First time tasting this famed wine. I was impressed how Parker seemed to really nail the notes on this one. Some personal impressions: Licorice, Jammy, toasted Oak and candied nuts. Great spice component. Really well balanced. Could not get over the nice taste - again the overall impression of a very nice taste. I noticed that on the last sip, there seemed to be a hint of acidity.

First time tasting this vintage and wine in the same night. Color: PURPLE!!! Kind of like I could just stare at this wine for a while - the color could be used to color Easter Eggs! Nose: Lots and lots of flowers. Strong floral presence. Also - one other odd component that I did not really know how to describe - a Butteryness and blackberries. Again before tasting I had to comment about how strong the floral component of this wine was . . . . Body: Medium body. Taste - Awesome. What hit me as odd was that I did not really know how to describe the taste - other than awesome.

NOTE: I was told later on in the tasting that I may have had a taste from an 'off bottle'. So please use this as a caveat when reviewing my notes. I found this wine to be still tight, very powerful, and a very long finish. On the flip side, I found it to be stark and tough. Sort died on the finish. IMO this wine is STILL too young to drink. This is a wine made for the ages and just needs more time. I am sure that it will be improved at a later date.

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.

My first comment was after reading the notes from Parker (provided at the tasting to accompany the wines) that I was so impressed as to how Parker really nails Bordeaux tasting notes. This was a great wine with what I term a classic Leoville Barton nose. Color: Dark red Smell: Worn leather, saddle, wood notes of cedar and spice box. Taste: nice medium body. Drinks really nice. I have to say that in the end, I actually did like the 1996 slightly better.

Fist impression: Real nice nose. It reminded me of the 2004 vintage of this same wine that I tasted a couple of weeks before at the Tasting given by East Bank Wine Storage. Dark color. Lots of dark fruit (but with still a freshness). Oak notes, but not much in the way of vanillin - perhaps they did not char the barrels? If so, it certainly did not hurt this wine! Really nice and balanced. I want some for my collection (one day!).

Interesting and nice is how I would describe this Bordeaux. Some faint cotton candy whiffs (or some other similar type of smelling candy). Some leather saddle mixed in along with some toasty oak and vanillins from the charring of the barrel. This is STILL a big wine.

First impression: Nail polish or paint thinner on the nose. The 1996 is better. Overall, this style is not too much to my liking. I think this wine needs at least 5+ years to integrate and settle down a bit. Definitely full bodied and powerful.

Overall impression is that this is still a young wine. Needs more time. Nice flavor, IMO better than Latour of the same year. Jammy, resinous, vanilla from the barrels. Dark fruits up front with a pleasant tart and dry finish.

Wow - first impression.... this is very different from the 1995. I liked it better than the 1995. This to me, is a more typical Bordeaux styled wine. Cocoa/coffee notes and leather. Really really nice and elegant.

Real nice perfume on the nose. real dark color and sensual wine. Real nice fruit. Slightly less elegant than the Mouton Rothschild, but still an amazing wine.

Very different nose from other wines. Amazing. Lots of cedar box and tasted cocoa. This is one LONG finish! Coats the whole mouth. Very elegant!

The 1996 of the same was is better. But this is still a really good wine. A bit more tannic with less fruit than the 1996. Cedar and red fruit notes. Full bodied wine.

Very nice - toasty oak and vanilla with mocha. Dark fruit integration is one of the best. Powerful, but elegant/ The mid-palate is really amazing. Tiny hint of a l'orange on the rim at the end.

Weird was my initial reaction. But overall I like this better than the 1995. More resinous notes. Mocha here too. Inviting feel to the wine. Also - picked up some rose petal notes. Full-bodied, soft tannins and a fairly long finish.

This is a big wine! Muscular. Tobacco, dark fruits, and slight floral notes. Powerful and awesome - but somewhat prosaic. Pair this with a nice paddle steak or KC ribeye.

Plummy. jammy, and tannic! This still needs time (or it may never settle down!) to open/soften. Just a boatload of tannin.... tannins runneth over. Perfume started after some serious oxygenation. Final impression was that this may be better than thought.

Overall I thought that this was better than the 1995 version of the same. Toasty Oak, vanillin, slightly less tannic than the 1995. Lots of black fruit and raspberry. Some espresso notes. This is a good wine, it's here and just needs a fatty bone-in ribeye steak to complement it!

AWESOME wine. Medium dark color. Lots of dark red tree fruit. Cocoa notes. Full bodied, but exciting and thrilling. Tannins are soft and there exists a really nice long finish too. I think this still has time to develop.

Very interesting nose. Really interesting floral/flower aspect. Caught me off guard because I have not smelling anything like that really before in a wine. Red tree fruit and some garden seasonings all mixed up with a good amount of cigar humidor smell. Really an impressive wine.

I really like this wine. Better than the 1996. Bordeaux for Burgundy lovers! Real subtle cocoa notes, some tree fruit and a little bit floral. Not a ton going on the nose - but the taste is where it shines! Med-full body. Awesome fruit finish and well integrated tannins. Could still use a little bit of aging.

Awesome nose and palate. A rich and expensive tasting/feeling/smell. Some earthiness. Great amount of red tree fruit again. Medium-full body. Really nice long finish.

Totally agree with Parker on this one. Powerful. Plenty of hang time. Oak is a tiny bit out of balance. Better than the 1996 of the same. Dark color - purple (hello merlot!). Red tree fruit is a-plenty.

Surprisingly different from 1996. Even stronger and more tannic than the 1995. Garden herbs are more present in this wine along with red tree fruit. This is good, but still big. I think it needs a little more time. But I do love this Chateau - really impressive fruit!

Rough in the attack, but then really good. It needed to open up more. Herbs and red tree fruit. Medium bodied. Pretty decent finish - longer than I expected. Something off and I can't put my finger on it.

Lighter than the '96. More elegant than the 1996 of the same. Cocoa notes, espresso beans. Well integrated tannins making for a fine texture that keeps calling me! Love Pomerols!