646 views) | |
| Tasted by typh on 5/13/2011 & rated 95 points: With Lamprey for lunch at a restaurant in Margaux. A fantastic wine, great fruit, tobacco, tannins well integrated. A noble wine! (15940 views) | |
| Tasted by Grenik on 4/29/2011 & rated 96 points: Martin Weiner's Magnificent Ch. Latours (1934-2002) Plus the Best of ths Grand Cru Neighbors (Martin Weiner): Burgundy with a lavender rim. Nose of plum, red fruits, blueberry, red sour apples - Good depth and interest in the aromas. There was nice balance on the palate with high acidity and fine tannins carrying the cherry and vanilla all the way into the lingering finish. Secondary flavors may be starting to emerge. Some seemed to detect them, but I did not really see them emerge. Tastes like a wine that is only a few years old. Plenty of time for this to improve. (17629 views) | |
| Tasted by Dave Dalluge on 3/10/2011 flawed bottle: Winter's Weakening Death Grip: Corked. (17685 views) | |
| Tasted by Fatty Cat on 3/2/2011 & rated 92 points: Tasting ‘Chateau Latour’ at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival: decanted before the tasting; deep black red color; started very restrained with little red and black fruit, after about one hour intense truffles; walnut flavor on the palate; massive tannins; medium/full body; angular, harsh texture. The powerful, overwhelming tannins showed this 1996 Latour was opened too early for maximum enjoyment. This wine has the ability to reach an outstanding performance (97-98 points) but it requires some patience and the need to leave your bottle another 10-20 year in the cellar. Flight III: 1986 - 1989 - 1990 - 1993 - 1996 (3830 views) | |
| Tasted by MatthewF on 2/26/2011: Three bottles were opened tonight, all with consistent notes. Slight double decant. Dark red berry fruits with cedar, sweet tobacco, vanilla and earth. Fruit forward palate of red berry and cherry. Medium plus body and moderate acidity and tannin. (More than the last time I had it) Long finish. Great stuff. (16541 views) | |
| Tasted by bjs3 on 12/31/2010 & rated 96 points: Drank one bottle of this ten years ago when it was new. Young and chewy, I can still remember it and the lamb chops to match. This time, at a maturity of 14 years a wonderful, deep, and luscious experience. Plenty of power still left, but mellowing to a long finish with smells of cedar, plums and dark fruits. Tremendous, but balanaced finish. This is Bordeaux at its finest. Sorry that I only had two bottles! (17452 views) | |
| Tasted by IWineAlot on 9/12/2010 & rated 95 points: Edward Roberts International Pre-Auction Tasting (The Union League Club (Chicago)): Inky purple in color. Intense nose of graphite mixed with lots of dark fruit and some mocha/Coffee. Nose followed through to the palate. Still very youthful, tannins very noticeable, elegant pure fruit. This wine didn’t disappoint. 95+ pts. (17608 views) | |
| Tasted by beezer6 on 9/12/2010 & rated 93 points: Edward Roberts International Pre-Auction Tasting (Union League Club of Chicago): Gorgeous masculine funk. Moist life. Candied cherries. The palate is lovely and floral driven. Powerful. Super young. Balanced finish. Precision in the acid, tannin and alcohol integration. (19030 views) | |
| Tasted by strulock on 8/20/2010 & rated 97 points: Bordeaux Dinner - Societe Mondiale du Vin (Dallas, TX): Drank from Imperial. Way too young, but tremendous promise. Great nose, ripe fruit. Huge tannin structure, disjointed right now but promises a beautiful future. Inky purple juice with lots of berry and cedar notes. (19814 views) | |
| Tasted by MatthewF on 8/11/2010: Dark red currant, cassis, and cherry. Tobacco leaf, cedar and some damp earth notes. Ripe, fruit forward palate with medium plus body. The tannins were a bit softer than I expected, but there was still quite good grip on the long finish. Great wine. (15792 views) | |
| Tasted by SteelerFan on 2/19/2010 & rated 90 points: Dark ruby - this is just a baby. Not quite as powerful as I would have expected, but that may be because it was somewhat closed. After about 30 minutes in the glass, it started to open up and you could see how delicious this wine will be. Good now, but I wouldn't touch it for 5-10 more years. (19632 views) | |
| Tasted by Siggy on 2/2/2010 & rated 95 points: Tasting Group Dinner - It Was A Great Run (Heidi's, Minneapolis): Second bottle tasted, from the same source. The nose is beautiful and full of fragrant, intense fruit. Still mostly shut down on the palate, but displaying nuanced, smoky dark fruit, graphite, and mineral flavors along with plenty of new oak. Medium-bodied. A wall of fine, silky tannins creep up on the finish. This will be a deft Latour, rather than a bruiser of a Latour, when it comes out of hibernation in several more years. (19852 views) | |
| Tasted by Dave Dalluge on 2/2/2010 & rated 95 points: Groundhog Day!: Deep, dark red color. The nose is spectacular with dark fruit and coffee/espresso most notable. On the palate this delivers smoky dark fruit in a powerful yet controlled style. Great from the attack through the long satisfying finish. Still young and tannic but drinking surprisingly well. (18038 views) | |
| Tasted by JJL on 12/12/2009 & rated 97 points: I knew as soon as I opened the bottle it would be the the WOTM/A (morning/afternoon). Don't normally drink during the day, but brought to a day auction at Bouley - so I had to. Great nose of roses, violets, and cedar. Impeccable body, cherry, leather, plums on palate. Better than the '96 Margaux from a few days prior. Like the Margaux, reminds me of the '00 - but more open. (17033 views) | |
| Tasted by Sky King on 12/2/2009 & rated 95 points: Still a baby but surprisingly approachable with a few hours decanting. The impressiveness of the wine is in the complexity and exotic-ness of the aromatics and the length and penetration of the finish. In between, the wine remains tightly wound and in need of additional time in the cellar. Will very likely improve my score with time in the cellar. Great Wine! (16874 views) | |
| Tasted by taipanli on 11/28/2009 & rated 97 points: 6 hour decant. Reticent. Not revealing much initially yet one can see the fabulous structure. Fruit hiding but glimpses gradually emerge from underneath the regal tannins. Slight acidity and bite but by the end of the bottle, we were clamoring for more. In 10 years this will explode. (15567 views) | |
| Tasted by BradE on 9/4/2009: Light Lumber in Minneapolis: Beautiful wine. Belied its age, and I wouldn't hesitate to open another. (17158 views) | |
| Tasted by Siggy on 9/3/2009: Lumber Comes To Minneapolis (La Belle Vie Lounge, Minneapolis): Brief note: gorgeous red/plum fruit, classic Pauillac cedar and pencil lead, already elegant at 13 years of age. (17381 views) | |
| Tasted by svdheijden on 2/4/2009 & rated 96 points: Far too early for this growing giant. Probably a full decade (or more) too young. All ingredients present, but still very closed and backward. Bottle opened 24hours before tasting and decanted 6 hours before. When drinking in next few years, I would decant it at least 24 hours before tasting. All elements of a super Latour are there; classic, strong and powerful. Cassis, chocolate, blackberry, pepper, "peperkoek". Still lacking elegance, but very convincing. Stays alive for more than a minute and paralyses the taste buds for a few more minutes. Looking forward to drink the next bottle in ten years time.... (17386 views) | |
| Tasted by Surfer714 on 8/16/2008: powerful wine... (17023 views) | |
| Tasted by Jossik on 5/14/2008 & rated 95 points: Buono ma meno strepitoso del La tache (16138 views) | |
| Tasted by Serge Birbrair on 2/14/2008: The biggest disapointment of the night - I happen to own 2 bottles and I expected much much more from this Parker's 99 pointer. Green pepper, green stems, green grass, and this si all I have to say about that one. (18291 views) | |
| Tasted by Claudio161 on 2/1/2008 & rated 96 points: Hart Davis Hart Wine Co Comparative Bordeaux Tasting Vintages 1995 & 1996 (Newberry Library, Chicago IL): This is better than the 1995 vintage but still a very strong wine. Really powerful stuff. This could cut right through to the taste buds of one's tongue coated with rich steak fat! (Tanninriffic???) This does have an overall nice flavor, but I did not think it warranted the 99 points bestowed upon it by Parker. I think that overall Latour is just not my style. (18820 views) | |
| Tasted by KeithAkers on 2/1/2008 & rated 94 points: HDH 95/96 Comparative Tasting (Newberry Library, Chicago IL): nose: a bit tight but then leads into a nice pleasant sweet and effusive nose. Red currants, spice, and earth work away taste: really nice mouth feel. Nice and supple with cassis, dark fruit, and red currants overall: very nice and elegant wine. It's still young and needs more time to show what it really has to offer (19072 views) | |
| Tasted by Ricky99 on 12/17/2007 & rated 96 points: A little closed at first then it blossomed into a big beaauty. Plenty of finess and good structure. (17733 views) | |
| Tasted by Eric on 4/14/2007 & rated 97 points: Second Annual First Growth Tasting (Bellevue, WA): Cassis, cocoa, ash and smoke. Really starts to express itself in the glass. Mmm, me likey. Big waves of cassis, textbook Latour, very pure, a stunning wine that needs to sleep for another decade or two. (20003 views) | |
| Tasted by 128 on 2/12/2007: Latour Vertical with Engerer & Pinnault. Didn't need to think about this wine. Just immerse myself in its hedonistic delights and enjoyed! My order of preference on the night...........96, 00, 03. 04, 02, 01, & 95 didn't compute. (19629 views) | |
| Tasted by MRichman on 10/30/2006: Chateau Latour vertical at Danube (Danube restaurant in NYC): Dense, thick. Full plush fruit, dark notes, tobacco. Powerful yet contained. Just complete, smooth. Young, but beautiful. A+ (19391 views) | |
| Tasted by 128 on 10/20/2006: Dinner at home with the wife. Aromatically closed upon opening but on the palate the quality was evident. After about an hour and a half the nose opened up to reveal blueberries and cedar. Dry with good balance. Might prefer the 90 and the 82 but good wine nevertheless. (18978 views) | |
| Tasted by Barbara B on 8/9/2006 & rated 89 points: Doug's 60th Birthday Party; 7/28/2006-8/9/2006 (Civita Castellana, Palazzo Doug & Jeanette): Earthy and animaly. Rich tannins, pleasant acidity, grassy/herbaceous streak. Great length and complexity, but a little too green. (19032 views) | |
| Tasted by edrudd on 4/21/2006: Given the wine is only 9 years old at the time of consumption it was a mistake to opent the bottle. The power and finesse was clearly visible but the fruit and complexity was still hiding behind the tanin. This will be extraordinary but not for another 10 years. (18598 views) | |
| Tasted by ATBridge on 2/4/2006 & rated 99 points: Wow. This wine has an opaque crimson-eggplant color that show absolutely no sign of 10 years of age. Each dip of the nose into the glass returns a different, increasingly complex aroma that builds from cassis, leather, blackberry, eucalyptus, burnt earth, menthol, cacao, and more!. The palate is equally complex with each sip tasting different with the aforementioned flavors and building in length. The finish is phenomenal. This wine is approachable with aeration (I'd start with at least 3-4 hours prior to starting to drink--will certainly continue to evolve), but still very primary. The wine was so big I thought it would be even better/bigger on day 2, but the complexity was not present, perhaps the wine shut down. This wine is potentially ageless, and I hope I have another opportunity to enjoy it in my lifetime! (18511 views) | |
| Tasted by trankin on 10/22/2005: Wine Spectator Bordeaux First-Growth Tasting (New York Marriott Marquis): Deep dark red color. Nose of barnyard, earth, wet woods, and tobacco. Fruit, barnyard and earth tones on the palate, along with hay and soil. Didn't do it for me. (19879 views) | |
| Tasted by winefool on 10/1/2005 & rated 94 points: Full coffee red. Hugeh bright red fruit briar aroma with cedar and spice with a slight herbal note. Lovely big rich black current fruit and cedar. Opened up nicely - will be great. 10/05 (14202 views) | |
| Tasted by Burgundy Al on 9/18/2004 & rated 95 points: Wine tasting. Black cherry, black currant on nose with great cigar box and licorice aromas. Really good spice continues on to palate. Powerful, dense and meaty, today the fruit is somewhat obscured by tannins and acidity in its middle, with black fruit and spice re-emerging on very long finish. Needs another 15 years. (7462 views) | |
| Tasted by jamiekutch on 7/27/2004: Cassis, great finish, dark berries (17049 views) | |
| Tasted by Joe Belmaati on 3/24/2004 & rated 97 points: Dark red colour. Scents of smoked meat (almost like a Rhône wine). Huge bodied with great texture and structure, all wrapped in a seductively elegant, complex, multi-dimensional cloth of warm, sweet flavour on a plum-raisin note. The wine seemed to combine elegance, and power and the iron-fist like structure was offset by a myriad of finesse and nuance, rounded up by a long aftertaste. Superb. (16075 views) | |
| Tasted by MicklethePickle on 12/25/2003 & rated 88 points: 1996 Latour 10/25/03 at K&L's Parker Tasting of Latour in SF. Showing more age, still dark. Good nose. Rich. Bit of matchstick. Palate is good, too. Noticeable oak. 5-11-15-7-88/100 (5666 views) | |
| Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 10/25/2003 & rated 95 points: Chateau Latour Vertical with Robert Parker and Latour's Frederic Engerer: Olive and oregano nose, with earth and berries showing too after 30 minutes in the glass; good opening notes of cedary fruit; nice, lighter tasting mid-palate of herbaceous fruit; herbaceous tannins on the finish (4609 views) | |
| Tasted by hcampana on 10/15/2003 & rated 97 points: Chateau Latour vertical (K&L Wines; moderated by Robert Parker) (San Francisco, CA): 1996 Chateau Latour Another virtually perfect wine that did not dissapoint me, although it took all night for it to come around despite the double decanting. Explosive and diverse nose of black currant, cassis and a hint of brett (this one adding complexity and not overpowering everything else unlike in the ’00 Les Forts). Additional time and swirling opened the nose somewhat and added some tobacco and black pepper, although it remained tight throughout. Massively full bodied (the texture of port), this is the wine that changed the most during the tasting, promising a very complex and bright future. Very intensely flavored, looong finish. A beautiful beast. 97+ points. (15725 views) | |
| Tasted by peternelson on 5/16/2003 & rated 95 points: WS: Great mushrooms, smooth and siky bal.; like refined mud!***Very good, well-balanced wine. (6891 views) | |
| Tasted by mdefreitas on 10/17/1999 & rated 97 points: CT Group does 1996 Bordeaux @ Jeff S: Lots of minerals, tree bark, and cassis. Slippery mouth feel, thick and concentrated. A brooding monster. Surprisingly accessable. Fine, sweet tannins. Very long on the palate. Outstanding. (11616 views) |
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Château LatourProducer website – Read more about Chateau LatourVineyard map Classification: Premier Grand Cru Classé (First Growth) from the 1855 Bordeaux Classification Owner: François Pinault since 1993 Manager: Frédéric Engerer Address: 33250 Pauillac Telephone: +33 5 56 73 19 80 Visits: By appointment only Monday to Friday, except on French public holidays, from 8.30 AM to 12.30 PM and from 2.00 PM to 5.00 PM Vineyard: 78 hectares with the grand vin made exclusively from the 47 hectare l'Enclos vineyard surrounding the Château Soil: Ancient Günzian gravel Varietals: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot and 1% Petite Verdot Density: 10,000 vines/hectare Average Vine Age: 50 years Average Yield: 45-50 hectoliters/hectare Harvest: By hand, 100% destemmed Fermentation: 3 weeks in temperature controlled stainless steel vats with malolatics occuring in vats Ageing: 100% new oak for 18 months Racking: Every 3 months and fined with egg whites the winter before bottling Average Production: 180,000 bottles (55% of total) Second Wine: Les Forts de Latour Third Wine: Pauillac Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico. FranceVins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings 2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest" 2019 vintage reports 2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage." 2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.com BordeauxBordeaux Wine GuideVins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux) History of Bordeaux History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification "2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson "2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman "The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson "2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson "In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon Rimmerman MédocVins du Médoc (Conseil des Vins du Médoc) - Read More about the MedocVdB The eight precisely defined appellations of the whole of the Médoc (from Blanquefort Brook to the north of the Bordeaux built-up area, almost to the Pointe de Grave) may claim the Médoc appellation. But there is also a specific territory in the north of the peninsula which produces exclusively wines with this appellation. In the great majority, the Médocs come from the north of the peninsula. The great individuality of this region is that the number of vines has increased more recently here than elsewhere, apart from a few isolated spots where vines have grown for many years. Today, the size of the small estate has brought about the development of a powerful co-operative movement. Four co-operatives out of five belong to the group called Unimédoc which ensures aging, bottling and marketing a large proportion of their wines. PauillacRead more detailed information about Pauillac Looking full onto the river from the earliest days, with an important port activity, traces of which go back to ancient times (shipment of bronze as long ago as 2000 B.C.), Pauillac's life has always been intimately linked to the history of wine. Although port activities were at the root of its prosperity, Pauillac had to wait until the eighteenth century when Bordeaux ceased to hold its privileged position to become a wine port. The town then became the natural outlet for the wine production of neighbouring cantons before reaching its zenith in a period when the vineyards were exceptionally prosperous.The characteristic of the Pauillac terroir is its exceptional relief: the many undulating ridges make it unique morphologically speaking. Highly favourable conditions facilitate the dissection of the layer of gravel. This thin, Garonne gravel from whose very poverty springs great richness, has an extremely effective natural drainage. With their velvet red colour with a hint of amber, the wines from the Pauillac appellation, full-bodied and rich in tannin, are vigorous. Powerful when young, their aromas of red fruits (black-currant, raspberry) or flowers (violets, roses, irises) melt with the passing of time into a bouquet which is long in the mouth. Rich and complex, the wines of Pauillac deserve to be laid down for a little longer. Production conditions (Decree dated November 14, 1936) In order to have the right to the Pauillac appellation of controlled origin, red wines must: - come from the commune of Pauillac and from precisely defined parcels in the communes of Cissac, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Sauveur, "excluding the parcels situated on recent alluvium and sand on impermeable subsoils", - satisfy precise production conditions : grape-varieties (Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet-Franc, Carmenère, Merlot Noir, Petit Verdot, Cot or Malbec), minimum of sugar (178 grammes - 6.27 oz. - per litre of must) degree (an acquired 10°5) base yield (45 hectolitres per hectare). |