Deeply concentrated garnet in the glass, with only a small bit of brickish rim variation. Brilliant color for a 42 year old wine.
Intense aromas which highlight secondary notes that keep evolving in the glass with every sip. Most prominent is fresh bay leaf. It’s incredibly intense and enfolds other notes, like mint and eucalyptus. Of the 5 first growths of the 1981 vintage, this was the most powerful and the most herbal.
Flavors kindly follow the nose, with red plum and tart cherry underneath the bay leaf and botanicals.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium plus acidity, along with a front-of-mouth, medium plus tannic structure that enfolds the mouth from the sides of the gums up and over to the front. Powerful and intense for 42 years.
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This is a very good, not great wine. That said, it is absolutely delicious. Mature ruby / brick color. The nose leads with classic cassis, tobacco and cedar notes. A touch soapy. Could bury my nose in this all afternoon. Textbook. The palate is mature and soft for Latour. Again classic fruit and cigar but it’s almost “Latour Lite” as it is missing the layers and depth of this wine in the great years. Love drinking it but understand it’s limitations. (90)
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Sjaak's 40th birthday dinner (Groot-Ammers, Netherlands): Needs time to develop its crisp and fresh Cabernet character, cool and minerally but with warmth and spice, slender but complete, retains good tannic grip, hint of green on the finish.
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The fill of the bottle was excellent and the cork perfectly in tact, so was very anticipatory before opening. Indeed, the wine was perfect. On PnP, fruits was plenty and the length was more than acceptable. The complexity was enviable at 40years old and it feels that the wine can still be kept for 3-5yrs. It shows you the aging power of Latour, which never disappoints, especially on a slightly off (non popular) vintage! Drank alongside 86 Cheval Blanc, 89 Clinet and 96 Musigny. The 89 Clinet wins WOTN.
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Quite glad I finally drank this, actually (having bought it in around '97). Still a fabulous example of the Medoc, with the complexity and finesse you would expect from a First Growth. However, '81 was not a stellar year and my bottle - at least - had definitely peaked: I should have uncorked it perhaps 5 years ago, I would guess.
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From Art’s cellar. One-hour decant through a screened funnel. High fill. Cork broke in two but did not disintegrate. Upon decant, a strong aroma of Bordeaux funk had me concerned but it blew off after resting in the decanter. Wine was clear; dark bowl lightening towards the rim which was amber. Thin clear halo. Nose of lead pencil, leather, forest floor and a waft of black currants. In the mouth, tannins all gone, excellent balance. Palate hinted at the currants with leather overtones and a cigar box finish of tobacco and cedar. Finish was medium long. It was time to drink this old soldier.
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This is a vintage I seldom see anymore, as most wines have faded. But Chateau Latour is still hanging in there. Medium-bodied, with a focus on its cassis, herb, green pepper, stone, smoke and tobacco character, there is bright red fruit and cigar notes in the finish, though it ends before I was ready. This wine focuses on freshness and charm, over power and length, which is perfect for the vintage. However, there is no reason to hold this any longer. This was clearly better 5-10 years ago.
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The color was garnet colored with slight brownish and rust colored bricking. Medium bodied, still showing berry fruit, slightly astringent with modest aromatics and flavors of bell pepper and notes of cedar and leather on the moderate finish. Still nicely polished and holding together impressively given the lackluster '81 vintage, but time to drink as its clearly in the last chapter of its drinking window.
This bottle had a Top Shoulder fill. The cork was totally saturated and spongy but will still intact. I wrestled with the cork using an 'ahso' two pronge cork puller and it eventually relented, albeit it pulled apart at the bottom quarter. I'm certain a traditional corkscrew would've pushed it into the bottle, or caused it to pretty much disintegrate. Opened and decanted for two hours prior to tasting.
Base neck. Deep garnet. Cassis, sous bois and herbs in nose. Elegant palate with subtle mixture of fruits, and mineral with fine acidity. A good show for its' class and vintage.
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Pnp at home. Top shoulder fill. Was expecting the worst as the cork showed clear signs of relatively recent leakage. A clean nose upon pulling the cork and a surprisingly dark, clear garnet color in the glass with only minimal bricking at the transparent rim indicated that the wine was perfectly fine. While not the most expressive, the nose is showing good depth and fine balance. Less convincing the palate which is lean and somewhat astringent, with dark fruit, some bell peppers and a touch of leather. Short to medium finish. Nice enough but certainly not something to seek out if 1981 has no special meaning to you. Nose 90, palate 87
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First Growth Bordeaux 1978, 1979, 1981 (The Lot): Darkest, most youthful looking of the 1981 flight. Firmer, bolder nose with darker fruits than the other 3 of the flight. The palate stood similarly, darker fruit, more power than the others in the flight, supporting the "iron fist in a velvet glove" style of Latour. Drinking well and edging out the LMHB for best of the 1981s tonight.
This bottle was ranked 4th of the 8 first growths tonight
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Almost perfect fill. Rather light in color with significant bricking. Yummy earth and menthol nose; mushroom and tea. No fruit left to speak of.
Not too concentrated for Latour, but feels fresh rather than thin. Tannins nicely balanced. Nice finish, but perhaps a slight metallic tinge. Very drinkable, but there are better wines in 1981.
Drink this now, as it's on a downslope. Don't give it too much air.
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A purported favorite of Malcom Forbes was Chateau Margaux with a Big Mac. He also supposedly bought Chateau Latour en masse in off-vintages. So a bachelor for the weekend, I decided to try an off vintage of Latour with a Big Mac. The '81 Latour reiterates how off-vintages of this great terroir, when properly stored, truly shine. Immediately upon freeing the cork, pungent aromas of earth, cedar and black current fill the room, reminiscent of the '96 Pichon Lalande and great Pauillac Cabernet. On the palate, everything is nicely in place - gentle tannins with plenty of dark red fruit and nice acidity provide a medium bodied wine with a beautiful, though not very long, finish. Latour is such a special treat that I can't deny bias possibly impacting my score, but the nose alone makes this a really memorable experience. And as for the food pairing, didn't even get to the Big Mac until the last glass, though lamb would no doubt be the ideal pairing (or at least a Whopper that doesn't have special sauce, clearly suited for the more floral notes of Margaux lol).
opened two hours before serving, but did not decant. still dark red, not brownish at all. obviously past its peak but still intense on the palate, profound aromas of red fruit typical for a premier cru, quite good structure and finish.
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Stor doft av stall, kola, läder och mörk mogen frukt. Smaken är komplex med tydlig smörkolaton, och mörka mogna körsbär och ett uns créme cassis. Nedslipad tanninstruktur men en lång ihärdig eftersmak. Har nått sin peak men helt okej!
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Classic St. Julien characteristics - sophisticated structure on the palate, yet balanced acidity and alcohol level. In a vintage ('81) that is not particularly outstanding, this 30+ year-old wine showing the potential and why this is a first growth chateau. I have no doubt this wine can be in as good as I have experience to drink for another 2-3 years. Highly recommend to pair with nice aged steak or grilled lamb chops.
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Strong showing for a wine from a bad year. Served from 375. Classic Paulliac nose. Some dark berries remaining. Lots of leather and cedar wood. Little animalic touch. A bit rustic on the palate, but very enjoyable. Would never buy this given the price point, but interesting to taste. Would work well with filet mignon.
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A "Blended" Birthday Dinner (Garibaldi, Purvis Street, Singapore): As one would expect from a Latour, this was remarkable for an off-vintage wine. I have had numerous bottles of 1981 wines from great properties (courtesy from a few friends born in that year), but this was far and away the best wine I have had from Bordeaux or anywhere else. It started out with a bit of funky wet leaf and chicken poop on the nose, but this faded with time to allow more and more classic Pauillac notes of cassis and dark plums, tobacco and cedar wood, then loamy earth and boiled herbs to slowly uncoil until we had a typical Latour bouquet in all its understated attractiveness. The palate was classic Latour as well, starting from its noble structure of fine tannins and lovely acidity, and then going on to its wonderfully pure cassis notes. This was gorgeously put together, with a real mouthfilling fullness to it, yet one would not quite call it expressive; it had real depth, and yet powerful would not quite be the right way to describe it. Like any good middle-aged Latour, it was still reined in by the slightest edge of austerity, especially as that wonderful transparent fruit melded into meatier notes past the midpalate and then into a beautiful finish that slid away with an almost creamy texture, showing the lightest hints of cedar wood and a nice earthiness trailing behind. This is one wine that truly shows how a youngish Latour can shines on an off-vintage. If one were searching for a weakness, I would say that there was just a touch of softness on the midpalate where there would normally be more muscle. But that really would be nitpicking. This was a great wine. And while seemingly at peak now, I expect it to last for a long time yet; it got better and better in the glass even on the night, with more chew from the tannins and a nicely masculine leather and meat tone coming out with time. I was very taken by this.
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Meat And sexy leather with medicinal lifted florals and aged cigar box. Very substantial and supple. Soft and subtle tannins. Delicious. Poised grand dame.
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...impressive. Fading slowly but this still carries enough depth to show its class. Herbs...black fruits and dried figs. a touch of buttery soft fruit on the nose and camphor. strange but pleasant.
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Lots of black currant in the aroma. The attack is rather dry with clear aging tones. The tannins are quite strong but very well balanced with a nice ceder finish.
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Medium ruby core with a little fade at the rim; quite an earthy cool nose. Definite leafiness and gravel; quite light to medium bodied. Nice flavour but a definite light year. Very fine tannins. Pleasurable to drink. Pretty long. Alcohol coming through on the finish.
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This is perhaps the most ready vintage of Latour that I have tried. This is still a vigorous wine, but considerably softer than other years. Lovely tobacco, cedar, blackberryetc.. Paired well with rack of venison, but really you should have this with lamb.
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This wine was powerful and full of life. Good, chunky colour, powerful, lovely fantail nose, robust and earthy on the palate with plenty of fruit left. This is drinking beautifully now but should hold up for another 5+ years.
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top shoulder; stand up for 1 day; pop-and-open; stunning bouquet with heavy Latour signature of pine wood with pencil and black fruits; the aroma further evolve and peak at around 2 hours; exceptional palate with lingering finish and moderate acidity; still has good power; tannin dissolved; finished in 3 hours with no sign of drop; what a lovely first growth
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Drank for our 30th anniversary. Holding up well but definitely a mature lady. Decanted right before drinking and was a wonderful addition to our meal. From magnum.
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high shoulder; dark plum red; initially nose of almonds, later more like citrus fruit; mild and well balanced on the palate, interesting fruity aromas with some sweet acidity; good finish; very pleasurable but not realy complex
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Les Degustateurs Ladies Night (University Club of Chicago): Out of double magnum and the theme of the night was for some of the wine to have an ending of 1, ie 1981 or 1991. This was outstanding with great flavor, pencil lead, great pairing with the cheeses. A rare treat.
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På nesen ekstremt ren og kraftig solbær. Mynter og hvit pepper. Nydelig søtlig frukt. In your face frukt. Dette er vinens svar på Beyonce. Smaken er også Beyonce – hvor den legger seg bredt, men sexy i munnen. En viss tyngde gjennom hele smakskurven. God konsentrasjon og tanniner som legger seg som et stort smil på utsiden av tennene og følger munnens naturlige kurve langs ganen. Jeg ville aldri tenkt at regn i oktober hadde vannet ut vinen, hadde jeg ikke kjent til årgangen. Denne vinen lider i alle fall ikke stort av dette.
Det eneste jeg er enig med Parker om er at tanninene og syren er moderate. Etter en stund i galsset synes jeg at tanninene viser litt trend av å være litt ufokuserte og legger seg ikke like elegant i ganen som i Lafiten vi hadde før denne.
Frukten er såpass ung og solbøren så intens at denne holder lenge, og har nok godt av lengre tid på flasken. Prøv igjen om 5 år og nyt i 15 år. Etter ca 20 min i glasset får jeg tydeligere mineraler, ved våt stein og blyant (ikke blyantkvess, bare blyet i blyanten) Etter ca 40 min enda flott solbær og våt stein, også litt gammel plank. Enda veldig bra.
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I love off-vintages if they all taste like this. Not quite the normal Latour power, but powerful enough with good balance and a bit of funk. Reminded me of a Gruaud Larose from a decent vintage.
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Aromatically (day two) - A funky but alluring aroma profile, chocolate, ceder, tomato, and earth. On the palate a superb entry with great juicy acid and black cherry/oolong tea flavors. The tannins are a little dusty in the finish.
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Aromatically - beautiful graphite, fresh tobacco leaf, and floral notes uplifted by aromas of grape rachis's. Very good aromatic purity and intensity. On the palate very nice soft ripe tannins with a medium density. A very elegant and enjoyable wine with years of life. 93-94+
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Opened, poured into decanter, and consumed immediately thereafter. Cork was saturated but came out in one piece. Somewhat vegetal nose, with definite greenery. Notes of cassis. On the palate, indeed quite dry, with very little fruit remaining, with notes of crushed rocks, dried dates, and grape stems.
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high shoulder; very dark red; initially acids are predominant; decanted about one hour after opening; thereafter more fruit is showing, intense on palate but acids still quite dominant; quite decent nose; very pleasurable with dinner
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VTS fill. Cork stained 90% up on all sides, otherwise perfect. Decanted 10 minutes. Clear medium ruby-garnet, lightening at the rim. Evolved bouquet of underbrush, roast game, and camphor. A hint of sweet red fruit, which vanished with too much swirling. Great purity and smoothness on the palate pushed the score into outstanding territory, barely. Of the 1981s I have tasted within the last two years, I enjoyed this slightly more than Cos or Ducru, but not quite as much as Mouton or Haut Brion. 90 points.
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Decanted off the sediment and back to bottle before taking to restaurant. Shy at first, then opened nicely over dinner. Certainly not a blockbuster, but delicious and a testament to the joy of 'off vintages.' If you need raw power and high points, then go elsewhere. I've had good luck with this overlooked vintage. Not sure what this bottle says about this man, but hopefully somebody rates me at least 85 points. Then I can pray I'll improve with age.
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Deep ruby red color, some age evident at the rim. Initially closed nose which opened up after an hour or so. Nice, mature red fruit core inter-mixed with cedar and earth. Very nice texture, finer tannins, only flaw was a little too much alcohol/heat on the nose.
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Not a great Latour by any means, but it isn't bad either. It ks actually drinking a lot younger than I would expect. It has quite a bit of power still , very little browning of the edges, and not very nuanced. It is a bit stern, but it does have some leather and diied herbs to go along with the cassis fruit. It does finish a little bitter. I don't think this is going to improve ddrastically, but I get the feeling that I'm drinking it too young.
Roast beef.
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Older and interesting wines with the Meat Fairy at Châteauneuf-du-Joe. (Dougherty's.): A great example of old school Bordeaux. Not a great vintage, but a terrific wine. I can't recall ever having a silkier Latour. The wine truly glides across and caresses the palate, leaving pillows of sweet black fruit, rich black earth and herbs tucked away by a comforter of cigar box. This is all about texture and subtlety. A beautiful wine. A-.
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A quick survey of the CT TNs reveals that my luck would have it to have purchased one of the lowest scoring Latours. Nonetheless, great wines in lesser years can still excite.
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Generally agree with Psmith's assessment. Color is very nice and in fact brilliant. Nose still fairly youthful(no oxidation or "old bordeaux" smells at all) of berries with some wood toast. Elegant leaner styled wine, the main flaw of which is a slightly bitter finish. Seems to be a green tannin problem, but it goes away with food, as usual. Given the apparent youth of the wine and the good acid structure, I am going to wait awhile and see what the next one brings. This bottle had a mid shoulder fill.
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Dinner(s) with friends; 5/21/2006-5/22/2006 (Northern Ohio): Surprisingly youthful color. A red fruit nose with graphite and some green vegetal notes. A nice, medium-weight palate up front but some coarse, hard tannins that may never soften. An enjoyable wine from a vintage that gave mixed results.
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In retrospect the bottle was foolishly sacrificed at a dinner party where each guest was meant to supply a bottle with a story. Little did I realize the other guests were all complete yobs and or cheapskates when it came to wine (although of course they would loudly proclaim to be gastronomes of the first water); you can tell much about a man by his bottle. This bottle did have a story, tracing as it did, my first encounter with the wines of Bordeaux, my first adventure into futures, a long friendship with a fellow wine lover, a comical exercise in trying to get the things shipped from N.J. to Il which involved shipping empty styrofoam wine cartons from Napa Valley to N.J. via UPS (the clerk was shocked that such a large box could weigh so little) not forgetting trying to stuff the things into the back of an Alfa Romeo Spyder Veloce Drophead Coupe. Unfortunately, by sharing it with this mob it was quite wasted, and I didn't really pay great attention to it. Luckily there are five still to go.
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darkest of all, rubied; leads pencils, cigar box classic Pauillac; chunky cassis fruit, full bodied this is punching its weight. Extended. 17 [B****?, C 18, P 88. Thought Latour was the next wine, on re-reading notes shouldn't have missed this].
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Old note from 1994 with score of 19/20 Nice hue with excellent brilliance. Classic Pauillac nose with faint herbaceous character. Excellent complexity and mature aromas. Very smooth. fairly long finish.
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8/19/2023 - Mark Burnett Likes this wine:
Deeply concentrated garnet in the glass, with only a small bit of brickish rim variation. Brilliant color for a 42 year old wine.
Intense aromas which highlight secondary notes that keep evolving in the glass with every sip. Most prominent is fresh bay leaf. It’s incredibly intense and enfolds other notes, like mint and eucalyptus. Of the 5 first growths of the 1981 vintage, this was the most powerful and the most herbal.
Flavors kindly follow the nose, with red plum and tart cherry underneath the bay leaf and botanicals.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium plus acidity, along with a front-of-mouth, medium plus tannic structure that enfolds the mouth from the sides of the gums up and over to the front. Powerful and intense for 42 years.
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8/19/2023 - Trickyone Likes this wine:
Les Premiers Crus (aka Schrödinger's Tasting) (The Ridge): More details later.
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7/8/2023 - dbkitc wrote: 90 Points
This is a very good, not great wine. That said, it is absolutely delicious. Mature ruby / brick color. The nose leads with classic cassis, tobacco and cedar notes. A touch soapy. Could bury my nose in this all afternoon. Textbook. The palate is mature and soft for Latour. Again classic fruit and cigar but it’s almost “Latour Lite” as it is missing the layers and depth of this wine in the great years. Love drinking it but understand it’s limitations. (90)
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2/12/2022 - Mulvk Likes this wine:
Lead pencil, cigar box, leather. Was beautiful
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9/23/2021 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 92 Points
Sjaak's 40th birthday dinner (Groot-Ammers, Netherlands): Needs time to develop its crisp and fresh Cabernet character, cool and minerally but with warmth and spice, slender but complete, retains good tannic grip, hint of green on the finish.
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9/11/2021 - skyblue80 Likes this wine: 94 Points
The fill of the bottle was excellent and the cork perfectly in tact, so was very anticipatory before opening. Indeed, the wine was perfect. On PnP, fruits was plenty and the length was more than acceptable. The complexity was enviable at 40years old and it feels that the wine can still be kept for 3-5yrs. It shows you the aging power of Latour, which never disappoints, especially on a slightly off (non popular) vintage! Drank alongside 86 Cheval Blanc, 89 Clinet and 96 Musigny. The 89 Clinet wins WOTN.
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2/16/2021 - tooch wrote: flawed
DOA
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2/13/2021 - mariow wrote: 91 Points
high shoulder; much better than expected after reading the recent notes; elegant with good fruit, medium finish
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1/27/2021 - pkouchu wrote: 90 Points
leather, cedar, tobacco, black currant, tart red cherry, mushrooms, smoke, cassis, tea leaves and spice box
way past its prime, feels like its on its last legs before a rather sharp decline. complexity and mouthfeel are nice, just old and tired.
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12/25/2020 - invineform Likes this wine: 92 Points
Quite glad I finally drank this, actually (having bought it in around '97). Still a fabulous example of the Medoc, with the complexity and finesse you would expect from a First Growth. However, '81 was not a stellar year and my bottle - at least - had definitely peaked: I should have uncorked it perhaps 5 years ago, I would guess.
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8/31/2020 - OenophilistMN Likes this wine: 89 Points
From Art’s cellar. One-hour decant through a screened funnel. High fill. Cork broke in two but did not disintegrate. Upon decant, a strong aroma of Bordeaux funk had me concerned but it blew off after resting in the decanter. Wine was clear; dark bowl lightening towards the rim which was amber. Thin clear halo. Nose of lead pencil, leather, forest floor and a waft of black currants. In the mouth, tannins all gone, excellent balance. Palate hinted at the currants with leather overtones and a cigar box finish of tobacco and cedar. Finish was medium long. It was time to drink this old soldier.
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2/3/2020 - Jeff Leve wrote: 90 Points
This is a vintage I seldom see anymore, as most wines have faded. But Chateau Latour is still hanging in there. Medium-bodied, with a focus on its cassis, herb, green pepper, stone, smoke and tobacco character, there is bright red fruit and cigar notes in the finish, though it ends before I was ready. This wine focuses on freshness and charm, over power and length, which is perfect for the vintage. However, there is no reason to hold this any longer. This was clearly better 5-10 years ago.
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3/11/2018 - rmcnees Likes this wine: 89 Points
The color was garnet colored with slight brownish and rust colored bricking. Medium bodied, still showing berry fruit, slightly astringent with modest aromatics and flavors of bell pepper and notes of cedar and leather on the moderate finish. Still nicely polished and holding together impressively given the lackluster '81 vintage, but time to drink as its clearly in the last chapter of its drinking window.
This bottle had a Top Shoulder fill. The cork was totally saturated and spongy but will still intact. I wrestled with the cork using an 'ahso' two pronge cork puller and it eventually relented, albeit it pulled apart at the bottom quarter. I'm certain a traditional corkscrew would've pushed it into the bottle, or caused it to pretty much disintegrate. Opened and decanted for two hours prior to tasting.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/03/miles-thomas-fort-dinner.html
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10/14/2017 - burgburgburg Likes this wine: 92 Points
Base neck. Deep garnet. Cassis, sous bois and herbs in nose. Elegant palate with subtle mixture of fruits, and mineral with fine acidity. A good show for its' class and vintage.
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6/2/2017 - pavel_p wrote: 88 Points
Pnp at home. Top shoulder fill. Was expecting the worst as the cork showed clear signs of relatively recent leakage. A clean nose upon pulling the cork and a surprisingly dark, clear garnet color in the glass with only minimal bricking at the transparent rim indicated that the wine was perfectly fine. While not the most expressive, the nose is showing good depth and fine balance. Less convincing the palate which is lean and somewhat astringent, with dark fruit, some bell peppers and a touch of leather. Short to medium finish. Nice enough but certainly not something to seek out if 1981 has no special meaning to you. Nose 90, palate 87
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5/21/2017 - paul195 wrote: 93 Points
First Growth Bordeaux 1978, 1979, 1981 (The Lot): Darkest, most youthful looking of the 1981 flight. Firmer, bolder nose with darker fruits than the other 3 of the flight. The palate stood similarly, darker fruit, more power than the others in the flight, supporting the "iron fist in a velvet glove" style of Latour. Drinking well and edging out the LMHB for best of the 1981s tonight.
This bottle was ranked 4th of the 8 first growths tonight
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4/7/2017 - NewFrenchClaret Likes this wine: 90 Points
Almost perfect fill. Rather light in color with significant bricking. Yummy earth and menthol nose; mushroom and tea. No fruit left to speak of.
Not too concentrated for Latour, but feels fresh rather than thin. Tannins nicely balanced. Nice finish, but perhaps a slight metallic tinge. Very drinkable, but there are better wines in 1981.
Drink this now, as it's on a downslope. Don't give it too much air.
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11/24/2016 - LongViewCellars wrote: 89 Points
Past it's prime, but had a little life in there. Nothing mind blowing from this off vintage, but enjoyable. Drink up if you are still holding.
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8/21/2016 - Vino_Veritas Likes this wine: 94 Points
A purported favorite of Malcom Forbes was Chateau Margaux with a Big Mac. He also supposedly bought Chateau Latour en masse in off-vintages. So a bachelor for the weekend, I decided to try an off vintage of Latour with a Big Mac. The '81 Latour reiterates how off-vintages of this great terroir, when properly stored, truly shine. Immediately upon freeing the cork, pungent aromas of earth, cedar and black current fill the room, reminiscent of the '96 Pichon Lalande and great Pauillac Cabernet. On the palate, everything is nicely in place - gentle tannins with plenty of dark red fruit and nice acidity provide a medium bodied wine with a beautiful, though not very long, finish. Latour is such a special treat that I can't deny bias possibly impacting my score, but the nose alone makes this a really memorable experience. And as for the food pairing, didn't even get to the Big Mac until the last glass, though lamb would no doubt be the ideal pairing (or at least a Whopper that doesn't have special sauce, clearly suited for the more floral notes of Margaux lol).
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2/22/2016 - Drtomprc Likes this wine: 91 Points
Little past ideal time to drink but still fantastic
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12/27/2015 - mariow wrote: 93 Points
opened two hours before serving, but did not decant. still dark red, not brownish at all. obviously past its peak but still intense on the palate, profound aromas of red fruit typical for a premier cru, quite good structure and finish.
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8/14/2015 - Dryckesupplevelser Likes this wine: 92 Points
Stor doft av stall, kola, läder och mörk mogen frukt. Smaken är komplex med tydlig smörkolaton, och mörka mogna körsbär och ett uns créme cassis. Nedslipad tanninstruktur men en lång ihärdig eftersmak. Har nått sin peak men helt okej!
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7/26/2015 - Simple palate wrote: 90 Points
Knowing the pedigree of this First Growth, the nose was soft "forest floor", finely balanced with soft tannin on the palate, medium finish.
Slowly developed over an hour, then drifted off gently.
On the whole, this did not wow. After all, 81 was a weak vintage.
(Courtesy of TES generosity).
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12/28/2014 - chrishsh Likes this wine: 92 Points
Classic St. Julien characteristics - sophisticated structure on the palate, yet balanced acidity and alcohol level. In a vintage ('81) that is not particularly outstanding, this 30+ year-old wine showing the potential and why this is a first growth chateau. I have no doubt this wine can be in as good as I have experience to drink for another 2-3 years.
Highly recommend to pair with nice aged steak or grilled lamb chops.
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12/13/2014 - anonymoose12345 wrote: 87 Points
Just not that good. Tart. Hot. Nothing special.
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12/4/2014 - Leoville_2012 wrote: 90 Points
Strong showing for a wine from a bad year. Served from 375. Classic Paulliac nose. Some dark berries remaining. Lots of leather and cedar wood. Little animalic touch. A bit rustic on the palate, but very enjoyable. Would never buy this given the price point, but interesting to taste. Would work well with filet mignon.
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3/7/2014 - Paul S wrote: 94 Points
A "Blended" Birthday Dinner (Garibaldi, Purvis Street, Singapore): As one would expect from a Latour, this was remarkable for an off-vintage wine. I have had numerous bottles of 1981 wines from great properties (courtesy from a few friends born in that year), but this was far and away the best wine I have had from Bordeaux or anywhere else. It started out with a bit of funky wet leaf and chicken poop on the nose, but this faded with time to allow more and more classic Pauillac notes of cassis and dark plums, tobacco and cedar wood, then loamy earth and boiled herbs to slowly uncoil until we had a typical Latour bouquet in all its understated attractiveness. The palate was classic Latour as well, starting from its noble structure of fine tannins and lovely acidity, and then going on to its wonderfully pure cassis notes. This was gorgeously put together, with a real mouthfilling fullness to it, yet one would not quite call it expressive; it had real depth, and yet powerful would not quite be the right way to describe it. Like any good middle-aged Latour, it was still reined in by the slightest edge of austerity, especially as that wonderful transparent fruit melded into meatier notes past the midpalate and then into a beautiful finish that slid away with an almost creamy texture, showing the lightest hints of cedar wood and a nice earthiness trailing behind. This is one wine that truly shows how a youngish Latour can shines on an off-vintage. If one were searching for a weakness, I would say that there was just a touch of softness on the midpalate where there would normally be more muscle. But that really would be nitpicking. This was a great wine. And while seemingly at peak now, I expect it to last for a long time yet; it got better and better in the glass even on the night, with more chew from the tannins and a nicely masculine leather and meat tone coming out with time. I was very taken by this.
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3/7/2014 - Alex H wrote: 91 Points
Meat And sexy leather with medicinal lifted florals and aged cigar box. Very substantial and supple. Soft and subtle tannins. Delicious. Poised grand dame.
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12/20/2013 - Wine_lvr wrote: flawed
Latour Vertical Tasting; 12/19/2013-12/20/2013 (Switzerland): It always hurts if a good/expensive bottle is tainted with TCA, but if it is a Jeroboam of Latour 1981 it hurts even more.
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11/26/2013 - Aenie wrote: 94 Points
big muscle , classic , round , bouquet and paulliac , long finish
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9/2/2013 - pjaines wrote:
...impressive. Fading slowly but this still carries enough depth to show its class. Herbs...black fruits and dried figs. a touch of buttery soft fruit on the nose and camphor. strange but pleasant.
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1/23/2013 - hubas Likes this wine: 95 Points
Lots of black currant in the aroma. The attack is rather dry with clear aging tones. The tannins are quite strong but very well balanced with a nice ceder finish.
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11/11/2012 - vespasian wrote: 87 Points
Medium ruby core with a little fade at the rim; quite an earthy cool nose. Definite leafiness and gravel; quite light to medium bodied. Nice flavour but a definite light year. Very fine tannins. Pleasurable to drink. Pretty long. Alcohol coming through on the finish.
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11/11/2012 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 88 Points
Slender, cedar and gravel, vestiges of fruit, tannic, fully mature, quite light, decent length.
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10/15/2012 - mwanasheria wrote: 93 Points
Delicate, filigreed, silky. Mature with leather, smoke, nice sweetness.
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1/16/2012 - vindictive wrote:
This is perhaps the most ready vintage of Latour that I have tried. This is still a vigorous wine, but considerably softer than other years. Lovely tobacco, cedar, blackberryetc.. Paired well with rack of venison, but really you should have this with lamb.
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10/12/2011 - Captain Haddock Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine was powerful and full of life. Good, chunky colour, powerful, lovely fantail nose, robust and earthy on the palate with plenty of fruit left. This is drinking beautifully now but should hold up for another 5+ years.
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9/21/2011 - burgburgburg wrote: 94 Points
top shoulder; stand up for 1 day; pop-and-open; stunning bouquet with heavy Latour signature of pine wood with pencil and black fruits; the aroma further evolve and peak at around 2 hours; exceptional palate with lingering finish and moderate acidity; still has good power; tannin dissolved; finished in 3 hours with no sign of drop; what a lovely first growth
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7/23/2011 - cubswinws wrote: 92 Points
Drank for our 30th anniversary. Holding up well but definitely a mature lady. Decanted right before drinking and was a wonderful addition to our meal. From magnum.
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7/23/2011 - mariow wrote: 92 Points
high shoulder; dark plum red; initially nose of almonds, later more like citrus fruit; mild and well balanced on the palate, interesting fruity aromas with some sweet acidity; good finish; very pleasurable but not realy complex
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6/9/2011 - mariolanza wrote: 92 Points
Fantastic after decanting, earthy mature and totally involved, a great wine.
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6/8/2011 - jlgnml wrote: 96 Points
Les Degustateurs Ladies Night (University Club of Chicago): Out of double magnum and the theme of the night was for some of the wine to have an ending of 1, ie 1981 or 1991. This was outstanding with great flavor, pencil lead, great pairing with the cheeses. A rare treat.
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6/8/2011 - Cinsault86 wrote: 96 Points
På nesen ekstremt ren og kraftig solbær. Mynter og hvit pepper. Nydelig søtlig frukt. In your face frukt. Dette er vinens svar på Beyonce.
Smaken er også Beyonce – hvor den legger seg bredt, men sexy i munnen. En viss tyngde gjennom hele smakskurven. God konsentrasjon og tanniner som legger seg som et stort smil på utsiden av tennene og følger munnens naturlige kurve langs ganen. Jeg ville aldri tenkt at regn i oktober hadde vannet ut vinen, hadde jeg ikke kjent til årgangen. Denne vinen lider i alle fall ikke stort av dette.
Det eneste jeg er enig med Parker om er at tanninene og syren er moderate. Etter en stund i galsset synes jeg at tanninene viser litt trend av å være litt ufokuserte og legger seg ikke like elegant i ganen som i Lafiten vi hadde før denne.
Frukten er såpass ung og solbøren så intens at denne holder lenge, og har nok godt av lengre tid på flasken. Prøv igjen om 5 år og nyt i 15 år.
Etter ca 20 min i glasset får jeg tydeligere mineraler, ved våt stein og blyant (ikke blyantkvess, bare blyet i blyanten)
Etter ca 40 min enda flott solbær og våt stein, også litt gammel plank. Enda veldig bra.
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3/8/2011 - Captain Haddock Likes this wine: 91 Points
I love off-vintages if they all taste like this. Not quite the normal Latour power, but powerful enough with good balance and a bit of funk. Reminded me of a Gruaud Larose from a decent vintage.
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7/8/2010 - Harrypotter wrote:
Aromatically (day two) - A funky but alluring aroma profile, chocolate, ceder, tomato, and earth. On the palate a superb entry with great juicy acid and black cherry/oolong tea flavors. The tannins are a little dusty in the finish.
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6/21/2010 - Fatty Cat wrote: 89 Points
At "Buffalo Steakhouse" late Jun 2010: dark red color; restrained blackberry and cassis aromas/flavors; medium body; round texture.
Somehow I thought this bottle was a fake. Had a closer look at the label and the cork but couldn't prove it.
Maybe the wine simply needed more decanting time.
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4/16/2010 - Harrypotter wrote:
Aromatically - beautiful graphite, fresh tobacco leaf, and floral notes uplifted by aromas of grape rachis's. Very good aromatic purity and intensity. On the palate very nice soft ripe tannins with a medium density. A very elegant and enjoyable wine with years of life. 93-94+
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3/13/2010 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Opened, poured into decanter, and consumed immediately thereafter. Cork was saturated but came out in one piece. Somewhat vegetal nose, with definite greenery. Notes of cassis. On the palate, indeed quite dry, with very little fruit remaining, with notes of crushed rocks, dried dates, and grape stems.
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1/10/2010 - mariow wrote: 92 Points
high shoulder; very dark red; initially acids are predominant; decanted about one hour after opening; thereafter more fruit is showing, intense on palate but acids still quite dominant; quite decent nose; very pleasurable with dinner
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8/25/2009 - Javachip wrote: 90 Points
VTS fill. Cork stained 90% up on all sides, otherwise perfect. Decanted 10 minutes. Clear medium ruby-garnet, lightening at the rim. Evolved bouquet of underbrush, roast game, and camphor. A hint of sweet red fruit, which vanished with too much swirling. Great purity and smoothness on the palate pushed the score into outstanding territory, barely. Of the 1981s I have tasted within the last two years, I enjoyed this slightly more than Cos or Ducru, but not quite as much as Mouton or Haut Brion. 90 points.
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7/24/2009 - loverboy wrote: 90 Points
Tasted blind.
Ruby red with a little brownish rim. Red fruits in nose, but pretty light. Licorice, obvious leather and deep clean pebbles.
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2/23/2009 - benjordan wrote:
Decanted off the sediment and back to bottle before taking to restaurant. Shy at first, then opened nicely over dinner. Certainly not a blockbuster, but delicious and a testament to the joy of 'off vintages.' If you need raw power and high points, then go elsewhere. I've had good luck with this overlooked vintage. Not sure what this bottle says about this man, but hopefully somebody rates me at least 85 points. Then I can pray I'll improve with age.
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12/5/2008 - paul195 wrote: 93 Points
Deep ruby red color, some age evident at the rim. Initially closed nose which opened up after an hour or so. Nice, mature red fruit core inter-mixed with cedar and earth. Very nice texture, finer tannins, only flaw was a little too much alcohol/heat on the nose.
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11/12/2007 - Jay A wrote: 88 Points
Not a great Latour by any means, but it isn't bad either. It ks actually drinking a lot younger than I would expect. It has quite a bit of power still , very little browning of the edges, and not very nuanced. It is a bit stern, but it does have some leather and diied herbs to go along with the cassis fruit. It does finish a little bitter. I don't think this is going to improve ddrastically, but I get the feeling that I'm drinking it too young.
Roast beef.
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9/8/2007 - BradKNYC wrote:
Older and interesting wines with the Meat Fairy at Châteauneuf-du-Joe. (Dougherty's.): A great example of old school Bordeaux. Not a great vintage, but a terrific wine. I can't recall ever having a silkier Latour. The wine truly glides across and caresses the palate, leaving pillows of sweet black fruit, rich black earth and herbs tucked away by a comforter of cigar box. This is all about texture and subtlety. A beautiful wine. A-.
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5/21/2007 - Dulcie and Aylwin wrote:
A quick survey of the CT TNs reveals that my luck would have it to have purchased one of the lowest scoring Latours. Nonetheless, great wines in lesser years can still excite.
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6/26/2006 - toppo wrote: 88 Points
Generally agree with Psmith's assessment. Color is very nice and in fact brilliant. Nose still fairly youthful(no oxidation or "old bordeaux" smells at all) of berries with some wood toast. Elegant leaner styled wine, the main flaw of which is a slightly bitter finish. Seems to be a green tannin problem, but it goes away with food, as usual. Given the apparent youth of the wine and the good acid structure, I am going to wait awhile and see what the next one brings. This bottle had a mid shoulder fill.
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5/21/2006 - psmith wrote: 87 Points
Dinner(s) with friends; 5/21/2006-5/22/2006 (Northern Ohio): Surprisingly youthful color. A red fruit nose with graphite and some green vegetal notes. A nice, medium-weight palate up front but some coarse, hard tannins that may never soften. An enjoyable wine from a vintage that gave mixed results.
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3/1/2003 - Dulcie and Aylwin wrote:
In retrospect the bottle was foolishly sacrificed at a dinner party where each guest was meant to supply a bottle with a story. Little did I realize the other guests were all complete yobs and or cheapskates when it came to wine (although of course they would loudly proclaim to be gastronomes of the first water); you can tell much about a man by his bottle. This bottle did have a story, tracing as it did, my first encounter with the wines of Bordeaux, my first adventure into futures, a long friendship with a fellow wine lover, a comical exercise in trying to get the things shipped from N.J. to Il which involved shipping empty styrofoam wine cartons from Napa Valley to N.J. via UPS (the clerk was shocked that such a large box could weigh so little) not forgetting trying to stuff the things into the back of an Alfa Romeo Spyder Veloce Drophead Coupe. Unfortunately, by sharing it with this mob it was quite wasted, and I didn't really pay great attention to it. Luckily there are five still to go.
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9/1/1999 - sdr wrote: 82 Points
Ripe, soft, abrupt. Good for the vintage.
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1/8/1999 - mariow wrote: 88 Points
pleasurable but not realy powerfull
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1/21/1996 - chbeaumont wrote: 92 Points
darkest of all, rubied; leads pencils, cigar box classic Pauillac; chunky cassis fruit, full bodied this is punching its weight. Extended. 17
[B****?, C 18, P 88. Thought Latour was the next wine, on re-reading notes shouldn't have missed this].
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12/31/1994 - vagrantone Likes this wine: 95 Points
Old note from 1994 with score of 19/20
Nice hue with excellent brilliance.
Classic Pauillac nose with faint herbaceous character.
Excellent complexity and mature aromas.
Very smooth. fairly long finish.
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5/19/1987 - sdr wrote: 82 Points
Much lighter than the ‘82. Smaller nose. Incipient elegance. Tannic. Lacks the concentration of the ‘82 or ‘83.
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