March 9, 2024 - Chocolat au lait, ne bouge pas de la soiree, ne prend pas une ride. En a encore sous la pedale. Surprenant!
December 31, 2023 - No notes taken. Another good vintage for Latour with the classic harmonious blend of power and elegance. Possessing all the elements for further improvement, it showcases complex layers, a robust core of black fruit, a mineral backbone, and the structural soundness to mature gracefully over the next 30 to 40 years. As tertiary aromas develop over the next decade, it promises to become even more exquisite.
December 3, 2023 - Sensation of being completely integrated, but with a bit much acid sensation on the finish. Beautiful fruit throughout the palate, lingering long through a long finish. Really a lovely wine, but in a sea of 1989s I almost had to remember to come back to it. When I did, I would really enjoy it again. Hard to imagine it being anything other than fantastic when not being compared side by side. An interesting, fascinating wine.
December 1, 2023 - 50th Birthday Bash: 10 Vintage Vertical of Latour: It was so fun to taste this next to the 1990 vintage. While this is a softer & more elegant version, it is a wonderfully made vintage of Chateau Latour. More mature than the 1982 (which came just before it) and also more nuanced. While I love the power of the '90 vintage, I would almost give the edge to the '89, especially since you can acquire it for $300 - $400 less.
November 25, 2023 - While there is a great aromatic mix of red berries and some tertiary notes like stables and leather, what really stands out ist the incredible structure that this wine has, that I can only describe as "towering".
November 25, 2023 - 1983 vintage horizontal with >20 wines, mostly from Bordeaux. Key observations: 1/ Acceptable vintage for Champagne with DP over-delivering, 2/ Laville Haut Brion is a masterpiece among the whites, 3/ Bordeaux is going strong at 40 years of age with stand-outs Latour and Margaux. 4/ No need to chase any Napa’s from the vintage, 5/ off-piste Italians kept up impressively with Soldera an undisputed medalist.
Tasting note:
Double-decanted. Intense with cassis, red and dark berry fruit, mineral notes and savory spice - meaty even. Broad shouldered and muscular with polished fruit on the palate. A strong Latour in a good spot with many years ahead. But not quite at the level of the ‘83.
October 28, 2023 - 13th of 24, opened an hour then decanted 90 minutes, perfect level, cork half stained, developing slowly , classily and classicly, many of the details in my note of November 13 remain, persistence, grip and iron/mineral core in particular, the tannins are not as yet fully resolved but there's enough quality fruit to assure a decent future, if I were to quibble, I'd like to have had a slightly rounder mouthfeel and more power in the attack, but I'd still expect some upside and 25+ years. VF (18.5)......and definitely on an improving trend relative to the early days when it clearly lagged behind Haut Brion (still does), Lafite and arguably LLC.
September 28, 2023 - Medium body, amazing rich dark fruits with incredible depth, complexity and finish. Decanted about 1-2 hours. The prominent sweet fruits, depth, balance and complexity of this bottle distinguished it from a strong lineup including a 1967 Latour, 1986 Cos D'Estournel, 1999 Lafite and 1998 Sassicaia. This 1989 Latour was by a wide margin the winner of the lineup.
July 20, 2023 - 98+ what a wine - typical Latour -- youthful . next bottle in 5 years
July 4, 2023 - Almost a bit too much on the classic side with its focus on leafy tobacco, pepper, spice, greenery, pepper, and herbs. With a bit of rusticity on the palate, the wine finishes on the austere, leaning-to-tart side of the style range. Drink from 2023-2030.